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. Ichiro Kawachi, a widely respected leader in the field, and 21 contributors (including physicians, economists, and public health experts) discuss the theoretical origins of social capital, the strengths and limitations of current methodologies of measuring it, and salient examples of social capital concepts informing public health practice. Among the highlights: 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 Social capital and disaster preparedness Social Capital and Health is certain to inspire a new generation of research on this topic, and will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in public health, health behavior, and social epidemiology.

This book is a follow up to Social Capital and Health (2008), edited by Kawachi, Subramanian & Kim. Global Perspectives on Social Capital and Health provides a timely update on emerging topics in a fast-growing field, and features contributions from an outstanding international team of scholars, selected from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds including: social epidemiology, medical geography, social psychology, social welfare and gerontology, pediatrics, political science, economics, and medical sociology. The book is organized in three parts: Part 1. Emerging directions in social capital research. This section highlights novel directions in social capital research. These include: a) novel settings for conducting research on social capital (workplaces, schools), b) new approaches for causal inference in social capital (instrumental variable analysis, twin fixed effects designs); c) cutting-edge directions for social capital research, including studies of the origins of community social capital, the use of social network analysis to investigate social capital, and novel methods for investigating the link between social capital and crime. Part 2. Social capital and health policy. The three chapters in this section highlight implications of social capital for interventions and health policy. Part 3. Social capital and health in global perspective The four chapters in this section look at research on social capital and health from a global perspective. The authors summarize the empirical studies on social capital and health conducted in each country/region, or each population group; discuss how the concept of social capital “translates” across different cultures; and identify challenges and future directions for research.

This book shows the important links between social conditions and health and begins to describe the processes through which these health inequalities may be generated. It reviews a range of methodologies that could be used by health researchers in this field and proposes innovative future research directions.

Social capital is a widely acknowledged candidate for implementing beneficial democratic processes and promoting public health. Healthy ties. Social capital, population health and survival traces the path from the conceptualization to the implementation of social capital. To provide empirical proof of the effects of social capital on public health is a serious challenge and the main focus of the book. In the Nordic countries, personal identification codes linking data from various sources, nation-wide population registers, nationally representative and re-tested health surveys, and the long tradition of epidemiology submit to serve well the research into social capital and public health. Up-to-date longitudinal data on social capital and health outcomes are carefully described and reviewed in this book. In Finland, the Swedish-speaking minority is very long-lived and has better health as compared with the Finnish-speaking majority.

Why do some areas have a higher prevalence of mental illness than others? This book explores the concept of social capital & its implications for mental health policy. It reviews methods of measuring social capital, analyses the implications of research for future policy developments & makes recommendations for practice & research.

This work presents an introduction to the concept of social capital - a term which refers to the social networks, informal structures and norms that facilitate individual and collective action.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. This open access book is the first compilation that reviews a wide range of social determinants of health (SDHs) for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and healthy ageing in Japan. With the highest life expectancy and the largest elderly population in the world, Japan has witnessed health inequality by region and social class becoming more prevalent since the 2000s. The first half of this volume describes in detail major NCDs, such as cancers, heart and kidney diseases, diabetes, stroke, and metabolic syndrome. The second half, on the other hand, explores various SDHs relating to healthy ageing. All chapters review and focus on SDHs, particularly health inequality associated with socio-economic status and social capital, which are widely addressed in the field of social epidemiology. The book makes the argument that “Health for All” advocated by the WHO should be implemented based on social justice and benefits for the greater society. Public health researchers and policymakers, both in Japan and other nations, will gain scientific evidence from this book to prepare for the coming era as ageing becomes a global issue.

This book brings readers the first scientific publication, using a mixed-method approach, on the internal migration dynamics regarding disease ecologies of informality and the interactions between social capital, lifestyles, health literacy, and health outcomes in the context of informal settlements in two developing countries - Ghana and Uganda. Through the prism of the concepts of place and scale, the book demonstrates the myriad of ways by which place or context directly and indirectly influence migrant's health knowledge, literacy, and outcomes in poor urban slums. Readers will learn about the multi-faceted linkages between social capital, acculturation, and health in places of deprivation via quantitative methods (e.g. surveys) and qualitative methods such as focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, concept mapping, and body health mapping. Chapters 1-2 provide an overview of internal migration into urban slums of Ghana and Uganda, and discuss the intersections between migration, social capital, and health in a global context. Chapters 3-7 address disease patterns, environmental risks to health, health literacy of migrants, social capital and acculturation, and social capital and health. The book will be of interest to professors and students, as well as policy makers in low to middle income countries for planning targeted interventions.

This volume is a collection of original studies based on one of the first research programs on comparative analysis of social capital. Data are drawn from national representative samples of the United States, China and Taiwan. The three societies selected for study allow the examination of how political-economic regimes (command versus market) and cultural factors (family centrality versus diverse social ties) affect the characteristics of social ties and social networks from which resources are accessed and mobilized.

Health research, education and provision have become increasingly interdisciplinary over the last few years, leading health professionals to broaden their knowledge beyond technical aspects of care. Practitioners now need a clear understanding of how society can affect health, and an appreciation of how societal structures can drive healthcare practices. In a clear, systematic and accessible style, this timely text looks at the social context of health and healthcare by: - Analysing a wide range of classic and contemporary theories; - Identifying the relevance of each theory to health; - Showing how theory has been used in research - Outlining the impact of theory on health and health provision. Specifically written for health professionals and those engaged in health studies research, this book will help students and practitioners alike understand the sociology of health and illness, and enable them to critically assess health issues, policies and practices.