Investigating the Effect of Social and Cultural Capital on the Level of Fear of COVID-19 among Retired Employees in Iran.

Background. The health of retirees, as an expanding and vulnerable group, is of particular importance in society, and it is necessary to prioritize their problems in critical situations such as the spread of the coronavirus. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of social and cultural capital on the level of fear of COVID-19 among retired employees of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUOMS). Methods. This survey-based research employed a descriptive-explanatory design and was practical in terms of purpose. This study selected 410 retirees from TUOMS in Iran using a simple random sampling method. The data collection tools in this study included three questionnaires: cultural capital, social capital, and fear of COVID-19. We tested the research hypotheses using SPSS software (version 22). Results. The bivariate results of the study indicated that social capital and its dimensions (social networks, social trust, and social participation) and cultural capital and its dimensions (embodied, objective, and institutional) had a significant and inversed effect on the level of fear of COVID-19 among the retirees. The regression model of fear of COVID-19 also found that both independent variables (social capital and cultural capital) were statistically significant and could explain about 36% and 31% of the changes in the dependent variable (fear of COVID-19 among retirees), respectively. Conclusion. This study indicated a significant and inverse relationship between social and cultural capital and the level of fear of COVID-19 among the retirees of TUOMS. The findings of the present study can be generalized to all retired TUOMS employees. Therefore, healthcare policymakers should take effective measures to increase the funds allocated to diseases such as COVID-19 and reduce the fear of the disease, which is a risk factor for physical and mental diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]