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. 2020 Nov;34(8):942-944.
doi: 10.1177/0890117120924531. Epub 2020 May 12.

Social Capital in the Response to COVID-19

Nicholas Pitas  1 , Colin Ehmer  2
Affiliations

Social Capital in the Response to COVID-19

Nicholas Pitas et al. Am J Health Promot. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Social capital provides a number of benefits during crisis scenarios, and high social capital communities respond more efficaciously than those with low social capital. With this in mind, we argue that the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic may be hampered in many American communities by deficiencies or disruptions in social capital brought about by physical distancing. Drawing on evidence from past crises, we recommend individuals, communities, and government institutions work to strengthen and expand social networks. A failure to do so will exact a toll in terms of human morbidity and mortality and exacerbate the current disaster.

Keywords: COVID-19; community; culture change; environments; health disparities; health policy; opportunity; settings; social support; specific; strategies; supportive.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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