Hypertension and Social Capital in Indonesia

Hypertension is a serious public health concern in developing countries, where the lack of resources and the poor infrastructure often lead to a high incidence of disease and also to high rates of underdiagnosis. We study the linkages between hypertension and social capital in Indonesia. Indonesia is a large developing economy, where social capital is encouraged and plays a significant role. We use participation in community programs as a proxy for social capital, specifically capturing the structural dimension of social networks. By engaging in these programs, individuals create the social ties that facilitate resource sharing and gain access to socially embedded resources. We find significant associations between participating in community programs and having lower blood pressure and lower likelihood of hypertension. These results underscore the public health significance of social capital as a potential non-clinical determinant of health. From a policy perspective, the findings suggest that strengthening community-based social infrastructure could offer an alternative strategy to mitigate hypertension in resource-constrained economies.