Shelina Visram, Sarah Smith, Natalie Connor, Graeme Greig and Chris Scorer
The purpose of this paper is to employ innovative methods to examine the associations between personal wellbeing, self-rated health and various aspects of social capital within a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to employ innovative methods to examine the associations between personal wellbeing, self-rated health and various aspects of social capital within a socio-economically disadvantaged town in northern England.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was developed and administered with input from local stakeholders (including residents), using a participatory action research (PAR) approach. In total, 11 lay interviewers were trained to pilot and deliver the final survey, which was completed either in person or online. In total, 233 valid surveys were returned.
Findings
Respondents were aged between 17 and 87 years (mean 47.3, SD 17.4), 65.7 per cent were female and 46.2 per cent identified themselves as having a longstanding illness, disability or infirmity. Overall, respondents reported lower levels of personal wellbeing and social capital in comparison with UK averages, although free-text responses highlighted a strong sense of community spirit and pride in the town. Low wellbeing was strongly associated with poor health, social isolation and neighbourhood factors such as perceived lack of community safety and trust.
Research limitations/implications
PAR appears to be an acceptable approach in generating estimates of population characteristics associated with personal wellbeing.
Practical implications
The findings of this study may be used by policymakers to design services and interventions to better meet the needs of communities characterised by indicators of poor health and wellbeing.
Originality/value
This work constitutes part of a global trend to measure personal and societal wellbeing. A novel methodology has been used to examine the factors that influence wellbeing at a neighbourhood level.
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Important and interesting books and articles published in England and Australia in connection with, or commemorating, the Australian Bicentenary are described. Five “official…
Abstract
Important and interesting books and articles published in England and Australia in connection with, or commemorating, the Australian Bicentenary are described. Five “official magazines” authorised by the Australian Bicentennial Authority are included, together with an outline of the eleven volumes of Australians: A Historical Library.
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The Report of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the British Cardiac Society issued in April last was the product of a joint working party, whose aim was to formulate…
Abstract
The Report of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the British Cardiac Society issued in April last was the product of a joint working party, whose aim was to formulate the best possible advice which can at present be given to medical practitioners towards the prevention of coronary heart disease. It caused quite a stir, particularly its dietary recommendations, and the mass media made the most of it, more from inferences drawn from the measures recommended than from the report itself. Now that the sensation of it has gone and the dust has begun to settle, we can see the Report contains nothing that is new; it tells us what we have long known. Like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, except that there are three of them, at least for the moment, the causative factors of the rising incidence of coronary heart disease, built into our affluent society, have been working their way at the heart of man for a good many years now.