The social cure: Why groups make us healthier and how policymakers can capitalise on these curing properties

Social networks have been shown to help protect mental and physical health. But how can we develop and sustain policy to socially engage communities to reap such health benefits. First, the value of social groups needs to be incorporated into cost–benefit analyses that are used to make decisions about resource allocation. Moreover, by thinking of social identity resources as real tangible resources, social identity policy has the potential to become a forethought rather than an afterthought, writes Jolanda Jetten