Religious social capital: its measurement and utility in the study of the social determinants of health

As a social determinant of health, religiosity remains not well understood, despite the prevalence of religious activity and prominence of religious institutions in most societies. This paper introduces a working measure of Religious Social Capital and presents preliminary associations with neighborhood social capital and urban stressors. Religious social capital is defined as the social resources available to individuals and groups through their social connections with a religious community. Domains covered include group membership, social integration, values/norms, bonding/bridging trust as well as social support. Cross-sectional data come from a convenience sample of 104 community dwelling adults residing in a single urban neighborhood in a large US city, who also provided information on neighborhood social capital, and experiences of urban stressors. Results suggest that religious social capital is a valid construct that can be reliably measured. All indicators of religious social capital were higher among those who frequently attended religious services, with the exception of bridging trust (trust of people from different religious groups). A weak, inverse, association was also observed between religious and neighborhood social capital levels. Levels of religious social capital were correlated with higher levels of reported urban stressors, while neighborhood social capital was correlated with lower urban stressor levels. A significant percent of the sample was unaffiliated with a religious tradition and these individuals were more likely to be male, young and more highly educated. Social capital is a promising construct to help elucidate the influence of religion on population health.     

社会资本视角下的公共卫生研究

社会资本(social capital)是20世纪初在社会科学界首先提出的一个新的学术术语,自20世纪90年代以来逐渐成为众多学科关注的重要理论路径和分析工具~([1]).     

The measurement of bridging social capital in population health research

Social capital is defined as the resources available to individuals and groups through membership in social networks. The definition is consistent with either an individualistic approach or a collective approach. Social capital can be further classified according to bonding versus bridging social capital (e.g. relationships between individuals who are homogeneous or heterogeneous with respect to social class, race/ethnicity, or other attributes). We conducted a systematic review via Pubmed, the ISI web of knowledge and OVID of the studies that examined bridging social capital in public health settings. Our results indicate lack of consistency or uniformity in the operationalization of bridging social capital. We identify some promising approaches to measurement that should be further investigated in future studies.     

The importance of addressing social determinants of health at the local level: the case for social capital

Social determinants are gaining momentum in public health practice. Many proposed solutions for tackling social determinants are outside the scope of local public health professionals. This article reviews the literature to find possible moderating variables which may buffer the effects of the social determinants of health at the local level, and allow social determinants to be addressed within the purview of local health departments. The systematic approach employed for this article entailed searches of electronic academic databases (PubMed, EBSCO and Medline) and additional searches using Internet search engines and relevant websites for articles published between 1,975 and May 2010. The search revealed 2,554 articles, and 36 were determined appropriate for inclusion. The purpose of the search was to identify published articles relating to social determinants of health, social capital and effective approaches for addressing both at the level of the local health department. The search was then expanded to include unpublished material, to include the perspectives of local health departments. This process resulted in the inclusion of content from five sources. In this article, the case is made for focusing on social capital interventions to mitigate health problems associated with social determinants. Examples of successful interventions are provided to aid public health professionals in developing locale-specific solutions for addressing social determinants.     

The impact of a health campaign on health social capital

Referring to literature in sociology, mass communication, and public health, we conceptualize and operationally define "health social capital" and "individual health social capital" and then posit and test a model for its development in response to a public health media campaign. The campaign evaluated here was designed to stimulate behaviors that would provide a more supportive social environment for children and youth, an environment which we consider to be richer in aggregate health social capital. The association model of advertising was employed to explain the development of individual health social capital measures of awareness, attitude, and behavior. With cross-sectional data (1998, n = 614; 1999, n = 1087; 2000, n = 1388), we examine the results for changes in awareness, attitude, and behavior over time and the significant links between these dependent variables and media campaign exposure. The results show significant increases in awareness and attitude, but not in behavior. Structural equation modeling revealed different patterns of influence for newspaper and TV campaign exposure.     

社会资本在健康领域的应用现状

在解释收入不平等对健康差异的影响作用时，流行病学家引入了社会资本的概念，尽管社会资本理论自身还存在很多争议，但其与健康关系的研究引起了众多学者的兴趣。本文从各种社会资本的概念，社会资本在健康领域研究中的应用，社会资本影响健康的可能机制，各种测量方法和存在的不足以及在中国目前的应用现状等方面进行了浅析。     

社会资本在健康管理中的作用认识与方法探讨

主要从健康管理的角度探讨社会资本构成要素与人群健康的关系、社会资本在健康管理工作中的功能及其实现途径等问题。开发社会资本对健康管理的潜在功效不仅有益于增进人群健康水平，同时也有助于发掘并有效利用卫生资源，为卫生工作注入新的活力。     

Toward an institutional perspective on social capital health interventions: lay community health workers as social capital builders

This article argues that social capital health research should move beyond a mere focus on social cohesion and network perspectives to integrate an institutional approach into the development of social capital health interventions. An institutional perspective, which is unique in its emphasis on linking social capital in addition to the bonding and bridging forms, contextualises social capital, allowing researchers to confront the complexity of social relationships. This perspective allows for the construction of interventions that draw on the resources of diverse actors, particularly the state. One intervention strategy with the potential to create community linkages involves lay community health workers (LCHWs), individuals who are trained to perform a variety of health-related functions but lack a formal professional health education. This article begins with a review of the institutional social capital-building literature. It then goes on to briefly review the social capital and health literature and discuss the state of intervention research. Thereafter, it describes LCHWs and discusses studies that have utilised LCHWs to tackle community health problems. In doing so, this article presents an institutional-based systematic framework for how LCHWs can build social capital, including a discussion of the ways in which LCHWs can successfully promote bonding, bridging and linking social capital.     

Effects of child health on parents' social capital

This paper adds to the literature on social capital and health by testing whether an exogenous shock in the health of a family member (a new baby) affects the family's investment in social capital. It also contributes to a small but growing literature on the effects of children's health on family resources and provides information about associations between health and social capital in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, a longitudinal survey of about 5000 births to mostly unwed parents in 20 U.S. cities during the years 1998–2000. Both parents were interviewed at the time of the birth and then again one and three years later. The infants' medical records from the birth hospitalization were reviewed, and poor infant health was characterized to reflect serious and random health problems that were present at birth. Social interactions, reported at three years, include the parents' participation in church groups, service clubs, political organizations, community groups, and organizations working with children; regular religious attendance; and visiting relatives with the child. Education, employment, wages, and sociodemographic characteristics are included in the analyses. The results suggest that infant health shocks do not affect the parents' social interactions.     

Communication, social capital and workplace health management as determinants of the innovative climate in German banks

Objective  

The present study aims to measure the determinants of the innovative climate in German banks with a focus on workplace health management (WHM).     

Cultural capital and social inequality in health

Economic and social resources are known to contribute to the unequal distribution of health outcomes. Culture-related factors such as normative beliefs, knowledge and behaviours have also been shown to be associated with health status. The role and function of cultural resources in the unequal distribution of health is addressed. Drawing on the work of French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, the concept of cultural capital for its contribution to the current understanding of social inequalities in health is explored. It is suggested that class related cultural resources interact with economic and social capital in the social structuring of people's health chances and choices. It is concluded that cultural capital is a key element in the behavioural transformation of social inequality into health inequality. New directions for empirical research on the interplay between economic, social and cultural capital are outlined.