ABSTRACT


Individuals tend to be healthier the higher they are on

the income ladder. But nations with a higher GDP/capita are not


necessarily healthier nations. A relationship has been found,


however, between income inequality and population health status.


Some of the literature that seeks to interpret these findings is


reviewed. Some suggest equality may affect health through its


impact on social cohesion or social capital. There are various


mechanisms or dynamics through which different types of social


capital might have an impact on health. Social capital may


contribute directly to health or may result in policies that are more


supportive of healthy outcomes.



I


f there is one canonical fact in

population health research it is


that social status and health are


strongly related: in virtually every


Western nation there is a relationship


between the social status of individuals,


variously measured, and a wide


variety of health indicators. Epidemiological


studies have generally measured


socio-economic status (ses) in


terms of income, educational attainment


and occupational prestige scores.


They have found relationships between


ses and such health indicators


as the incidence of cancer, heart or


cardiovascular disease, hypertension,


degree of obesity and morbidity and


mortality in general.


1

Income and health



The simplest explanations for the relationships


generally describe purchasing


power (from income),


knowledge power (from education)


and employment power (from prestige


and control) as resources that elevate


or sustain health status. Unfortunately,


however, ses has been incorporated


into many empirical epidemiological


studies with little explicit theorizing


about society and the social hierarchies


within it to which ses may correspond.


Is ses an indicator of where


an individual stands on a single static


social hierarchy or is it instead a rough


indicator of membership in a sociologically


defined social class engaged


in relations with other classes? Adler


et al. conclude that “[s]ocial class is


among the strongest known predictors


of illness and health and yet is, paradoxically,


a variable about which very


little is known.”


2 A growing interest

in the concept “social capital” coincides


with serious attention being paid


to theoretical conceptions of the nature


of social relations and society by


population health researchers.


At the individual level, the relationship


between income and health


within Western nations seems to be


curvilinear, almost logarithmic in


shape, such that we cannot determine


a poverty threshold below which


health is threatened and above which


health is randomly distributed or


solely influenced by factors unrelated


to income. Instead, the relationship


seems to produce a smooth (but


weakening) gradient wherein people


are healthier the higher they are on


the income ladder. The income and


health relationship is not recreated


across countries, however. Richard


Wilkinson has demonstrated that,


among oecd countries and given a


certain degree of societal wealth, nations


with a higher gdp/capita are not


necessarily healthier nations.


3 If the

purchasing power of income explains


the relationship between income and


health among individuals then this


finding across countries is not intuitively


obvious, since presumably the


average citizen of a wealthier society


has greater purchasing power, and


thence better health, than does the average


citizen of a poorer one.


A relationship among communities


(or societies) that focuses on community-


level attributes rather than on


characteristics of individuals, as


Wilkinson’s does among oecd countries,


is called an ecological relationship.


We would predict that the


individual-level relationship between


income and health would translate


naturally into an ecological relationship


between societal wealth and the


health of populations. This may not


be the case.


In the “relative hypothesis” psychosocial


mechanisms have been proffered


to explain why an individual’s


income affects his/her health and may


serve to elucidate the (non) relationship


described by Wilkinson. A psycho-


social interpretation might argue


that the material resources procured


by income are not the primary mechanisms


by which income affects


health: what matters are peoples’ perceptions


of themselves and their


standing relative to others. If people


compare themselves to their in-country


peers, and suffer poorer health


when they fall short in the comparison,


then it does indeed make sense


that income and health are related


within but not between nations. What


counts are comparisons among peers,


and one’s peers reside in one’s own


country. This form of an individuallevel


relationship between income and


health would not necessarily translate


into an ecological relationship between


wealth and population health


because of its focus on relative rather


than absolute income.


Another explanation focuses on


risky behaviour. We might argue that


cultures of “acceptable” activities congregate


within income classes. If smoking,


sedentary activities and poor diet


choices, for example, are more prevalent


within poorer classes than within


wealthier ones, then the individuallevel,


income-health relationship may


reflect the influences of these activities


on health status. A distribution of


(non-) healthful behaviours may contribute


to health inequalities, and if


such behaviours manifest themselves


similarly within countries, an ecological


relationship between societal wealth


and health need not surface.


