Social capital interventions in public health: moving towards why social capital matters for health

Wind, Tim R.; Villalonga-Olives, Ester

doi:10.1136/jech-2018-211576

Cited by 21 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The general scheme of social capital discussion was that both sets of participants either longed for interactions, held on to connections, or invented new ways to interact and maintain or enhance social capital. This concept is in accordance with Wind and Villalonga-Olives ( Wind and Villalonga-Olives, 2019 ) who describe a manipulation that consists of activities that directly build or strengthen social capital when social capital is the intervention target. Snowden particularly discusses pandemic situations, and the effectiveness of quarantines ( Ebook central, 1024 ) which would add value to future similar studies that investigate coping during social distancing and whether the enhanced survival is perceived as a worthy tradeoff from the lack of connectedness.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…On coping, participants differed in their emotion vs. problem focused coping based on their appraisal of the COVID-19 threat and its current or potential challenges. Social capital, operationalized as social support is positively associated with health outcomes in the population and can provide resources to deal with adversities ( Wind and Villalonga-Olives, 2019 ) such as those related to COVID-19. Due to the unprecedented nature of the current pandemic, research is lacking that would highlight the benefits of social capital in an era where distancing is encouraged to save lives.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In health psychology, the overall physical and environmental effects of stress are often studied along with mediating and moderating factors, such as coping and social support ( Hobfoll, 1998 ; Ward et al., 2003 ). Social capital is the collective term for various support initiatives available to members of social groups which have been shown to provide individuals and communities resources to deal with adversities ( Nakhaie and Arnold, 2010 ; Wind and Villalonga-Olives, 2019 ). Studies have long demonstrated that variations of stress-related depressive moods depend on individual satisfaction with social capital from available social support systems ( Krause et al., 1989 ; Nakhaie and Arnold, 2010 ; Wind and Villalonga-Olives, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stressful life events and social capital during the early phase of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Jean-Baptiste¹,

Herring²,

Beeson³

et al. 2020

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

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Background A novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan, China late December 2019. The disease has as of the end of March 2020, affected over 35 countries (with over 570,000 cases and 26,000 deaths) worldwide. This includes the U.S., where cases are increasing by the thousands every day (100,000 cases with 1500 deaths as of April 2020). We set out to investigate new or increased stressful life events (SLEs) as a result of this pandemic in the U.S. Methods In this exploratory qualitative study, we examined new or heightened SLEs during an active phase of this outbreak. We used a list of SLEs acquired from the first phase of our study, whereby we conducted open-ended surveys and performed an in-depth focus group. We applied Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping to understand diverse focus-group participants’ appraisal of events. We coded survey data and applied sentiment analysis. Results Participants varied in perceived threat and challenge appraisals of COVID-19, indicating both calm and fear. From 267 coded and sentiment analyzed events from survey text, 95% were predominantly negative; 112 (42%) very negative and 142 (53%) moderately negative. Social capital was unanimously emphasized upon as monumental for example: family, friends or technology mediated. We additionally identified seven major themes of SLEs due to the pandemic. Limitations Our sample profile is not inclusive of all subsets of the population. Conclusions Participants mostly shared similar frustrations and a variety of SLEs such as fear of the unknown and concern for loved ones as a result of COVID-19.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stressful life events and social capital during the early phase of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Jean-Baptiste¹,

Herring²,

Beeson³

et al. 2020

Social Sciences & Humanities Open

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“…The results of mixed methods integration suggest that social factors, above and beyond factors of convenience or economy, are limiting the mental well-being of foreign residents in Japan. Improvement in the bridging social capital of migrants (links of trust and reciprocation between dissimilar groups [42]) in Japan may be have a role to play for improved social cohesion in society at large.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'Not feeling isolated' is similar to social connection, which has been shown to improve mental health [34], but merely a lack of social connections does not necessarily equate to the extreme isolation the migrants can often experience. These complementary sides of social capital have a complex impact on migrants [6,42]. Even Japanese residing in Tokyo, also rank in the bottom 25 and 36% of self-rated life satisfaction and community, respectively, according to the OECD's Better Life Index [43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeking connection: a mixed methods study of mental well-being and community volunteerism among international migrants in Japan

