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Results for “social network analysis”

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PubMed1991

Psychosocial impacts in populations exposed to solid waste facilities.

This interdisciplinary study uses a parallel case study design to investigate psychosocial impacts in populations exposed to three solid waste facilities in Southern Ontario. Impacts are examined at three social scales: individual, social network and community levels. The objectives and design derive from a feasibility study recently completed by the same research team. A two stage approach is adopted. The first is an epidemiologic survey to determine the prevalence of psychosocial impacts in the populations within a prescribed area around each site. A disproportionate stratified (by distance) random sample of 250 households is surveyed at each site. Data on awareness, knowledge, concern and action regarding the site are also obtained. Scores on pre-validated health measurement scales will be compared with population norms to determine the frequency distribution above, within and below the range of normal. The second stage involves the use of qualitative methodologies to provide an in-depth analysis of the individual, social network and community level factors affecting psychosocial impacts and reactions to the situation. Depth interviews with a sub-sample of survey respondents explore individual perceptions, attitudes and actions. Focus groups composed of members of relevant organizations and discussion groups comprising non-members uncover social network and community perspectives in an interactional setting. Interviews and group sessions are taped and transcribed for content analysis of salient themes. Textual analysis of media reports and other relevant documentation provide insights regarding the informational environment and the community context of the issues.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Women's perception of changes in the social network after a spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: To describe how women with a spinal cord injury (SCI) perceived changes in the social network, and how these changes affected their ability to participate in occupation. METHOD: Thirteen women, aged 25 to 61 years, with a SCI were interviewed twice. The interviews focused on their ability to participate in occupation, their relations with individuals within the social network, and changes in the social network following the SCI. The analysis was carried out using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The women described an emotional need for social support after the SCI to participate in occupation. This was a new experience that required time to adapt to. The women also described a need for practical social support from the social network members to manage meaningful occupation. After the SCI, the women had developed new habits through close cooperation with members in the social network. The women felt that they had become more responsible for the development of their relations. Many relations had improved after the SCI, while some had decreased. The women had also developed new relations with other persons with disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: The women perceived substantial changes in the social network following the SCI, which in several ways affected their ability to participate in occupation. To adapt to their new life situation, the women gradually developed different strategies. The results point out the need to identify persons in the social network that women with SCI develop relations with, and integrate them in the rehabilitation process.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Links between social network and quality of life: an epidemiologically representative study of psychotic patients in south London.

Quality of life has been found to be associated with social networks in patients with psychiatric disorders. We aimed to determine whether quality of life was related to social network size in group of severely mentally ill subjects living in the community. In a population-based, prospective controlled study of two sector mental health teams in South London, a random sample of representative 1-year prevalent cases of non-organic psychosis was identified. Patients were interviewed at baseline, and associations between quality of life and social network size were analyzed cross-sectionally. For average quality of life there was increase up to a certain level of social network size (about 20 social contacts). For the quality of life subscore on social relations there appeared to be an optimal middle level of network size (10-12), with lower subscores for smaller and larger networks. Multivariate analysis confirmed the associations between quality of life and social network size. In analyses of network subgroups the importance of confiding contacts was underlined.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Sociodemographic risk indicators for depressive symptoms among persons with oral cancer or oral epithelial dysplasia.

PURPOSE: We report findings from a study that measured associations between sociodemographic risk indicators and depressive symptoms among individuals diagnosed with either oral cancer or a premalignant lesion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Incident cases of oral cancer and oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) were identified by reviewing pathology reports generated by 3 oral pathology laboratories serving primarily community-based oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Subjects were interviewed by telephone to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale, and social support using the Berkman Social Network Inventory. RESULTS: The analysis included 167 oral cancer and 234 OED cases. Nineteen percent of the subjects had a CES-D score indicative of clinical depression (CES-D > or =16). Forward and backward stepwise logistic regression identified diagnosis (cancer/OED), age, social support, employment status, and gender as sociodemographic indicators of CES-D scores of 16+. In the final model, which also controlled for smoking and drinking, the odds of having elevated CES-D scores (16+) were 79% higher among oral cancer relative to OED cases. The odds of high CES-D scores were significantly reduced in persons over the age of 50 compared with those aged 50 years and younger as well as in persons with higher, relative to low, levels of social support and in persons employed outside the home compared with those who were not. Although not statistically significant, men were more likely to have CES-D scores indicative of clinical depression. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of sociodemographic characteristics may assist the clinician in identifying those individuals with an elevated risk of concomitant depressive symptoms.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The prospects for the development of geriatrics in Mexico].