The debate on the nature and


strength of the wealth and health relationship


has not neared resolution


within population health discourse.


For those pursuing a neo-materialist


interpretation of the structure of society


and pathways to health, the purchasing


power of wealth and/or the


distribution of risk behaviours matter.


In support of the neo-materialist position,


John Lynch and his colleagues


have presented further evidence that


wealth is related to health among an


expanded data-set of 33 Western countries.



4


In return,  has argued

that the choice of countries for inclusion


in analysis matters: among the 21


richest countries in 1995 the relationship


between wealth and health is actually


negative; among the 23 countries


with the highest life expectancy the relationship


is non-existent.


5

Income inequality and health



Societal wealth does not predict


much, if any, mortality among the


wealthy nations of the industrialized


Western world.  noted,


however, among the nine nations of


the Luxembourg Income Study, that


income inequality, measured by determining


the percentage of overall


wealth owned by the poorest 70 percent


of the populace, is strongly related


to population health status.


6

Several studies have found that this


and other measures of income inequality


are related to various health


indicators within nations as well. For


example, the relationship between income


inequality and health is strong


among the American states,


7 and

among American metropolitan areas.


8

In Canada, by contrast, Ross et al.


failed to find statistically significant


relationships between income inequality


and health among Canadian


provinces and again among Canadian


metropolitan areas.


9 This may be because

Canada does not have enough


variability in inequality among


provinces or cities for a relationship


to manifest itself at these levels. There


may be a threshold effect as well: the


Canadian provinces/cities are more


equal than nearly every American


state/city and may have maximized


the health benefits accrued from income


equality. On the other hand,


while I did not find a relationship between


average household income and


mortality rates among 30 health districts


in Saskatchewan, I did find a


nearly significant relationship between


a crude measure of income inequality


and the mortality rate.


10 This is somewhat

surprising since we would expect


income inequality to be less


relevant for health, and less variable,


at smaller levels of geopolitical aggregation,


yet the populations of these


health districts are quite small (ranging


in size from about 11,000 to


220,000 people).


Why would a place with a relatively


equal distribution of incomes


have healthier people?


proffer several types of explanations.



11


First, the individual-level relationship

between income and health


may “create” this ecological relationship


(even though it may not contribute


to the ecological relationship


between wealth and health).



 note that because the


individual-level relationship between


income and health is curvilinear,


should a given society with a given income


distribution be transformed into


a more equal one the poorer peoples’


health would improve more than the


richer peoples’ health would deteriorate.



12


As a result the average level of

population health would improve.


 modelled this possibility


among the American states and


found that the individual-level relationship


between income and health


mathematically predicts a weaker ecological


relationship between income


inequality and health than has been


noted empirically.


13 A multilevel exercise

by among


American communities determined


that the ecological relationship was


non-significant after controlling for individual


household income.


14 In contrast,

 found a modest


empirical relationship between income


inequality and self-rated health status


among American states after controlling


for individual income.


15 There is

some, but not incontrovertible, evidence,


therefore, that the ecological relationship


between income inequality


and health is more than simply a reflection


of the relationship between income


and health among individuals.


Second, “an inequitable income distribution


may have direct consequences


on peoples’ perceptions of


their social environment that influence


their health.”


16 Wilkinson in particular

has advocated explanations of this


sort.


17 This argument, similar to the

relative hypothesis delineated above,


might go as follows. A society with a


wide distribution in incomes is one


with a pronounced status order.


People in all levels of the order are


cognizant of one another (e.g., via direct


interaction or communications


media). Those falling short in psychosocial


comparisons with others will


feel this shortcoming quite strongly,


given the width of the gap, and consequently


will suffer poorer health


than will the “losers” of comparisons


in more equal places. Ill health might


develop through the damaging emotions


caused by such relative deprivation,


emotions such as anxiety and


arousal, feelings of inferiority and low


self-esteem, shame and embarrassment,


and recognition of the need to


compete to acquire resources that cannot


be gained by any other means.


