Social Capital and Health
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Beschreibung
As interest in social capital has grown over the past decade—particularly in public health —so has the lack of consensus on exactly what it is and what makes it worth studying. Social Capital and Health presents the state of the debate, from definition to conceptualization, from effective measurement to real-world applications. The 21 contributors (headed by Ichiro Kawachi, a widely respected leader in the field, and including physicians, economists, and public health experts) discuss the potentials and pitfalls in current research, and salient examples of social capital concepts informing public health practice.
The book’s first section traces the theoretical origins of social capital, and the strengths and limitations of current methodologies of measuring it. The second half surveys the empirical data on social capital in key health areas. Among the highlights:
Toward a definition: Individual or group entity? Negative as well as positive effects?
Measurement methods: survey, sociometric, ethnographic, experimental
The relationship between social capital and physical health and health behaviors: smoking, substance abuse, physical activity, sexual activity
Social capital and mental health: early findings
Social capital and the aging community
Applying social capital to health communications
Social capital and disaster preparedness
Social Capital and Health is certain to inspire researchers and advanced students in public health, health behavior, and social epidemiology. The collective insight found in these diverse perspectives should inspire a new generation of research on this topic, and lead to the development of interventions to improve public health.
This book discusses social capital — a concept that originated in the social sciences — and its application to the field of public health. The editors take care to define the concept of social capital, describe its theoretical origins, and discuss the controversies and debates surrounding the use of the concept in public health research and practice. The book provides a comprehensive "tool kit" of current approaches to measure social capital. Further, the book surveys the empirical evidence linking social capital to physical and mental health outcomes, health-related behaviors (like smoking), and aging-related outcomes. There is a growing demand for material on social capital, particularly in the applied fashion presented here.
Kawachi is a well-known researcher and author in this field The book is addressing social determinants of health which is a hot topic within Public Health There is a growing demand for material on social capital, particularly in the applied fashion presented here
Autor*in
Ichiro Kawachi
Themen in »Social Capital and Health«
Behavior Disaster Preparedness Economics Ethnography Health Communication Human Development communication
Stimmen zu »Social Capital and Health«
From the reviews:
"This edited book is designed to provide an up-to-date description of scholarly thinking about the concept of social capital and its relationships to health outcomes. … Public health students and researchers interested in social and behavioral predicates of health are the intended audience. … The chapter authors are published and knowledgeable in their respective areas. This book will provide students and academic researchers with a very good, up-to-date accounting of the state-of-the-field in thinking about and studying social capital and its relationship to health." (Anne B. Wallis, Doody’s Review Service, January 2008)
"The book consists of an introduction plus two large sections, the first on the measurement of social capital and the second on the evidence linking social capital to health. ... This book will be a useful reference for anyone interested in understanding and studying the many and complex ways in which social relationships may affect health." (Ana V. Diez Roux, American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 168, 2008)
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