Solutions

Human capital and social capital are known to have an impact on health and well-being. Evidence from Europe suggests that policy interventions targeted at improving individual social capital can directly improve individual health and contribute to community social capital, reinforcing the beneficial role of individual social capital.

Human Capital

Definitions of human capital encompass the notion that there are investments in people such as education, training or health, and that these investments increase an individual’s productivity. Human capital is the value of individuals’ skills, knowledge, abilities, social attributes, personality and health attributes. These factors enable individuals to work, and therefore produce something of economic value. It is measured as the sum of the total potential future earnings of everyone in the labour market. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) produces human capital estimates for the UK. 

Harvard University has produced a summary of how to boost human capital and the factors that are important, including: education; vocational training; a climate of creativity; and infrastructure. In the UK, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has published widely on human capital. The CIPD technical report on human capital theory makes the case for investment in people as individuals and from the organisational level, and provides a series of recommendations for improving human capital including: formal training; mentoring; coaching; tracking mood and productivity; and talent management to retain human capital within an organisation or location. 

Social Capital

Social capital is the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively. Social capital arises from the human capacity to consider others, to think and act generously and co-operatively. There are three core aspects to social capital: social relationships; the quality of relationships and shared understanding. The ONS produces findings on social capital in the UK. 

A systematic review has presented strong evidence to suggest that people with a lower socio-economic status generally have lower levels of social capital, and that lack of social capital is related to socioeconomic inequalities in health. Further, that social capital between close relations or tight-knit communities can buffer some of the negative effects of low socio-economic status on health. 

Health literacy is a key feature of social capital. It is the social resources needed for individuals and communities to access, understand, appraise and use information and services to make decisions about health. Health literacy empowers people to make positive choices and is an enabler that supports the promotion of equity by improving people’s access to health information, and their capacity to use it effectively. Digital health advances have the potential to help increase access, decrease healthcare system costs and improve health outcomes. However, technology solutions to digital health literacy have the potential to both promote health literacy and be a barrier. Also, evidence on how various aspects of social capital affect different health outcomes for different actors remains unclear, and there is limited literature on the health benefits of social capital interventions.

Resources