Social ties and their connection to health have important implications for health policy. Indeed, some existing social policies and programs implicitly and indirectly incorporate social ties as mechanisms for enhancing population health and well-being. For example, many programs concerned with health of the elderly (e.g., home health services and meal deliveries) direct attention to the impact of social isolation/connection on health. Healthy People 2010, a nationwide health promotion plan developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, recognizes that social ties play an important role in influencing health habits (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2000). The Healthy Marriage Initiative recognizes that marriages characterized by supportive interactions benefit the health of children as well as spouses (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services n.d.). The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, protected leave over a 12-month period to attend to certain medical and family-related needs, such as the birth of a child or caring for an immediate family member (U.S. Department of Labor 2009).
