TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between social capital (SC) and health care access problem among the older people in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approach This study applied a random sampling method to select 310 older adults (all aged 60 years) in Bangladesh. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to extract SC dimensions. Logistic regression was applied to measure the association of SC dimensions and access.Findings The logistic regression result shows that with a one-unit increase in social network, norms of reciprocity, and civic participation, health care access problem will be decreased by OR= 0.732 (95% CI =0.529–1.014); OR=0.641 (95% CI = 0.447–0.919); and OR=0.748 (95% CI = 0.556–1.006) units. Respondents who have economic hardship were 3.211 (OR=3.211, CI = 0.84–5.59) times more likely to say that they had health care access problem compared with who had no economic hardship.Research limitations/implications The study showed that the lower level of SC and presence of economic hardship increased the probability to health care access problem among the older people. Improving SC may be helpful in reducing health care access problem. However, economic hardship reductions are also important to reduce the health care access problem. Improving SC and reducing economic hardship thus should be implemented at the same time.Practical implications The study showed that low SC and economic hardship increased the probability to health care access problem. Improving SC may be helpful in reducing health inequity. However, economic hardship reductions also important to health care access. Therefore, improving SC and reducing economic hardship should be implemented at the same time.Originality/value This study has a great policy importance in regard to reducing health care access problem among the older adult in Bangladesh as SC has a potential to bring about a concomitant improvement in the condition of the health care access.
VL  - 23
IS  - 1
SN  - 1366-3666
DO  - 10.1108/WWOP-05-2018-0012
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/WWOP-05-2018-0012
AU  - Islam Md. Shahidul
PY  - 2019
Y1  - 2019/01/01
TI  - Social capital and health care access among the older adults in Bangladesh
T2  - Working with Older People
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 54
EP  - 63
Y2  - 2024/04/19
ER  -