Does greater individual social capital improve the management of hypertension? Cross-national analysis of 61 229 individuals in 21 countries
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Date
2017Author
Palafox, Benjamin
Kruger, Annamarie
Kruger, Iolanthe M.
Goryakin, Yevgeniy
Stuckler, David
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Show full item recordAbstract
Introduction Social capital, characterised by trust,
reciprocity and cooperation, is positively associated with
a number of health outcomes. We test the hypothesis that
among hypertensive individuals, those with greater social
capital are more likely to have their hypertension detected,
treated and controlled.
Methods Cross-sectional data from 21 countries in the
Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology study were
collected covering 61 229 hypertensive individuals aged
35–70 years, their households and the 656 communities
in which they live. Outcomes include whether
hypertensive participants have their condition detected,
treated and/or controlled. Multivariate statistical models
adjusting for community fixed effects were used to
assess the associations of three social capital measures:
(1) membership of any social organisation, (2) trust in
other people and (3) trust in organisations, stratified into
high-income and low-income country samples.
Results In low-income countries, membership of any
social organisation was associated with a 3% greater
likelihood of having one’s hypertension detected and
controlled, while greater trust in organisations significantly
increased the likelihood of detection by 4%. These
associations were not observed among participants in
high-income countries.
Conclusion Although the observed associations are
modest, some aspects of social capital are associated
with better management of hypertension in low-income
countries where health systems are often weak. Given
that hypertension affects millions in these countries, even
modest gains at all points along the treatment pathway
could improve management for many, and translate into
the prevention of thousands of cardiovascular events each
year
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/30763http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000443
https://gh.bmj.com/content/bmjgh/2/4/e000443.full.pdf
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- Faculty of Health Sciences [2377]