A comparative study of social capital and hospital readmission in older adults.

Numerous factors contribute to hospital readmissions of older adults. The role social capital may play in preventing hospital readmissions is unknown. The aim of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to determine if levels of personal social capital differ in two groups of patients aged 65 and older, those readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge and those not readmitted. Participants in this study (N = 106) were community-dwelling older adults discharged from 11 hospitals in the Midwestern United States. The Personal Social Capital Scale and a demographic questionnaire were mailed to eligible participants for completion. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was computed to examine the differences in the dependent variables of bonding and bridging social capital between those patients readmitted within 30 days and those not readmitted within 30 days. No significant differences between the two groups' mean levels of bonding or bridging social capital were identified.