Assessing the effect of social support on health status using the 2006 South African general household survey

Abstract

Abstract Background This study looked at the effect of social support on health status using a sample of unemployed people from the 2006 General Household Survey. The aim of the study was to uncover which particular type of support structure had an influence on one‟s health status. In other words, looking at the sample of unemployed people, the study sought to determine the particular type of social support structure which make one more susceptible to disease/illness. Social support structures were categorised into two groups, namely; (1) social support from informal institutions such as family, friends, church/community organisations, etc, and (2) social support from formal institutions such as government, in the form of social relief, disability grants, unemployment insurance, etc. Health status on the other hand was determined on the basis of susceptibility to various forms of diseases/illness, namely: communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and flu or respiratory tract infections. The study examined how each category of these types of morbidity was explained by the particular source of support received by unemployed individuals. Results The findings of the study indicated that social support did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of being sick as one might have expected. This suggests that formal state support does not in fact have a protective effect at all by reducing the likelihood of disease. Findings also revealed that health status on the other hand may have a significant effect on the likelihood of belonging to a specific type of support structure, although more investigation is needed due to limitation of using cross sectional data.