Social capital and self-rated health in people living with HIV: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Apart from physical conditions, health is considered a product of general policies forming social environment to which people are exposed.The present study aimed to determine the relationship between social capital and self-rated health (SRH), also known as self-assessed health or self-perceived health, in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Material and methods:The present descriptive-analytic study was conducted among 321 patients with immunodeficiency at the West Tehran Behavioral Diseases Center in 2020-2021.Data were collected using social capital questionnaire (SCQ), and personal information checklist involved SRH questions.SPSS Statistics version 25.0 software was employed for data analysis.Results: Majority of participants with SRH status were between 31 and 40 years old (44.2%).Based on linear regression test, two social capital components, such as social agency, i.e., proactivity and initiation in social contexts (B = 0.231, p = 0.028), and value of life (B = 0.163, p = 0.009), were the most positive predictor variables.On the other hand, intentional non-adherence to treatment was the most negative predictor variable (B = -0.320,p 0.001) in patients who self-rated their health status.Discussion and conclusion: Social agency, such as proactivity and initiation in social contexts, and value of life, had a statistically significant relationship with SRH status of HIV patients.Other social support components were not statistically significant.However, statistically significant relationship between social agency and value of life with SRH status highlights the necessity of taking actions, including preventing social isolation, being attentive to this group of people, and the role of the mentioned factors in SRH status.