Social capital and health interventions: enhancing social capital to improve health

This chapter engages in the question of causality in a realistic and practical way by reviewing community interventions and their effects. These provided one or more of the following: health information; environmental adaption; social support; and interpersonal influence. The large numbers of specific interventions chosen were each found as potentially improving social capital. The program’s reports often tell of health or related gain. These are more informal than the statistical analyses one typically sees. However, each of these interventions is doable and it makes common sense to consider them closely. The interventions studied address medical conditions that are important to society, including chronic conditions such as HIV management, addiction and mental health.