Social Well-Being Measurement in Public Health: Evidence from a South African Population Cohort
1
Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A2610
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Social well-being represents a key social determinant of health, particularly in highly unequal settings such as South Africa. The construct spans a continuum from close interpersonal relationships to broader community and societal connections. Robust measurement across this continuum can add considerable value to population health surveillance and research by generating insight into both the health-related determinants and consequences of social well-being. To this end, this study reviews the content and psychometric properties of subjective social well-being measures in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) South Africa - North West cohort to inform their use in future population health and equity-focused research.
METHODS:
Data were drawn from the North West Province, South Africa, arm of the PURE study, a cohort systematically selected from urban Ikageng and rural Ganyesa/Tlakgameng and followed from 2005. This study focused on 400 participants (mean age = 61.57; 29% male sex) from the 2017–2019 follow-up who completed a set of social well-being questionnaires. Measures included the Relational Health Indices – Community Relationships (RHI-C), Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measure – 10 (CCRAM10), Community Wellbeing Index (CWI), and the Social Wellbeing subscale of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF-SWB). Additionally, items from the Brief Inventory of Thriving, Psychological Wellbeing subscale of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form and Affectometer 2 were combined to explore a Relational Wellbeing – Close Relationships (RWB-Close) factor. All instruments were translated into Setswana using a committee-based approach with independent forward and backward translation.
RESULTS:
The RHI-C, CWI, MHC-SF-SWB, and the RWB-Close displayed good psychometric properties after model modifications were applied based on both theoretical and empirical considerations. The CCRAM10 did not perform well psychometrically.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study supports the psychometric performance of several subjective social well-being measures. Their application in population health research and surveillance can inform equity-focused public health responses.
Social well-being represents a key social determinant of health, particularly in highly unequal settings such as South Africa. The construct spans a continuum from close interpersonal relationships to broader community and societal connections. Robust measurement across this continuum can add considerable value to population health surveillance and research by generating insight into both the health-related determinants and consequences of social well-being. To this end, this study reviews the content and psychometric properties of subjective social well-being measures in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) South Africa - North West cohort to inform their use in future population health and equity-focused research.
METHODS:
Data were drawn from the North West Province, South Africa, arm of the PURE study, a cohort systematically selected from urban Ikageng and rural Ganyesa/Tlakgameng and followed from 2005. This study focused on 400 participants (mean age = 61.57; 29% male sex) from the 2017–2019 follow-up who completed a set of social well-being questionnaires. Measures included the Relational Health Indices – Community Relationships (RHI-C), Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measure – 10 (CCRAM10), Community Wellbeing Index (CWI), and the Social Wellbeing subscale of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF-SWB). Additionally, items from the Brief Inventory of Thriving, Psychological Wellbeing subscale of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form and Affectometer 2 were combined to explore a Relational Wellbeing – Close Relationships (RWB-Close) factor. All instruments were translated into Setswana using a committee-based approach with independent forward and backward translation.
RESULTS:
The RHI-C, CWI, MHC-SF-SWB, and the RWB-Close displayed good psychometric properties after model modifications were applied based on both theoretical and empirical considerations. The CCRAM10 did not perform well psychometrically.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study supports the psychometric performance of several subjective social well-being measures. Their application in population health research and surveillance can inform equity-focused public health responses.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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