This line of explanation, like the


relative hypothesis, is attractive because


it moves directly from income


inequality, a characteristic of a collective,


to emotion, meaning or perception


and thence to physical health,


dramatically illustrating how income


inequality can “get under the skin,”


as would say. It is not


certain that this form of explanation


necessarily represents an alternative


explanation, however. If ill health-inducing


emotions are distributed along


a status order that corresponds with


the hierarchy of incomes then the argument


proffered by  and


 may apply here as well. If


such emotions are distributed


throughout an unequal society in a


less predictable or different fashion,


then this form of explanation provides


additional insight into the income inequality


and health relationship.


Third, it has been noted that income


inequality can only be applied


to populations and not to individuals


and can only be defined in relational


terms.


18 This ecological aspect of social

structure might influence health


indirectly through other ecological


processes, e.g., “an inequitable income


distribution may be associated


with a set of social processes and policies


that systematically underinvest in


human, physical, health and social infrastructure,


and this underinvestment


may have health consequences.”


19

 suggest that “areas


that tolerate high income inequality


are also less likely to support the


human, physical, cultural, civic and


health resources in that area.” Unequal


places may have more violent


crime.


20 These background factors

may “create a context of community


infrastructure through policies that affect


education, public health services,


transportation, occupational health


regulations, availability of healthy


food, zoning laws, pollution, housing,


etc.”


21 Such contextual explanations

look to collective or ecological aspects


of societies that are associated with income


inequality: individual-level “outcomes”


such as health status and their


ecological counterparts such as population


health status are much further


down the explanatory line. Enter social


cohesion, posited as one particularly


important contextual means by


which income inequality adversely affects


population health.



Social cohesion, social capital


and health: preliminary work



propose that societies with a high degree


of income inequality are also


ones with low social cohesion, and


that one of the ways in which income


inequality affects health is through the


presence or absence of this social resource.



describes social


cohesion as the social nature of public


life, “dominated by peoples” involvement


in the social, ethical and human


life of the society, rather than being


abandoned to market values and


transactions. People come together to


pursue and contribute to broader,


shared social purposes.”


describe social capital, a concept


often linked with social cohesion


in population health discourse, as


“the stock of investments, resources


and networks that produce social cohesion,


trust and a willingness to engage


in community activities.”


Supposedly, then, something about


social spaces with some kinds of participation


and trust facilitates or produces


good health.


Wilkinson notes that it is particularly


difficult to determine causality in


this instance. “Although a narrower


income distribution leads to a more


egalitarian social ethic … [i]f a more


egalitarian social ethos were to develop


exogenously, for reasons unrelated


to income distribution, it is


implausible that such a society would


tolerate great material inequalities


without making efforts to reduce


them.” A cohesive community should


be understood in direct relation to its


degree of social inequality, according


to , such that cohesion and


inequality are opposite principles of


social organization. Increased social


equality corresponds with co-operative


and supportive social relations,


and such relations, about “mutuality,


reciprocity, sharing, and a recognition


that the needs of others are needs for


us”23 are hypothesized to have a profound


effect on health.


Ichiro Kawachi, Bruce Kennedy and


their colleagues have done empirical


tests of the income inequality, social


cohesion and health hypothesis among


the American states. Social capital,


measured via three trust questions and


one “participation in secondary asso-


ciations” question, aggregated to the


level of the state, was strongly related


to both income inequality and mortality.



24


They conclude that social capital

does indeed mediate the


relationship between the other two:


greater inequality leads to decreased


participation in the public space and


to greater mistrust, both of which then


influence health. They have since


shown that the same measure of social


capital is also related to aggregated


self-rated health status, even


after controlling for individual-level


proximal causes of health.


 found a similar result


among post code sectors in western


Scotland


26 while I found a nearly significant

relationship between a crude


measure of social capital, incorporating


measures of participation in secondary


associations and voting


activity, and mortality rates among


Saskatchewan’s health districts.


27 In

contrast with the  finding


among the American states, however,


my measures for social capital


and income inequality were not significantly


related to one another.


Although the  interpretation


of “what causes what” may be


(and has been) contested, the empirical


results are stimulating, especially given


the simplicity of the sometimes crude


and opportunistic measures of social


capital. What are they measuring?



