Relationship Between Social Capital and Life Quality of Female Patients with High Blood Pressure in Health Centers of Khalkhal in Iran

High blood pressure has become a major problem in developing countries. A method of controlling blood pressure is to improve the life quality of patients. Studies have emphasized the importance of examining the role of social capital in patients’ quality of life. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between social capital and life quality of female patients with high blood pressure.

The present correlative study was carried out using the survey method. The statistical population included all women referring to the health centers of Khalkhal in Iran with care reports within January 2018 to December 2019. The current study was carried out on a total of 3,684 individuals. The sample size consisted of 357 female patients with high blood pressure who were determined using Cochran’s formula and random sampling technique. In addition, to compare high blood pressure patients with other individuals, 357 subjects were selected from other referrals as the study subjects. The data collection tool was a researcher-designed questionnaire for social capital and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) for life quality. Moreover, the data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and t-test by SPSS software (version 22).

The obtained results of the current study showed that there was a significant relationship between social capital dimensions (i.e., social trust, social support, strong relationship, and associative membership) and life quality of patients with hypertension (P<0.05). It was also indicated that the average social capital of healthy individuals was higher than that reported for those with high blood pressure (P<0.05).

By increasing social capital in patients with hypertension, their quality of life will improve.