The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 represented the most momentous change to the U. S. welfare system since its formal inception in 1935. Because of the significance of the changes made with the PRWORA and the potential ramifications for the lives of women, the new legislation has spurred an unprecedented volume of research to monitor its effects. By far, the concept of economic self-sufficiency as a means of measuring well-being in this vulnerable population of women has dominated public policy discourse. This article reviews the changes in welfare policy and discusses the repercussions of narrowly interpreting well-being using econocentric terms in relation to the lives and health of women. In addition, an argument for nursing involvement in conducting policy research and developing more informed, socially-just policies for women living within or at the margins of poverty is made.
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