Nummela Olli, Sulander Tommi, Karisto Antti, Uutela Antti
Health Promotion Unit, Department of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, National Public Health Institute (KTL), Mannerheimintie 166, 00300 Helsinki, Finland.
Int J Behav Med. 2009;16(2):189-94. doi: 10.1007/s12529-008-9027-z. Epub 2009 Feb 19.
Previous studies have found self-rated health to be associated with social capital. However, there is lack of studies examining social capital among aging people and its impact on self-rated health in the urban-rural context.
The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between self-rated health and indicators of social capital (trust, various social contacts, social participation, and access to help) among aging people living in urban and rural areas in Finland.
A postal survey was conducted in 2002 among men and women born in 1926-1930, 1936-1940, or 1946-1950 and dwelling in 14 municipalities in the Päijät-Häme hospital district in Finland. A total of 2,815 participants represented 66% of the original stratified (by age, gender, and municipality) sample. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations.
Active social participation and easy access to help from others were associated with good self-rated health, especially in the urban and sparsely populated rural areas. Trust was a particularly important correlate of subjective health in the urban area, though its significance diminished after adjusting to all background variables. No overall disparities in self-rated health between the areas emerged. Social participation and access to help as indicators of social capital seem to be important resources when aging men and women assess their subjective health.
Increasing efforts to encourage social participation and facilitate access to help from other persons should be included among the key priorities in community health promotion.
以往研究发现自评健康与社会资本相关。然而，缺乏在城乡背景下对老年人社会资本及其对自评健康影响的研究。
本研究旨在调查芬兰城乡地区老年人自评健康与社会资本指标（信任、各种社会联系、社会参与和获得帮助的机会）之间的关联。
2002年对出生于1926 - 1930年、1936 - 1940年或1946 - 1950年且居住在芬兰派亚特-海梅医院区14个市镇的男性和女性进行了邮政调查。共有2815名参与者，占原始分层（按年龄、性别和市镇）样本的66%。采用逻辑回归分析来检验这些关联。
积极的社会参与和易于获得他人帮助与良好的自评健康相关，尤其是在城市和人口稀少的农村地区。信任在城市地区是主观健康的一个特别重要的相关因素，不过在对所有背景变量进行调整后其重要性有所降低。各地区之间在自评健康方面未出现总体差异。社会参与和获得帮助作为社会资本的指标，在老年男性和女性评估其主观健康时似乎是重要资源。
鼓励社会参与和促进获得他人帮助的更多努力应纳入社区健康促进的关键优先事项之中。
