Capital social, pobreza familiar y autopercepción de apoyo en casos de enfermedad respiratoria aguda

SUMMARY The aim of this study was to correlate the socio structural variables of the Simplified Index of Family Poverty with the self-perception of resources that conform social capital among patients with acute respiratory disease (ARD). We used a qualitative and quantitative methodology. The sample included 848 cases distributed in seven Rural Medicine Units of Mexico. We considered three pathways described by Kawachi where social capital might have an impact on individual health. The bivariate correlation and discriminant analysis showed that when there is evidence of poverty in the family, the statistically significant differences are mainly observed in selfperception. Moral support of sons and daughters is thereby increased when there is an ARD. We concluded that when there is a higher index of family poverty there is a decreased access to social resources when a family member is diagnosed with an ARD.