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Older adults with Social Capital are More Vaccinated: A Epidemiological Study of Approximately 180,000 Older Adults Aged 65 and Over

Sep 17 2021

Assistant Professor Kousuke Saito1 and Professor Yugo Shobugawa2 in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study reported that older adults who had three type of social capital (social participation, social cohesion, or reciprocity) got vaccine against pneumococcal pneumoniae more than those without the social capitals. They revealed that older adults who had the social participation, social cohesion, or reciprocity got the vaccination by 13%, 5%, and 34% more than those without those social capitals, respectively. Besides, they showed that older adults living in communities with rich social participation got the vaccination by 3% more than those living in communities with the standard level, regardless of individual social participation.

Social participation: Participate in the following five social groups: sports groups/clubs, volunteer groups, hobby activity groups, study/cultural groups and groups that conduct activities to teach skills/pass on experiences to others at least once a month.
Social cohesion: Trust the people in the community, think that the people in the community help others, or have an attachment to the area
Reciprocity: Have people around to listen to or talk with about concerns or complaints, and have people who take care of them when they are sick in bed for several days

1Division of International Health, the Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences of Niigata University
2Department of Active Aging (donated by Tokamachi city, Niigata Japan), the Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences of Niigata University

Research Results

  • Older adults aged 65 and over with the three social capitals (social participation, social cohesion and reciprocity) got vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae by 13 percent, 5 percent and 34 percent more than older adults without those, respectively.
  • Older adults living in communities with rich social participation got vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae three percent more compared to those living in communities with standard social participation, regardless of personal social participation.

Publication Details

Journal: BMJ Open
Title: Social capital and pneumococcal vaccination (PPSV23) in community-dwelling older Japanese:(A JAGES multilevel cross-sectional study)
Authors: Kousuke Iwai-Saito, Yugo Shobugawa, Katsunori Kondo
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043723

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