Evaluation of social capital among students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2016

Background: Social capital includes a series of issues and values, which is potentially in relation with social groups and organizations. Due to the importance of the social capital as a determining factor in the health, this study aimed to evaluate the social capital in the students of the Isfahan University of Medical Science. Methods: This survey was the first phase of a survey that was carried out in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences on 700 students. Students were selected by a simple random sampling method. Data on social capital of students were collected by Bullen questionnaire. For data analysis, SPSS version 22 statistic software were used. Results: The mean score of social capital of the students in this study were 62.11± 14.6, in which the lowest score were belonged to the cooperation domain and the highest one were belonged to the identity. The most important factors that related to the social capital of the students, includes the gender in medical students (male: 58.82±15.87 vs. female: 65.44±15.87, p-value: 0.028), residency (dormitory: 62.89±14.3, live with family: 62.22±14.27, personal home: 50.53±20.63, p-value: 0.006) and educational level (doctorate degree: 60.48±13.79 vs. bachelor degree: 63.27±15.07, p-value: 0.019). Conclusion: The results of this study show that the social capital score of college students is moderate and policy makers need to design interventions in order to improve students' social capital especially level of their participation in the society.