African Studies Seminar: Social Capital, Inequality and Risk for Chronic Disease in South Africa

It is believed that high levels of inequality in the community in which one lives may have adverse impacts on a variety of health outcomes. In addition, strong social capital and cohesion in communities have been hypothesised to improve health status. However, much of the empirical research testing these hypotheses has come from the ‘Global North’. There is very little evidence on the nature of these relationships within African countries. As a result of its unique history and legacy of apartheid, South Africa is a middle-income nation that is home to some of the highest levels of income inequality recorded worldwide. Similarly, and perhaps consequently, research has also revealed low levels of measures of social capital, such as trust in others. This presentation will report on research taking advantage of longitudinal data from the National Income Dynamics Study to examine whether changes in inequality and social trust at the district-council level are associated with changes in several chronic disease risk factors and depressive symptoms among individuals living in South Africa. Given that the burden of non-communicable diseases is growing in South Africa and elsewhere, understanding whether and how these social factors may contribute to disease risk is important.

* Exceptionally, this seminar will take place at 25 Gordon Square, Room 107. This session is convened jointly with UCL’s Institute for Global Health (IGH).

Download the Summer 2019 programme here. 

All welcome.

This seminar series is convened by the African Studies Research Centre/IAS:

• Dr. Hélène Neveu Kringelbach (h.neveu@ucl.ac.uk)
• Prof. Megan Vaughan (megan.vaughan@ucl.ac.uk)
• Dr. Keren Weitzberg (k.weitzberg@ucl.ac.uk)