Chapter 8 260 Abstract Poverty related stress influences decision-making processes, whereby pressing issues are prioritized over abstract, future issues such as disease prevention. The theory of scarcity might offer an explanation; stress consumes a major part of one’s cognitive abilities, leaving no space for (un)deliberate healthy choices. We investigated the importance of health issues and the impact of a social care program among individuals facing multi-problematic situations. Social care organizations coach families facing multi-problematic situations to regain control over their lives through self-developed goals, categorized according to topics (e.g. Money, Housing, Health etc.). An app for both coaches and clients was developed and anonymously analysed using text-analysis and combined with pre- and post-coaching questionnaires on health related behaviours. 58% of 160 app users revealed money related goals as most pressing issue. Most occurring words were debts (n=401), finances (n=311) and expenses (n=293). Over time, the proportion of Money-goals decreased while Housing and Health gained importance. The questionnaires showed little change in intention to quit smoking; the intention to increase fruit and vegetable intake increased slightly. Concluding, money-related problems are the most pressing issue of social care clients, quickly followed by health-related issues. Stronger focus on moneyrelated issues may ultimately benefit interventions to improve health.
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