Health-Oriented Behaviors and Their Social and Cultural Determinants: A Study Among Citizens of Kashan City

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PH.D. in Sociology, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

2 Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

Abstract

According to the new public health paradigm, health-oriented behaviors are recognized not merely as individual choices but as a complex outcome of structural, social, and cultural determinants that play a central role in preventing the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases. However, examining how these contextual factors influence health decision-making in local settings requires a shift from reductionist approaches to multidimensional empirical analyses. This research was designed and conducted with the aim of theoretically and empirically analyzing the social and cultural determinants of health-oriented behaviors among citizens of Kashan city. The research method was survey-based, and the statistical population included residents of the five districts of Kashan city, from which 550 individuals were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling with the Sample Power software. The findings indicated that there is a significant direct relationship between economic capital, cultural capital, social capital, social support, health literacy, and e-health literacy with health-oriented behaviors. Additionally, the results of the structural equation modeling (Amos) showed a good fit for the model (CMIN/DF=2.047; CFI=0.902; PCFI=0.827; RMSEA=0.044). Overall, the main factors of the study were able to explain 76.9% of the variance in health-oriented behaviors, with cultural capital, social capital, and health literacy having the highest impact on these behaviors.

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Journal of Applied Sociology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 11 July 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 January 2026
  • Revise Date: 03 July 2026
  • Accept Date: 11 July 2026
  • Publish Date: 11 July 2026

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