Characteristics of Social Capital Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (DM2) of the Urban Zone in Medellin 2011 -2012

Social capital SC is a growing concept that encompasses the study of connections within and among social networks and spans interests in several sectors including economic spheres, public policy and public health. SC is considered a determinant of health whose effect can be particularly useful in the management of policies in order to improve efficiency and reduce inequities in health. Despite the limitations in the measurement of SC and its impact, there is some epidemiological evidence of the role of social interactions, norms and trust, control and management of chronic non-communicable diseases at both the community and individual levels. The burden of disease in DM2 and its complications represents a global challenge because of its prevalence and high cost to those effected as well as the social institutions involved in the provision of services and financial support for those services and associated infrastructure. For diabetics, the risk of complications and effectiveness of health services may depend on aspects of SC, but these have not been studied a great deal. To seek the association between SC and the onset of CKD in diabetics and to show if this association is affected by other covariates will be the challenge to demonstrate the importance of social capital for public health surveillance strategies, adding the use of qualitative methods searching the meanings of SC for patients and caregivers and therefore, leading a multimethod research in social epidemiology.