Describing social capital



 defined social capital


as “the aggregate of the actual or potential


resources which are linked to


possession of a durable network of


more or less institutionalized relationships


of mutual acquaintance and


recognition—or in other words to


membership of a group.”


28 Membership

in a social group provides personal


resources that may be currently


active (actual) or appropriable at a


later time or in a new circumstance


(potential). “Trust between members


of a network ‘oils the wheels’ of social


and economic exchange, reducing


transaction costs, allowing group


members to draw on favours, circulate


privileged information, and gain better


access to opportunities.”


29 Measures

of the amount of participation in


and/or number of clubs and secondary


associations


30 can be interpreted as attempts

to evaluate the prevalence of


such networks of mutual acquaintance


in a given community.


 description of social


capital has been particularly influential.


[S]ocial capital is defined by its


function. It is not a single entity but


a variety of different entities, with


two elements in common: they all


consist of some aspect of social


structures, and they facilitate certain


actions of actors—whether


persons or corporate actors—


within the structure. Like other


forms of capital, social capital is


productive, making possible the


achievement of certain ends that in


its absence would not be possible…


[S]ocial capital is not completely


fungible but may be specific to certain


activities… [It] inheres in the


structure of relations between actors


and among actors.


31

Thus social capital achieves; it facilitates


ends. While  definition


implicitly describes social


capital as a resource that facilitates


ends for an individual,  definition


remains open to ends benefiting


a social group. This variety of


ends appears somewhat analogous to


Putnam’s distinction (in this volume)


between private and public returns.


Both definitions imply that social capital


is not a single “something.” A full


description of a  social


capital should identify the relevant social


structure and the attributes of this


structure that, through simple or complicated


means that may incorporate


social action, facilitate specified ends


for specified individuals or groups.


Such a description of social capital


does not distinguish what social capital


is from what social capital does,


a distinction that  (in this


volume) deems essential, but subsequent


empirical and theoretical work


may find that certain attributes of social


structure do indeed work to


achieve a multitude of ends, thereby


allowing us to separate analytically


these attributes from their effects.


There are multiple forms of social


capital. A given network of mutual


acquaintance with long-term obligations


and trust is not necessarily one


with deeply held norms pertaining to


a common good, nor need it be a network


that facilitates the flow of certain


kinds of information. (These are


three forms of social capital described


.) It follows, then, that


such multiple social capitals can work


to achieve various ends. Thus, for example,


social capital has been thought


to promote economic growth and development


32

and the performance of


political institutions,


33 as well as the

health of populations.


Figure 1 is a visual rendering of a


society’s social structure that may help


to clarify various social capitals and


their “effects.” This rendering of social


structure, a network of social relations


and the attendant ideas/beliefs


articulated by and within such rela-


tions, distinguishes deep structure


from the interconnected political, economic


and civil spheres and distinguishes


these from shallow social


structure. Social structure transcends


any one person’s conception of it but


is constantly reproduced in every-day


interaction, i.e., reconstituted and


reaffirmed in mind, action, communication


and interaction. Each object in


the picture is intrinsically social, therefore,


a pattern of social actions, relations


and meanings, both the


condition and outcome of action.


I am concerned here with the influence


of social relations in one sphere


upon social relations within another,


certainly, but also with arguing that


social relations in general are multifaceted,


enact multiple dimensions of


social structure simultaneously and,


ultimately, are all pertinent for population


health. Those aspects of social


relations pertaining to deep structure


and to the economic and political


spheres that produce (ill-) health have


received substantial attention from


medical sociologists; social relations


in the civil space pertain to the social


capital and health discourse in particular


and represent a relatively untapped


arena of inquiry. The


definition of a given social structure


will also determine the range of possible


reasons why such attributes of


social structure produce health inequalities:


neighbourhoods may vary


from one another in only a few dimensions


while entire societies likely


vary along many of the dimensions


depicted in Figure 1.