et al. 2020

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Background: International migration is a stressful process for which non-Western nations are a growing destination. However, little attention has been paid to the psychological well-being of international residents or their local integration in such settings. Prosocial behavior, like volunteering in one's local community, has been demonstrated to improve mental health in native populations. Volunteerism may be a mental health promotion strategy applicable to non-native migrants as well. In order to assess such a hypothesis, this study investigated the mental well-being of international migrants living in Tokyo, Japan, who did or did not participate in formal volunteering. Methods: This convergent mixed-methods study assessed mental well-being with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and qualitative follow-up interviews. Migrants who contributed their time to structured volunteering roles (formal volunteers, n = 150) were recruited from local non-profit organizations. Migrants who did not formally volunteer (n = 150) were recruited from social media sites. In parallel, a nested participant sample from both groups (n = 20) were interviewed about their satisfaction with life in Tokyo. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, volunteering was not associated with higher mental well-being score (p = 0.215), but instead, not feeling isolated (p = 0.008), feeling connected to Japan (p = 0.001) and employment satisfaction (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with mental well-being. Follow-up interviews similarly demonstrated that migrants participated in various social activities to promote personal well-being and deeper social connections with Japanese, regardless of volunteering status. Conclusions: Volunteering status itself was not significantly associated with mental well-being score among international migrants in Japan after adjusting for potential confounding variables. Beyond volunteering, having deeper social connections with the Japanese community is a key to promoting migrant mental well-being.

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Health literacy status of pregnant women and women with young children in Tasmania

Melwani

Cleland

Patterson

et al. 2022

Health Prom J of Aust

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Issue Addressed The literature provides evidence that maternal health is strongly linked with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and their associated risk factors. Enabling women with the asset of health literacy may help to reduce the intergenerational impact of NCDs. However, little is known about the health literacy of pregnant women and women with young children in Tasmania and globally. This study aimed to identify the health literacy status of pregnant women and women with young children (0‐8 years) living in Tasmania and describe their health literacy status according to their demographic characteristics. Methods An online cross‐sectional survey was undertaken. The survey included demographic questions and a health literacy questionnaire (HLQ). The description of demographic differences across the HLQ scales focused on effect sizes (ES) for standardised differences in mean health literacy scores. The differences found to be statistically significant at P < 0.05 were also included. Results 194 participants completed the survey with a mean age of 35.3 years. 73.2% were married, 16.5% were pregnant, 93% had one or more children and 81.5% were university educated. For the first five HLQ scales (score range 1‐4), the lowest overall score was seen for the scale “Actively managing my health” (mean = 2.96; SD = 0.54). For the last four scales (score range 1‐5), the lowest overall score was seen for the scale “Navigating the health care system” (mean = 3.75, SD = 0.67). Nonpregnant women, women with children, women with chronic health conditions and nonmarried women experienced more health literacy challenges. Conclusion Women in our study showed various strengths and challenges with mean scores varying across the nine HLQ scales. Understanding the health literacy needs of women will enable health services to co‐design solutions and interventions capable of responding to the evolving health needs of pregnant women and women with young children. This approach will ensure that codesigned solutions can engage the end‐user in healthy lifestyle practices and the solutions are sustainable. So What? We must shift away from a “one size fits all” approach to tailor services to respond to the differing health literacy needs of pregnant women and women with young children to support healthy lifestyle practices and reduce the NCD burden.

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Social capital interventions in public health: moving towards why social capital matters for health

Cited by 21 publications

References 20 publications

Stressful life events and social capital during the early phase of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Stressful life events and social capital during the early phase of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Seeking connection: a mixed methods study of mental well-being and community volunteerism among international migrants in Japan

Health literacy status of pregnant women and women with young children in Tasmania

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