title: Conceptual understanding of social capital in a First Nations community: a social determinant of oral health in children.
abstract: Objectives. The purpose of the study was: (a) to better understand the concept of social capital and its potential role in oral health of children in a First Nations community and (b) to identify the strengths and resources in terms of social capital and a health promotion model that the community has at its disposal to address its oral health issues. Methods. In this qualitative case study, participants were purposively selected in a First Nations community: Seven individual interviews and two focus groups involving 18 parents/care givers were selected. Putnam's concept of social capital guided all the interviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was employed using the NVivo software. Results. The community was close-knit and seemed to have strong moral fibre, which encouraged members to help each other. A strong bonding social capital was also found among the members, especially inside the clans (families). A need for improvement in bridging social capital that would help the community to reach external resources was observed. While members of the community were actively involved in religious rituals and cultural ceremonies, more efforts seemed to be required to recruit volunteers for other events or programs. Active engagement of community members in any program requires that members be given a voice as well as some ownership of the process. Mobilizing or building community's social capital can play a role when planning future interventions. Conclusions. A better understanding of social capital may enhance the community's investment and efforts by reinforcing healthy oral behaviours and improving access to external resources. With more dynamic collaboration, it may be possible to create more sustainable community-based oral health promotion programs.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; salehyar@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Salehyar
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Louanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keenan
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amin
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054525:Minority Health; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009909:Oral Health / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D044382:Population Groups / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D036301:Qualitative Research; D066270:Social Capital
keywords: Aboriginal; dental health; indigenous; native; qualitative study; social cohesion