By Tim Bonfield
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Caring for your neighbor may be more than a nice thing to do. It may help people live longer, better lives.

At least that's the concept behind a project in Philadelphia that recently measured how "social capital" varied among 45 city neighborhoods. It's a concept that easily could apply to Greater Cincinnati's small communities.

"Our preliminary analyses show that adults with low social capital are more likely to be in fair or poor health, have more unhealthy days per month, experience higher levels of stress, and be diagnosed with a mental health condition compared to adults with higher social capital ratings," according to the report produced by the Philadelphia Health Management Corp.

So what is social capital? It's a measure of the social structure, the civic participation, the neighborliness of a community.

Measures of social capital can include: How willing are people to help a neighbor shovel snow? Or set up a neighborhood watch? Or throw a block party? How often do people get involved with community or civic groups?

In areas where people say good-neighbor activities rarely occur, the Philadelphia report claims there can be health consequences - especially for frail seniors and people with mental illnesses.

People surveyed in neighborhoods with low social capital also reported higher rates of loneliness and depression, according to the report. They also were more likely to consider themselves in poor health and were less able to enjoy their day-to-day lives.

The Philadelphia project based its report on a survey of more than 10,000 residents. But it isn't the only research on this issue.

Some obesity researchers, including a study from the University of South Carolina in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, have noted that people who don't feel safe in their neighborhoods are less likely to walk or jog or enjoy other forms of outdoor exercise.

The benefits of living in a close-knit community were trumpeted in 2000 by author Robert Putnam, who wrote Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. That book contends that people who participate in social, religious, civic or political groups have better odds of living longer than those who don't.

There is one big catch to the social capital concept: Few social scientists offer any easy answers for building up a sense of community in neighborhoods that don't have very much.

THEY SAID IT: "There are people in Cincinnati who feel like they're living in a war zone," says Lawrence Anthony, director of the University of Cincinnati Addictions Studies Program.

A public forum will be held later this month at UC to discuss what some experts call a continuing crisis in the lack of local addiction treatment services. The forum, "Treatment in Crisis - Revisited," will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 27 at UC's Zimmer Auditorium.

E-mail tbonfield@enquirer.com