Background

Introduction

The renewed interest in health promotion and population health reinforces the role of social support as a social determinant of health, a health promotion mechanism, and a protective factor in resilience. Social support influences health status, health behaviour, and health services use. Social support is a significant social determinant of the health of Canadians.  National policy documents (e.g., Romanow, Kirby) reflect an emphasis on determinants of health pointing to the potential of social support as a primary protective factor in the face of stressors and transitions. They recommend health-enhancing interventions that promote resilience and support vulnerable individuals, families, and communities. 

Support interventions can effect significant reductions in morbidity and mortality, and are congruent with health promotion premises pertaining to mutual aid, strengthening social networks, and public participation.  To date, most tested support interventions have been delivered by professionals and emphasized information rather than emotional and affirmation support.  Intervention strategies should be informed by models that describe processes mediating the effect of support on desired health and health-related outcomes.  The mechanisms by which social determinants of health exert their effect and the links between social support and other health determinants (i.e., income, ethnicity, gender) have been neglected.  There is a pressing need for theory-testing, assessment, and intervention research. For these reasons, we launched assessment and intervention studies focused on vulnerable populations/groups  because of income, gender, ethnicity, disability, chronic conditions, and caregiving. Intervention research can ultimately inform practices, policies, and programs.

Objectives

• To create a multidisciplinary, multi-site program of research focused on social support as a health determinant and protective factor

•  To assess the mechanisms by which social support exerts an impact on health status, health behaviour, and health services use

• To investigate the links between social support and other key determinants of health, specifically socioeconomic status, culture, and gender

• To examine the role of social support as a protective factor for vulnerable families, groups, and communities

• To design and implement support interventions targeted at vulnerable families, groups, and communities using innovative mechanisms and modalities

• To test the impact of support interventions on health, functioning, and resilience outcomes

• To identify implications of the research for programs and policies in health and health-related sectors

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