Study protocol: SWING – social capital and well-being in neighborhoods in Ghent

International Journal for Equity in Health

Sara Willems¹  Lieven Pauwels²  Veerle Vyncke¹  Wim Hardyns³ 

[1] Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, UZ- 6 K3 - De Pintelaan 185 – 9000, Gent, Belgium;Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, Universiteitstraat 4 – 9000, Gent, Belgium;Faculty of Law, Antwerp University, Venusstraat 23 – 2000, Antwerpen, Belgium

关键词: Well-being;    Inequity;    Health;    Neighborhood;    Social capital;   

Others  :  1204154
DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-015-0163-1

 received in 2014-08-06, accepted in 2015-03-17,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Investing in social capital has been put forth as a potential lever for policy action to tackle health inequity. Notwithstanding, empirical evidence that supports social capital’s role in the existence of health inequity is limited and inconclusive. Furthermore, social capital literature experiences important challenges with regard to (1) the level on which social capital is measured and analyzed; (2) the measurement of the concept in line with its multidimensional nature; and (3) the cross-cultural validity of social capital measurements.

The Social capital and Well-being In Neighborhoods in Ghent (SWING) study is designed to meet these challenges. The collected data can be used to investigate the distribution of health problems and the association between social capital, health and well-being, both at the individual and at the neighborhood level. The main goals of the SWING study are (1) to develop a coherent multilevel dataset of indicators on individual and neighborhood social capital and well-being that contains independent indicators of neighborhood social capital at a low level of aggregation and (2) to measure social capital as a multidimensional concept. The current article describes the background and design of the SWING study.

Methods/Design

The SWING study started in 2011 and data were collected in three cross-sectional waves: the first in 2011, the second in 2012, and the third in 2013. Data collection took place in 142 neighborhoods (census tract level) in the city of Ghent (Flanders, Belgium). Multiple methods of data collection were used within each wave, including: (1) a standardized questionnaire, largely administered face-to-face interviews for neighborhood inhabitants (N = 2,730); (2) face-to-face interviews with key informants using a standardized questionnaire (N = 2,531); and (3) an observation checklist completed by the interviewers (N = 2,730 in total). The gathered data are complemented by data available within administrative data services.

Discussion

The opportunities and ambitions of the SWING study are discussed, together with the limitations of the database.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Hardyns et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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