The prospective relationship between uptake of earned income tax credit (EITC), financial strain, and health in socio-economically strained families of Arab-American descent

Authors

• Bengt B. Arnetz, Wayne State University
• Alesia Grinstead, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services Community Health and Research Center, Dearborn, Michigan
• Gabrielle Thomas, Accounting Aid Society, Detroit, Michigan
• Matt Hetherwick, Accounting Aid Society, Detroit, Michigan
• Wenjuan Ma, Michigan State University
• Eamonn Arble, Eastern Michigan University
• Malak Kabalan, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services Community Health and Research Center, Dearborn, Michigan
• Andrew Cole, Corewell Health, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Judith E. Arnetz, Michigan State University
• Riham Ayoub, Wayne State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Department/School

Psychology

Publication Title

BMC Public Health

Abstract

Background The federal government offers Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to working low and middle-income families. Lack of knowledge and distrust in government results in a large proportion of qualified families not claiming EITC. This is especially true for minority groups, including immigrants. The study objectives were: (1) to examine whether a community derived EITC outreach campaign targeting EITC eligible residents of Arab-American descent in Southeast Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., resulted in increased knowledge of EITC; (2) to study the prospective relationship between EITC knowledge and financial hardship; and (3) to study the relationship between risks (financial hardship) and protective (exercise) factors and self-rated health. Methods In 2021, a total of 215 women attending Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) centers in Southeast Detroit, Michigan, were recruited. Participants filled out a survey at baseline, and after 6 and 12 months, respectively. The survey contained questions on sociodemographics, financial stressors, exercise, health, and knowledge of EITC. The 1-year retention rate was 48% (n = 104). Results At baseline, knowledge about EITC was low (mean 1.1 [SE 0.3] on a 0–10 visual analogue scale) but increased significantly during the first six months (2.9 [0.3]; p < .01). Knowledge of EITC was not related to financial hardship ratings. Approximately 38% of respondents worried about not having sufficient funds to pay for rent/mortgage at baseline, and 28% worried about not being able to buy nutritious meals for their families. Worry about paying for meals at the 6-month study mid-point was significantly related to self-rated health at 12 months (p = .013). Self-rated health at 12 months was significantly lower (-0.74; 95% confidence interval − 1.40, − 0.16) among those worrying about paying for meals. The model explained 5.6% (r2 = 0.056) of the variance in self-rated health at 12-months. Conclusions The study shows that knowledge about EITC is limited among qualified Arab-American households. A community engaged EITC outreach campaign increased knowledge substantially. Financial strain is related to worsening self-rated health. EITC is an underused bipartisan, pro-employment supported federal program to address near-poverty and poverty among underserved families. Future studies should determine whether EITC outreach campaigns increase the actual uptake of EITC, and whether increased uptake results in improved health.

Comments

E. Arble is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Psychology.

Link to Published Version

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-25962-5

Recommended Citation

Arnetz, B. B., Grinstead, A., Thomas, G., Hetherwick, M., Ma, W., Arble, E., Kabalan, M., Cole, A., Arnetz, J. E., & Ayoub, R. (2026). The prospective relationship between uptake of earned income tax credit (EITC), financial strain, and health in socio-economically strained families of Arab-American descent. BMC Public Health, 26(1), 878. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25962-5