Family, friend or foe? Critical reflections on the relevance and role of social capital in health promotion and community development

摘要: Social capital has been the focus of considerable academic and policy interest in recent years. Despite this interest, concept remains undertheorized: there is an urgent need for a critical engagement with literature that goes beyond summary. This paper lays foundation dialogue between social health promotion, by examining problematics conceptualization practice building linking these to models community development, cornerstone promotion strategy. In so doing, contributes existing providing theoretical exposition critique various threads discourse, explicitly development practice. Distinctions communitarian, institutional approaches are elaborated, relationships three development-social planning, locality action-are discussed. The then critically examined relation key themes common both literatures: integration, public participation, power relations. examination suggests cannot be conceived isolation from economic political structures, since connections contingent on, structured by, access material resources. runs counter many current discourses, which on importance connection cohesion without addressing fundamental inequities posits should emphasise conscious concern justice. A construction endorses transformative engagement, while at same time recognising potential negative consequences could help organizers build communities ways truly promote health.