Universal Journal of Public Health 9(5): 306-316, 2021 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2021.090513 Social Capital and Health-related Quality of Life of Older Adults Living in Thai Rural Areas Kana Nishino 1 , Sayaka Kotera 2,* , Arbkhanok Tongtham 3 1 Infectious Disease Countermeasures Division, Ota City, Tokyo, Japan 2 Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Japan 3 Department of Community Health Nursing, Srisavarindhira Thai Red Cross Institute of Nursing, Thailand Received June 16, 2021; Revised August 24, 2021; Accepted September 21, 2021 Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles (a): [1] Kana Nishino, Sayaka Kotera, Arbkhanok Tongtham , "Social Capital and Health-related Quality of Life of Older Adults Living in Thai Rural Areas," Universal Journal of Public Health, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 306 - 316, 2021. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2021.090513. (b): Kana Nishino, Sayaka Kotera, Arbkhanok Tongtham (2021). Social Capital and Health-related Quality of Life of Older Adults Living in Thai Rural Areas. Universal Journal of Public Health, 9(5), 306 - 316. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2021.090513. Copyright©2021 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Thailand is one of the most aging countries in Southeast Asia. While family support for Thai older adults is dominant, mutual support in communities is needed in response to the demographic shifts. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of individual social capital on health-related quality of life (QOL) as a health outcome of older adults living in rural Thai communities. The questionnaire comprised the following: general characteristics, the Shortened and Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool (SASCAT) and other items of social capital, the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and life satisfaction. We collected data from 202 older adults who participated in elderly clubs. After controlling for confounding effects, logistic regression analysis revealed that less group membership and more support from individuals were significantly associated with better physical QOL. Feeling safe in the community was significantly associated with mental QOL. However, other components of SASCAT, such as citizenship activities and cognitive social capital, had no significant associations. This study suggests that health-related QOL of Thai older adults may be improved by increasing mutual support of community members and perceived neighborhood safety through feeling supported by a community. However, it should be noted that multiple active memberships may adversely affect the health of older adults in Thailand. Keywords Social Capital, Health-related Quality of Life, Older Adults, Rural Community, Thailand 1. Introduction Virtually, every country whether it is a high-, middle-, or a low-income country, is experiencing an increase in the size and proportion of persons aged 65 years and above. In Southeast Asia, Thailand and Singapore have the highest percentage of older adults in their populations [1]. In addition to the rising number of older adults, the rapid pace of aging is even more concerning. In 2005, Thailand became an aging society in that its proportion of older adults exceeded 7% of its population. Furthermore, per another criterion that describes the proportion of older adults as over 14%, Thailand will become even more of an aged society in 2021 and a super-aged society by 2050, according to the United Nations [2]. This means that the time to prepare for subsequent demographic changes is short in Thailand. Due to the country’s economic and social improvements, life expectancy at birth has drastically increased over the past 3 decades [3]. However, the “unhealthy” period, calculated from the differences between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy (HALE), has also extended [3]. Moreover, the National Statistical Office of Thailand has reported that one-third of older people experience chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases [4]. Accordingly, the Thai