Capital social en áreas rurales: adaptación al español y validación factorial de una escala / Social capital in rural areas: adaptation to Spanish and factor validation of a scale

El capital social se considera un determinante estructural de desarrollo y bienestar social. Su componente cognitivo evalúa el grado de confianza de la población en sus sistemas de organización social, así como las interacciones comunitarias que estructuran respuestas sociales a los problemas sociales. Existen pocas escalas disponibles para la medición de este constructo. Este trabajo presenta los resultados de la adaptación al español y validación psicométrica de una escala para la medición de capital social en contextos rurales. Se adaptó al español la escala de capital social cognitivo de Wang. Se aplicaron 1200 cuestionarios a adultos en 12 veredas de Tierralta (Colombia) seleccionados con muestreo aleatorio simple estratificado. Se realizó análisis factorial de la escala a partir de una matriz de correlación policórica. El análisis factorial exploratorio sugiere la existencia de dos factores principales distribuidos así: 7 ítems para el factor 1 (confianza) (valor propio 3.23.) y 2 ítems para el factor 2 (desconfianza) (valor propio 1.40). Como fue observado por Wang, Q9 y Q10 parecen preguntas ambiguas que no aportan suficiente a ninguno de los factores. Se presenta la primera validación factorial al español de la escala de capital social de Wang en el contexto social de la Colombia rural.

Social capital is considered a structural determinant of social development and wellbeing. Its cognitive component assesses the degree of confidence of the population in their systems for social organization, as well as community interactions to coordinate social responses to social problems. There are few available scales for measuring this construct. This work presents the adaptation to Spanish and psychometric validation of a scale for measuring social capital in a rural setting. The Wang Social Cognitive Scale was also adapted to Spanish. 1200 questionnaires were applied to adults in 12 villages of the municipality of Tierra Alta, (Colombia) recruited by random sampling. Factor analysis of the scale was performed based on a polychoric correlation matrix. Exploratory factor analysis suggests the existence of two principal factors distributed as follows: 7 items for factor 1, trust (eigenvalue 3.23) and 2 items, for factor 2, distrust (eigenvalue 1.40). As observed by Wang, Q9 and Q10 could be ambiguous questions which do not contribute enough to either of the factors. The first factor validation to Spanish language of the Wang Social Capital Scale is presented in the social context of rural Colombia.

[Mortality associated with peak seasons of influenza virus circulation in Bogotá, Colombia, 1997-2005]. / Mortalidad asociada con las temporadas de mayor circulación de los virus de la influenza en Bogotá, Colombia, 1997-2005.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate potential excess mortality attributable to influenza viruses A and B and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) during peak seasons of influenza virus circulation in Colombia from 1997 to 2005. METHODS: A comparison of monthly, general mortality rates from pneumonia in children under 5 years of age and from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease in those more than 60 years of age in Bogota, Colombia, were compared to the city's peak seasons of influenza virus circulation. Mortality data were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of Colombia; peak seasons of virus circulation were defined as contiguous months in which the number of isolates was equal to or greater than half the total number of isolates for the year. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were determined. RESULTS: Influenza A demonstrated a pattern of seasonal circulation, but influenza B and HRSV did not. The increased circulation of influenza virus was associated with an average annual increase of 5% in overall mortality during the study period (IRR = 1.05; 95%CI: 1.046-1.064). During seasons of increased circulation of influenza viruses, the combined mortality from pneumonia and influenza for all ages was 11% higher than it was at other times (IRR = 1.11; 95%CI: 1.051-1.178). CONCLUSIONS: During peak seasons of influenza virus circulation in Colombia, there can be increased mortality, particularly from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease among those more than 60 years of age. Preventive actions specific to protecting against influenza should be taken, especially in these two age groups.