Do bonding, bridging, and linking social capital affect preventable hospitalizations?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Social capital, encompassing community trust and networks, may influence health outcomes.
• Preventable hospitalizations (PHs) represent a significant burden on healthcare systems.
• Understanding factors associated with PHs is crucial for improving population health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between social capital and preventable hospitalizations (PHs) in Florida.
• To explore how different dimensions of social capital (bonding, bridging, linking) relate to adult and pediatric PHs.
• To examine the role of primary care resources in conjunction with social capital and PHs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cross-sectional, zip code-level data from Florida, integrating administrative, census, and community organization data.
• Conducted multivariate analyses to assess relationships between social capital measures, primary care access, and PH rates.
• Analyzed data for 837 zip codes, focusing on adult PHs and pediatric asthma hospitalizations.

Main Results:

• Few social capital measures showed independent associations with PHs.
• Longer commute times (bonding) correlated with higher adult PH rates.
• Increased racial/ethnic diversity (bridging) was linked to lower nonelderly adult PHs but higher pediatric PHs.
• More faith-based organizations (linking) were associated with higher nonelderly adult PHs.

Conclusions:

• The role of social capital in healthcare access and its impact on PHs remains complex and requires further investigation.
• Specific dimensions of social capital demonstrated differential associations across age groups.
• Operationalizing and measuring linking social capital requires additional research efforts.