SOCIAL CAPITAL FOR HEALTH

Yanos Social Capital for Health promotes the importance of social approaches to health. The main focus lies on such factors as increased wellbeing and self-esteem, and on the role of participation and social connectedness in the enhancement of people’s health by building social capital.

The effect of building social capital clearly has the potential to make a major contribution to our health, wellbeing and life skills, facilitating regeneration and creating tools to prevent social exclusion. This effect can be illustrated by the following indicators:

• Enhanced motivation (both within the course of a project and in participants’ lives more generally)
• Greater connectedness to others
• People’s own perceptions about having a more positive outlook on life
• Reduced sense of fear, isolation and anxiety
• Increased confidence, sociability, and self-esteem