Federal and state policymakers are weighing changes to programs that help low-income people meet their basic needs for food, medical care, and shelter. As they consider these changes to the public safety net, policymakers have few tools to monitor trends in material hardship as the economy evolves and new policies take effect. To fill this gap, the Urban Institute launched the Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) in December 2017 to track individual and family well-being at a time when the safety net faces transition. By assessing the ability of adults and their families to meet basic needs, the survey can provide a broader understanding of material well-being than income-based poverty indicators.
The new annual survey is a key component of Urban’s From Safety Net to Solid Ground Initiative, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and other foundations. The project offers insights into how proposed changes to programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could affect the well-being of people striving to cover their basic needs.
The WBNS is a nationally representative survey of adults ages 18 to 64 that covers topics related to health, material hardship, and individual and family well-being, as well as the interaction of adults and their families with major safety net programs. The survey’s core domains include health status and health care, housing and neighborhoods, family income, program participation, food security, employment, and family financial security. Samples for the WBNS are drawn from Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel®, the nation’s largest probability-based online panel.
With the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Urban Institute will be partnering with the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan to make WBNS public use files available through RWJF’s Health and Medical Archive on the ICPSR website.
Dataset Info
- Modified 2024-07-03
- Release Date 2020-04-03
- Temporal Coverage 2017-01-01T00:00:00
- License odc-by
- Granularity Person
- Contact Name Urban Institute
- Contact Email [email protected]
- Public Access Level public
Urban Extended Info
- Modified 2024-07-03
- Release Date 2020-04-03
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Geographic Level
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Data Value
- Data Quality ICPSR restricted certain variables from general dissemination for confidentiality. Users interested in obtaining the restricted data must complete a restricted data use agreement with ICPSR, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain institutional review board approval or notice of exemption for their research. Apply for access to the restricted data via the ICPSR restricted data contract portal which can be accessed on the study home page.
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Urban Publications
WBNS Project Page at urban.org
The Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey: A New Data Source for Monitoring the Health and Well-Being of Individuals and Families
On Eve of 2020 Census, Many People in Hard-to-Count Groups Remain Concerned about Participating
Material Hardship among Nonelderly Adults and Their Families in 2017: Implications for the Safety Net
Homeowner and Renter Experiences of Material Hardship: Implications for the Safety Net
What Explains the Widespread Material Hardship among Low-Income Families with Children?
Working to Make Ends Meet during Good Economic Times
One in Seven Adults in Immigrant Families Reported Avoiding Public Benefit Programs in 2018
Precarious Work Schedules Could Jeopardize Access to Safety Net Programs Targeted by Work Requirements
Who Is Accessing Charitable Food in America?
- Citation Requirements Zuckerman, Stephen. Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, United States, 2017. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020-04-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37513.v1 Urban Institute. 2020. Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey. Accessible from https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/well-being-and-basic-needs-survey.