Power is the differential capacity to


command resources and gives rise to


structured, asymmetric relations of


domination and subordination among


social actors. Class relations and


other embedded power imbalances


(by gender, sexual orientation, age,


race or ethnicity, language, geographic


location and/or religion, for


example), if pronounced, probably


belong to the deepest structures of society.


They influence many aspects of


the social structure but are not explicitly


recognized by actors in most


interactions. Deeply held norms about


the “right” and “good” usually remain


unrecognised as well, examples


of which might include the nature of


God in one society or the truth of scientific


findings in another. To my


mind, then, deep structure contains


both realistic/materialistic (e.g., embedded


power relations or control


over resources) and ideational aspects


(e.g., strongly held shared norms and


beliefs) blended in some kind of synthetic


ontology. Although it is difficult


to prove that any one aspect of


social structure “causes” another, I


would argue that the shape of deep


structure strongly influences the


shapes taken by the other elements in


the image. Thus aspects of deep structure


will influence activity and the distribution


of material resources in the


economic sphere. They will influence


control of human resources and/or


people within the political sphere, including


the state and such substructures


as the judiciary, civil service, police


and military. They will also


influence activity within the civil


sphere, including relations with close


friends and neighbours, so-called


strong or bonding relationships; relations


with more distant friends, associates


and colleagues, so-called weak


or bridging relationships; civic activities


linking the individual and the


state, so-called linking relationships;


and those secondary or voluntary associations


that are not directly financed


or maintained by the state.


 argue that


class relations (and politics too)


should be incorporated into the income


inequality-social cohesionhealth


discourse


argue that class should be considered


as a phenomenon in its own


right: the proper objects of study for


sociologists interested in the social determinants


of health are “beneath-thesurface


relations, in the present


context crucially including those of


class, perceivable and examinable


only through their effects.


 proposition that the degree


of adherence to neo-liberal tenets in a


society will influence both the distribution


of wealth and social cohesion


(and especially trust) describes how


the deepest structures of society shape


the civil, political and economic


spheres.


36 According to Coburn, a

deeply embedded belief in the ability


of markets to allocate resources properly


will influence the nature of social


relations in the civil space and the distribution


of resources in the economic


sphere, in part via its dance with class


relations and through its influence on


the nature of the welfare state.


According to these perspectives, then,


aspects of deep structure shape social


relations in many spheres of patterned


interaction.


Most conceptions of social capital


focus on attributes of civil society.


They explore participation in networks


based within that nebulous


place between the family and the


state, excluding the economic sphere,


and focus on trust among members of


such networks and the collaborative


actions they enact. Questions asked of


individuals assessing “trust in most


people” pertain to the nature of social


relations throughout all of social


structure and may or may not serve


to measure trust in other members of


civil networks in particular. As such,


trust in “most people” is better conceived


as a product of a civil societybased


social capital than a component


of such a social capital. The work by


 and his colleagues


among the regions of Italy pertains to


relationships among the civil, economic


and political spheres. Thus the


prevalence of voluntaristic activities


such as participation in soccer clubs


or church choirs and civic activities


such as voting or reading a local


newspaper (in the civil sphere) may be


related to one or all of the performance


of political institutions, socioeconomic


modernity and income


inequality. argue


that actions such as participation in


secondary associations and prescriptions


such as adherence to civic norms


and duties may influence economic


development.explicitly


incorporates the nature of the state


and state-citizen relations into his conception


of social capital and its correlates.



38


The empirical and theoretical

insights provided by these researchers


reinforce my belief, articulated by


, that “the economy, the state


and civil society are, in fact, inextricably


interrelated.



I have depicted shallow structures


as aspects of the social structure that


rest upon deep structure and the interrelated


economic, political and civil


spheres, influencing these others


somewhat but more properly reflecting


more deeply embedded social relations.


