Doctoral Research Scholar, School of Public Health, SRM University, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India.
School of Public Health, SRM University, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India.
Int J Equity Health. 2017 Jun 24;16(1):109. doi: 10.1186/s12939-017-0609-8.
Studies have shown that social capital is positively associated with health, and the association is context-based. Indigenous populations with poor access to health care largely depend on social capital for their health care needs. This study was conducted to explore the dimensions and types of social capital and its utilization by families with thalassemia for their health and well-being in an indigenous population in Tamil Nadu, India.
The participants in the study were parents who had children with thalassemia, belonged to an indigenous community in Tamil Nadu, were poor and marginalized, and had poor access to health care. Different dimensions and types of social capital were examined with the help of qualitative in-depth interviews using a phenomenological approach. A total of 8 in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed. Thematic analysis of the data was performed.
The social capital identified through the in-depth interviews consisted of various levels of family support, financial support from relatives and neighbors, the provision of information from formal and informal networks, and trust in the physician. Indigenous communities are close-knit due to their geographical remoteness and limited accessibility. Family ties were a form of social capital that encouraged bonding, and provided support and care to the children affected by thalassemia. The bonding also helped to meet the regular requirement of blood donation for the children. Relatives and neighbors were an asset that served as a bridge for the families affected, helping them in times of immediate and urgent financial need, making it easier to sustain long-term treatment and providing emotional support. There were informal networks that bridged parents belonging to indigenous and non-indigenous communities, with the latter providing the former with information to help them choose better health care at an affordable cost. The other formal links were the ties between the parents and nongovernmental organizations, such as the local thalassemia association, which connected members belonging to different areas. It was these ties that were of the greatest assistance to the families affected in coping with the disease, enabling them to sustain the treatment, and assisting them to choose and carry out the complicated bone marrow transplantation, which is the definitive treatment for this condition.
The bonding, bridging, and linking dimensions of social capital help communities cope with thalassemia, the more so in indigenous and marginalized communities.
研究表明，社会资本与健康呈正相关，这种关联是基于背景的。医疗服务获取机会有限的原住民群体在很大程度上依赖社会资本来满足其医疗需求。本研究旨在探索印度泰米尔纳德邦一个原住民群体中，用于地中海贫血症患者健康和福祉的社会资本的维度和类型及其利用情况。
研究对象为泰米尔纳德邦原住民社区中患有地中海贫血症的儿童的父母，他们经济贫困且处于社会边缘地位，医疗服务获取机会有限。借助现象学方法的深入访谈，研究人员考察了不同维度和类型的社会资本。共进行了 8 次深入访谈并进行了转录。对数据进行了主题分析。
深入访谈中确定的社会资本包括各种层次的家庭支持、亲戚和邻居的经济支持、正式和非正式网络提供的信息以及对医生的信任。由于地理位置偏远和交通不便，原住民社区联系紧密。家庭关系是一种社会资本形式，鼓励家庭团结，为受地中海贫血症影响的儿童提供支持和关怀。这种团结也有助于满足儿童定期献血的要求。亲戚和邻居是一种资产，充当受影响家庭的桥梁，在他们面临即时和紧急的经济需求时提供帮助，使他们更容易维持长期治疗并提供情感支持。还有一些非正式网络连接了属于原住民和非原住民社区的父母，后者为前者提供信息，帮助他们以可负担的成本选择更好的医疗服务。其他正式联系是父母与非政府组织（如当地地中海贫血症协会）之间的联系，这些联系将来自不同地区的成员联系在一起。正是这些联系为受影响的家庭提供了最大的帮助，使他们能够维持治疗，并帮助他们选择和进行复杂的骨髓移植，这是治疗这种疾病的有效方法。
社会资本的结合、连接和联系维度有助于社区应对地中海贫血症，在原住民和边缘化社区更是如此。
