Background: Women’s health is a general health priority. Preserving and improving women’s health is not only a
basic human right, but it is also essential for the health of all nations. Women’s health in Reproductive age
affects long-term health of theirs, their family members, and community. Origins of health inequalities are very
complicated. Health outcomes are influenced by biological, social and political factors, so to improve women’s
health it is necessary to recognize all these factors. Social capital is one of the social determinants of health that
might play a considerable role in health inequalities. The association between social capital and health varies
according on the sample studied, the type of health outcome and the context in which it is studied. This mixed
methods study was designed to determine and explore of relationship between social capital and health status of
women of reproductive age in Tehran (capital city of Iran) with its specific social-cultural characteristics.
Methods/design: This study is sequential explanatory mixed methods study, follow-up explanations variant, with
two strands (phases). This design will be implemented in two distinct phases. The first phase is a population-based
cross-sectional survey on 770 women of reproductive age residing in any of the 22 municipal districts across Tehran.
Based on a need to further understand the quantitative results, researchers will implement a second qualitative
phase that is designed to help explain the initial quantitative results. Finally, the researchers will present an
interpretation about explanation of quantitative results using the qualitative data.
Discussion: This study promotes women’s health by determining the priorities and designing evidence-based
interventions founded on the basic and insightful information provided on social capital and the status of the
health of women.