Introduction

At the level of peri-urban villages of Zanjan city, maintaining social health in rural areas can contribute to the sustainable growth and development of these areas. Given that villages have rich natural resources and abundant economic potential, maintaining social health can help create job opportunities, attract investment, and develop the economy. Maintaining social health in rural areas can lead to improving the quality of life of the residents of those areas. Social health includes factors such as access to health and medical services, safe drinking water, public health, health education, and environmental health. Creating these conditions will improve the lives of villagers in various fields, including health, productivity, and well-being. In this regard, the purpose of the present study is to identify the social health status of peri-urban villages of Zanjan city and then identify the effective factors so that planning can be carried out to improve the social health of the residents of these areas in a more favorable manner. In this regard, the present study is designed to answer the following questions: 1. What is the level of social health of households in the studied villages? 2. Which indicator is the most effective factor in the social health of households in the studied villages?

Research Method

The present study is applied in terms of type and descriptive-analytical in nature. Data collection was carried out using library and field methods (questionnaire). The statistical population of the present study is peri-urban villages located within a radius of 20 km from Zanjan city, which includes 16 villages. 8 villages were selected using the probability sampling method (lottery method). The studied villages have 3047 households, and using the Cochran formula with an error rate of (0.05), the number of sample required to complete the questionnaire (384) households was calculated. Also, a systematic method was used to complete the questionnaire. The data collection method was library and field (questionnaire), and descriptive and inferential statistics (Wilcoxon test and Amos structural equations) were used to analyze the data.

Discussion and Findings

A one-sample t-test was used to analyze the desirability of social health dimensions. As shown in (Table 4), considering the range of the spectrum that fluctuates between 1 and 5 based on the Likert scale, this level was assessed as desirable for three dimensions (social prosperity, social cohesion, and social participation) with t-scores of 32.54, 27.23, and 24.29, and two dimensions (social acceptance and social solidarity) with t-scores of 0.24 and -4.34, respectively. In order to determine the variables affecting the social health of the villages around Zanjan, four input factors were used in the fuzzy neural structure, and the aim was to determine the two inputs affecting social health. Based on the data presented, the economic factor with an optimal input of 12.14 and an output of 14.29 has the greatest impact on the social health of the villages around Zanjan, indicating the high importance of economic conditions in improving the quality of life. The social factor with an input of 10.77 and an output of 12.32 ranks second and has a significant positive impact on social health. This indicates that improving social conditions can significantly contribute to health promotion. The individual factor with an input of 8.16 and an output of 8.61 ranks third and has a lower impact than the first two factors. Finally, the physical and environmental factor with an input of 7.9 and an output of 8.14 has the lowest impact. Overall, the results show that to improve social health in these villages, it is necessary to focus on improving economic and social conditions, while strengthening individual and physical factors can also be considered as a complement to increasing social health.

Conclusion

In this study, the social health status of households in the villages surrounding Zanjan city and the factors affecting it were examined. The results indicate that social health, as a key component in the quality of life of residents of these areas, is affected by economic, social, individual and physical factors. Based on the data obtained, the economic factor was identified as the most influential factor with an input of 12.14 and an output of 14.29, which is consistent with the results of previous research in this field. Various studies, including the works of Gramit et al. (2023) and Connolly (2023), show that economic conditions directly affect the social and mental health of individuals. In addition, social factors were ranked second with an input of 10.77 and an output of 12.32. This finding is consistent with the theories of Keyes (2004) and Swarbrick and Yudoff (2015), which emphasize the importance of social relationships and strong bonds between individuals in society. The existence of strong social relationships can help strengthen social capital and increase the sense of belonging to society, which ultimately leads to improved social health.

Key words: Human development, social welfare, rural development, Zanjan province.