Exploring Social Capital

By Laurel Jacobs

My name is Laurel Jacobs and I am a doctoral student in the Public Health Policy and Management section here in  the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. I have been working since 2005 along the U.S.-Mexico border, first as an MPH student and now as the focus of my doctoral research.

My dissertation research is focused on the relationship between dimensions of social capital and advocacy activities among community health workers (CHWs) in Nogales, Douglas, Sierra Vista, and Yuma who are trained in  grassroots advocacy. This study contributes new research to the Action for Health/Acción Para La Salud (“Action”)  research initiative, which is sponsored by the Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion located  within the Zuckerman College of Public Health. The purpose of the Action project, which is funded by the U.S.  enters  or Disease Control and Prevention, is to engage CHWs in community-level advocacy to address root causes  of chronic disease.

I am exploring a relationship between CHW social capital and the application of  advocacy competencies. One objective of my project is to examine changes in  dimensions of social capital over a one year period among CHWs who have received  grassroots advocacy training. A second objective is to explore the extent to which  dimensions of CHW social capital at baseline predict the types of advocacy activities in  which CHWs engage over a one year period.

To meet these objectives I am using a mixed quantitative and qualitative research  design, which includes a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with each CHW. Through this project I hope to develop a preliminary model that explicates the  relationship between social capital and grassroots advocacy activities led by CHWs. A better understanding of this relationship may support efforts to address the root causes of disease along the U.S.-Mexico border through increased community capacity.

Laurel Jacobs, MPH Doctoral Candidate, Public Health Policy and Management University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (520) 621-9344 jacobsl@email.arizona.edu Guest Blogger, Policy, Rural Health Public Policy Forum