Abstract
IntroductionSocial capital is said to influence health, mostly in research undertaken in high income countries' settings. Because social capital may differ from one setting to another, it is suggested that its measurement be context specific. We examine the association of individual and neighbourhood level social capital, and neighbourhood deprivation to self-rated health using a multi-level analysis.MethodsData are taken from the 2008 South Africa National Income Dynamic Survey. Health was self-reported on a scale from 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor). Two measures of social capital were used: individual, measured by two variables denoting trust and civic participation; and neighbourhood social capital, denoting support, association, behaviour and safety in a community.ResultsCompared to males, females were less likely to report good health (Odds Ratio 0.82: Confidence Interval 0.73, 0.91). There were variations in association of individual social capital and self-rated health among the provinces. In Western Cape (1.37: 0.98, 1.91) and North West (1.39: 1.13, 1.71), trust was positively associated with reporting good health, while the reverse was true in Limpopo (0.56: 0.38, 0.84) and Free State (0.70: 0.48, 1.02). In Western Cape (0.60: 0.44, 0.82) and Mpumalanga (0.72: 0.55, 0.94), neighbourhood social capital was negatively associated with reporting good health. In North West (1.59: 1.27, 1.99) and Gauteng (1.90: 1.21, 2.97), increased neighbourhood social capital was positively associated with reporting good health.ConclusionOur study demonstrated the importance of considering contextual factors when analysing the relationship between social capital and health. Analysis by province showed variations in the way in which social capital affected health in different contexts. Further studies should be undertaken to understand the mechanisms through which social capital impacts on health in South Africa.
Highlights
Social capital is said to influence health, mostly in research undertaken in high income countries’ settings
Our study demonstrated the importance of considering contextual factors in the analysis of the relationship between social capital and health
We found that individual social capital as measured by social trust and civic participation was not significantly related to self-rated health
Summary
Social capital is said to influence health, mostly in research undertaken in high income countries’ settings. We examine the association of individual and neighbourhood level social capital, and neighbourhood deprivation to self-rated health using a multi-level analysis. Self-rated health has been shown to be directly related to future health status and death, with reports suggesting that people who rate their health positively are less likely to fall ill or die over the 30 years than those who think they are not as healthy [1]. Residential areas and the work environment have all been associated with health [4,5]. Socioeconomic circumstances such as employment, education, income and wealth are related to health [6]. People in poor living conditions report the worst health outcomes
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