Many aspects of social


structure reproduced in interaction


are often consciously articulated: e.g.,


culture (art, music, television, movies),


education, media communications


and moral standards referring to


beauty and taste. These aspects of social


structure may also serve to promote


health-producing actions and


thence good or ill health, i.e., social


capital. It makes sense to me, however,


to limit the social capital concept


to the civil sphere since most aspects


of social structure could be otherwise


deemed a health-producing social capital


of sorts. We could argue that cooperative


class relations facilitate


co-operative relations between workers


and supervisors in the workplace


and thence better health for all of


those participating in the labour market,


or that deeply held beliefs concerning


the rightness of neo-liberal


tenets facilitate the ends of a dominant


ethnic group and thence good


health for that group (but poor health


for others). These might be called “social


capital,” aspects of social structure


that facilitate certain actions and


achieve certain ends (i.e., population


health) for certain groups. The concept


loses analytical meaning in such


instances, however, by potentially encompassing


all of social relations. The


nature of social relations in the civil


space, the extent to which they are


embedded in social relations pertaining


to other aspects of social structure


and the ends they can facilitate for


groups and individuals delimit a manageable


conception of social capital.


Why might social capital within the


civil space influence the health of people?


Like the individual- and ecological-


level relationships described


above, we can analytically distinguish


between the contextual and compositional


effects of social capital on


health. Contextual effects, or instrumental


benefits, refer to social capitalrelevant


aspects of social structure


that influence the population health


of groups through indirect means.


Compositional effects, or intrinsic


benefits that result from contributing


to social capital, refer to the direct influences


of participation in multiplex


networks, or adherence to prescriptive


norms, for example, on the health of


the participants themselves, simply by


virtue of participating or adhering.


Compositional effects: The actions


and ideals that individuals engage in


or express which serve to contribute


to the store of a given social capital


might be health-inducing in and of


themselves. This explanation is analogous


to the arguments described


above wherein the income inequality


and health or wealth and health relationships


simply or partially reflect the


individual-level income and health


one. Thus Wilkinson suggests that


friendship patterns “can reflect, on the


one hand, people’s social ease and


confidence, or, on the other, the extent


to which social contact provokes


anxiety, negative social comparisons,


feelings of inadequacy and angst.”


40

There is a broad literature on the effects


of various kinds of social support


and social relationships on health,


41

and patterns of mutual acquaintance


in a social capital context may serve


to sustain health along these lines.


Knowledge of the resources inherent


in one’s networks may promote a


sense of mastery or personal control


and reduce stress. show


evidence that participation in the civic


space is related to mental health status


(and physical health status too, but


less strongly) in Australia.


42 On the

other hand,


did not find individual-level relationships


between participation in a local


association and self-rated health status


in Scotland while I describe few relationships


between participation in


various kinds of secondary associations


and self-rated health status


among individuals in eight of


Saskatchewan’s health districts.


43

These constitute only a few of the individual-


level actions and perceptions


that might contribute to a social capital


in the civil space, however.


Contextual factors: To the degree


that large-scale bureaucratic institutions


are embedded within the non-political


and non-economic social world,


social capital within the civil space


may influence the performance of political


institutions in particular, demonstrated


theoretically and empirically by


With, I have also speculated


about means by which social capitals


may affect the governing performance


of regional health authorities specifically,


although an empirical test of the


relationship in Saskatchewan did not


support the hypothesis.


45

Other characteristics of political institutions


which might also be influenced


by social relations in the civil


space, such as adherence to welfarestate


principles, are especially pertinent


to health.


argue that American states with low


levels of interpersonal trust (a consequence


of some social capitals?) are


less likely to invest in human security


and provide generous safety nets.


46

Interpersonal trust supposedly accompanies


more egalitarian patterns


of political participation that often result


in the passage of policies which


ensure the security of all its members,


policies perhaps pertaining to education,


transportation, pollution, child


welfare and zoning laws. Social capitals


may influence access to services


and amenities, since socially cohesive


communities may be more successful


at uniting to ensure that budget cuts


do not affect health and social services.


A state that seeks to redress social


inequality in general may serve to


reduce income inequality through


welfare measures, thereby potentially


improving the population’s health by


the means, both materialistic and psycho-


social, suggested above. To my


mind this constitutes the more plausible


line of causality among social


capitals in the civil space, income inequality


and population health status:


not that income inequality threatens


the nature of social relations so much


as the distribution of income reflects,


in part, the nature of social relations


in the civil and political spheres and


the deeper parts of social structure.


