Chronic illness self-management: a mechanism behind the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and health?

Abstract

Background: Neighbourhood social capital might provide resources that can benefit chronic illness self-management. Improved self-management is a possible mechanism behind the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and health of people with chronic illness.

Methods: To test this mechanism, we collected data on self-management and self-rated health among a sample of 2091 people with chronic illness in 2013. Data on neighbourhood social capital were collected among 69 336 people in 3425 neighbourhoods between May 2011 and September 2012. A social capital measure was estimated with ecometric measurements. We conducted mediation analyses to examine whether the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and self-rated health was mediated through chronic illness self-management.

Results: We found that neighbourhood social capital is related to chronic illness self-management only for people with chronic illness and mild physical disabilities and that, for this group, self-management mediates the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and health.

Conclusion: Improved self-management is a mechanism behind the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and health for people with chronic illness and mild physical disabilities. It is possible that the self-management support needs of people with chronic illness with moderate or severe physical disabilities cannot be met by the resources provided in neighbourhoods, but more tailored support is necessary. More research is needed to discover mechanisms behind the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and health and elucidate which resources in neighbourhoods can benefit specific groups of people with chronic illness.