The Role of Social Environment in Social Well-being in Adults Population in Low-income Neighborhoods with a look at the four Low-income Neighborhood of Bandar Abbas

Social wellbeing has a great impact on physical and social health, as well as, promoting environmental justice in local communities. Despite several studies on the concept of social well-being in relation to social environment, the majority of these works have been conducted in developed countries. The study aimed to investigate the association of social environment aspects (safety, social participation, social network, and social cohesion) with social well-being in low economic neighborhoods in an Iranian adult population. A total of 1100 questionnaires systematically were distributed among adults population residing in 4 low income neighborhoods of Bandar Abbas city, Iran. Of these 924 qualified questionnaires were used for further analysis. Despite the low economic conditions, social well-being were reported high. In addition, women reported higher social well-being than men. Women were socially more active than men, however were perceived less safe compared to their counterparts. All aspects of social variables positively contributed with social well-being among men, while in women group no link between safety and social well-being were determined. Findings suggest that programming efforts and research should focus on increasing social activities that support social participation and social cohesion to promote social well-being among residents. Designing and implementing effective intervention to improve inviting spaces to do small and large social activities can help in rising social well-being in low income neighborhoods.