Social relations in the civil space


may also influence economic development


and growth, the concern of


many of the papers in this volume.


Suffice it to say that to the degree that


additional wealth aggregated to the


level of the community contributes to


health (debated above) the influence


of civil space social relations upon the


economic sphere will have implications


for population health. To the degree


that social relations within the


civil sphere affect deep structure, social


capitals may mitigate class, racial,


ethnic, gendered, religious and other


power imbalances. Networks of mutual


acquaintance spanning these potential


chasms may introduce people


to perspectives different from their


own and produce a spirit of tolerance,


thereby lessening the magnitude of influence


embedded relations have upon


social relations in general and health


inequalities along racial lines, for example,


in particular.


At any of the macro, meso and


micro levels, some forms of social capital


may influence health-related behaviours


by promoting diffusion of


health-related information (i.e., via the


information channels described by


Coleman), thus increasing the likelihood


that healthy norms of behaviour


are adopted, or by exerting social control


(i.e., via the effective sanctions


also described by Coleman) over deviant


health-related behaviour. They


may mitigate against the incidence of


crime, juvenile delinquency and access


to firearms within communities. With


respect to psycho-social determinants


of health, participation in co-operative


networks that venture far into the civil


space may produce social trust.


47 Lavis

and provide evidence from


the World Values Survey that the expression


of trust is related to self-rated


health status in Canada at the individual


level,


48 although I found that multiple

forms of social and political trust


were unrelated to self-rated health status


in Saskatchewan.


provide evidence that trust and health


may be related at the ecological level,


although this does not imply that individually


held trust necessarily produces


health for that individual



 has shown (in this volume)


that community-level social capital


seems to influence degree of happiness.


Compositional aspects of a civil


space-oriented social capital may be a


determinant of health, certainly, but


do not in my opinion constitute the


most important contributions of social


capital theory to population


health research. Individual-level relationships


have been explored in depth


by social epidemiologists and others


over the years; contextual effects are


less well understood, and more difficult


to model, than are compositional


ones, and thereby represent a promising


area for exploration and conceptualization.


A final caveat: I have


described potential influences on


health of social capitals located within


the civil space but do not claim that


civil society necessarily provides the


most potent influence of the social


structure on health. The interrelatedness


of the three spheres with deep social


structure implies that population


health researchers should always set


civil society within the larger sociopolitico-


economic context. At this


time it appears that theories focusing


on consensus are popular with governments


and policy makers, perhaps


due to the rapid and overwhelming


pace of change in modern societies, as


are theories that support smaller government


by emphasizing the role of


civil society. In my opinion, theories


of the social determinants of health


that seek to be comprehensive should


additionally encompass deeply embedded


conflict and inequality and the


roles of state and economy for producing


good health for populations.



Epilogue



Social capital is the new kid on the


block when it comes to exploring the


social determinants of the health and


well-being of Canadians, evidenced by


a plethora of new research studies in


Canada that implicitly or explicitly


seek to explore social capitals and


their effects. Just to name a few, the


nre project based at Concordia University


is currently exploring processes


of inclusion and exclusion among


Canadian rural communities while the


Equality/Security/Community project,


based at ubc and concerned with describing


the distribution of well-being


in Canada, is focusing on economic,


political and social determinants of


public policies and their outcomes.


Two studies based at the University of


British Columbia, the Resilient Communities


project and the Sawmills project,


are exploring social capital and


both economic resiliency and population


health among coastal communities


in British Columbia. Similar relationships


are being investigated among


these coastal communities and among


a larger regional and national sample


of communities by researchers from


the Equality, Security and Community


project and the Georgia Basin Futures


project at ubc. The Left Out project,


based at the universities of Alberta


and Toronto, is exploring issues of


exclusion and belonging as they pertain


to social cohesion and health in


Edmonton and Toronto while the Deconstructing


the Local Determinants


of Health project at McMaster university


is exploring social capital as


one of the determinants of the health


of residents in Hamilton neighbourhoods.


Results from these and other


investigations should shed light on


many of the issues raised in this paper


and increase our understanding of the


social determinants of the health of


Canadians.




Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com


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