Social Capital and Health Communication in Singapore: An Examination of the Relationships between Community Participation, Perceived Neighborliness and Health Communication Behaviors

Abstract

Social capital is a collective characteristic of communities that determines the health and well-being of populations. There is ample evidence supporting the link between social capital and health; however, less is known about the relationship between social capital and health communication behaviors. Our study aimed to investigate the relationships between social capital and health communication in Singaporean adults aged 21 years and above. Cross-sectional data (N = 1,012) were collected from the Singapore Population Health Studies (SPHS) Online Panel. Three main outcome variables assessing health communication behaviors in the past 12 months were (1) health information-seeking; health information-sharing (2) with family members and (3) with friends and coworkers. Two components of social capital were assessed: structural component (i.e., community participation) and cognitive component (i.e., perceived neighborliness). Regression analyses found that community participation and perceived neighborliness were significantly associated with health information-seeking. The analyses also found that perceived cohesion was a significant correlate of health information-sharing with family members. Finally, moderation tests indicated that perceived neighborliness moderated the relationships between trust in information sources and health communication (health information-seeking and health information-sharing with friends/coworkers). Findings have implications for community-based health interventions and social policies to strengthen community participation and cohesion.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Singapore Population Health Studies (SPHS) operations team for their assistance in this project. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the constructive feedback offered by the two anonymous reviewers.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centre Grant from the National Medical Research Council, Singapore (Grant #: CGAug16C026; PI: A/Prof. Alex Richard Cook) and the Academic Research Funding (AcRF) Tier 1 Grant from the Ministry of Education, Singapore (PI: Dr. Jeong Kyu Lee);National Medical Research Council [NMRC Centre Grant / CGAug16C026];Singapore Ministry of Education [Academic Research Funding (AcRF) Tier 1 Grant];