Ester Villalonga-Olives

The measurement of social capital

Social capital has been defined as the resources available to individuals and groups through membership in social networks. The definition is consistent with either an individualistic approach, i.e. resources (such as information or instrumental assistance) that are accessed by individuals through their network connections; or a collective approach, e.g. the benefits accruing to members of a group - such as the ability of a community to engage in collective action - as a consequence of the existence of cohesive relationships. While research often restricts itself to a single level of analysis, the benefits (and downsides) of social capital accrue to both the individual as well as to the network to which he belongs. In the Dictionary of Epidemiology both the individual and collective levels of analysis were recognized in the definition of social capital.

The measurement of bridging social capital in population health research.

Social capital is defined as the resources available to individuals and groups through membership in social networks. The definition is consistent with either an individualistic approach or a collective approach. Social capital can be further classified according to bonding versus bridging social capital (e.g. relationships between individuals who are homogeneous or heterogeneous with respect to social class, race/ethnicity, or other attributes). We conducted a systematic review via Pubmed, the ISI web of knowledge and OVID of the studies that examined bridging social capital in public health settings. Our results indicate lack of consistency or uniformity in the operationalization of bridging social capital. We identify some promising approaches to measurement that should be further investigated in future studies.

Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes Among Immigrant Women in the US and Europe: A Systematic Review

Human migration is not a new phenomenon, but it has changed significantly with the advance of globalization. We focus on differences in the published literature concerning migration and health (EU vs the US), centering specifically on reproductive health outcomes. We conducted a literature search in the Pubmed and Embase databases. We reviewed papers that contrast migrants to native-born populations and analyzed differences between countries as well as challenges for future research. The prevalence of low birthweight among migrants varies by the host country characteristics as well as the composition of migrants to different regions. The primary driver of migrant health is the migrant “regime” in different countries at specific periods of time. Future health outcomes of immigrants will depend on the societal characteristics (legal protections, institutions and health systems) of host countries.

Social capital interventions in public health: A systematic review

Despite two decades of research on social capital and health, intervention studies remain scarce. We performed a systematic review on social capital interventions in public health and searched the Pubmed and PsychInfo databases. The majority of interventions we identified focused on individual level change (e.g. encouraging social participation), as opposed to community level change. We included 17 manuscripts in the systematic review. We categorized studies according to the role of social capital in the interventions (as the direct target of intervention, as a channel/mediator, or as a segmenting variable) as well as the levels of interventions (individual, community levels vs. multilevel ). We conclude that the majority of interventions sought to directly strengthen social capital to influence health outcomes. Our review reveals (i) a lack of studies that incorporate a multilevel perspective and (ii) an absence of consideration of specific groups that might selectively benefit from social capital interventions (segmentation). Future research is needed on both questions to provide a more nuanced picture of how social capital can be manipulated to affect health outcomes.

Longitudinal changes in health related quality of life in children with migrant backgrounds.

Background Little is known about longitudinal changes in the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among children with migrant backgrounds. Methods The sample comprised 350 children with predominantly migrant backgrounds enrolled in 7 kindergartens in Frankfurt and Darmstadt, Germany. At baseline, the participants’ mean age was 4.4 years (SD 0.9). Data collection started in May 2009. Two waves of data were collected one year apart (94% response rate). HRQoL was evaluated with the Kiddy-KINDL. The other variables under study were sex, age, socioeconomic status, country of origin, developmental status (WET) and individual behavior (VBV). Data were collected from the children, parents and teachers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the Wilson and Cleary theoretical framework on changes in HRQoL and Generalized Estimated Equations (GEE) to model the longitudinal trend in HRQoL. Results Overall HRQoL remained stable between baseline and follow-up. SEM model fit was χ2 = 8.51; df = 5; p = 0.13; SRMR = 0.02 RMSEA = 0.06 and indicated that there were differences in kindergarten activities (p<0.05). The GEE model elucidated that the differences in HRQoL between the baseline and follow-up varied according to kindergarten activities that the children were assigned to (music, art, or no activities) (p<0.05), but that there were no differences in terms of country of origin. On average, girls reported better HRQoL. Conclusion Overall HRQoL scores remained stable over follow-up in a sample of migrant children and there were no differences in terms of origin. However, there was heterogeneity in the results depending on the kindergarten activities that the children were assigned to.