The problem of population aging and its consequences for health has not been analysed in depth in Mexico. This paper is a critical review of available data on the epidemiology of aging in Mexico. Available data, even though incomplete serves us to identify the main problems afflicting the elderly population: poverty, absence of specialized services, high prevalence of disabilities and multiple pathology and weakening of the family and social support network. throughout the analysis of this information, a proposal is made towards the development of a gerontological services network.

Aging↗

PubMed1978

Does help help? The adaptive consequences of obtaining help from professionals and social networks.

This study reports on a longitudinal analysis of changes in adaptation associated with seeking help on a representative sample of Chicago area adults who had experienced one of three transitions or four crises during the interval between 1972 and follow-up 1976--77 interviews. For each event, respondents are classified into three groups according to their help-seeking behavior: those who went to professionals, those who went only to their social networks, and those who had the event but sought no help. Nine measures of adaptation are used: symptoms of anxiety and depression and strains and stresses in four role areas. Statistical controls equate the groups on demographic characteristics, perceived stress, personal resources, access to help, and elapsed time since the event. There are no consistent statistical significant differences among the groups. No evidence is found that help-seeking has positive adaptive consequences. The findings are not likely to result from an inadequate sample, outcome measures, or statistical controls, but could result from insufficient information on the kind, quality, and duration of the help provided.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1984

Factors affecting primary health care utilization.

Using a one-stage random probability sample of households, 5806 people in an area of Norway were interviewed about illness, use of medicines, self-treatment and visits to the doctor in the previous two weeks. Several social and demographic variables that might influence primary health care utilization were divided into five categories: need of medical care; self-care; availability of the doctor; sociodemographic factors; social network factors. Multiple classification analysis was used for the statistical analysis. The greatest influence on the percentage of people seeing the doctor was the need for medical care, the second largest influence was self-care. The availability of the doctor had a different effect according to whether the illness was chronic or non-chronic. Difficulties in reaching the doctor reduced the number of consultations for non-chronic diseases while the opposite was the case for chronic diseases. Among the sociodemographic variables neither level of education nor income had any influence on utilization when other variables were taken into account. Increasing age, however, caused a large increase in the percentage seeing the doctor, except after the age of 85 years when there was a large drop in consultation rate despite increasing illness. Social network factors had little effect on health care utilization.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2005

Being around and knowing the players: networks of influence in health policy.

The accumulation and use of power is crucial to the health policy process. This paper examines the power of the medical profession in the health policy arena, by analysing which actors are perceived as influential, and how influence is structured in health policy. It combines an analysis of policy networks and social networks, to examine positional and personal influence in health policy in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the sub-graph of the influence network examined here, those most widely regarded as influential are academics, medically qualified and male. Positional actors (the top politician, political advisor and bureaucrat in health and the top nursing official) form part of a core group within this network structure. A second central group consists of medical influentials working in academia, research institutes and health-related NGOs. In this network locale overall, medical academics appear to combine positional and personal influence, and play significant intermediary roles across the network. While many claim that the medical profession has lost power in health policy and politics, this analysis yields few signs that the power of medicine to shape the health policy process has been greatly diminished in Victoria. Medical expertise is a potent embedded resource connecting actors through ties of association, making it difficult for actors with other resources and different knowledge to be considered influential. The network concepts and analytical techniques used here provide a novel means for uncovering different types of influence in health policy.

Administrative Personnel↗

PubMed2003

Social relations and self-reported health: a prospective analysis of the French Gazel cohort.

Social networks and social support are strongly associated with health, yet the pathways between social relations and health are not well understood. In one of the very few studies on this issue conducted in France, we used data from the French GAZEL cohort of employees of the national gas and electricity company, to (1) explore the relationship between the structure and function of the social environment upon self-reported health and (2) test the hypothesis that social relations directly affect health. In a prospective analysis over a 12-month follow-up period, we found that a lack of social support and dissatisfaction with social relations are predictive of poor health status, while weak social networks are not. Thus, functional aspects of social relations are better predictors of poor health than the structure of social interactions. Low social support was an independent risk factor for poor health in men and women: for men the effect was strongest among individuals who held a high occupational status, for women among those in high and low occupational groups. This study suggests that in France social relations exert an independent effect on health, modified by gender and socio-economic factors. Our results indicate that both clinicians in their practice and researchers may do well to focus increased attention on the health impact of social support.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Risk reconsidered: targets of violence in the social networks of people with serious psychiatric disorders.

Risk Reconsidered: Targets of violence in the Social Networks of People with Serious Mental illness. This exploratory analysis addresses the questions: 1) Who among the members of the social network of a person diagnosed with a major psychiatric disorder is likely to become a target of violence? 2) What kind of relationships do targets have with respondents in terms of the quality and quantity of interactions?, and 3) What are the risk factors that contribute to being a target of violence for people who are in the social networks of persons with serious mental disorders? The samples of 169 people with serious mental disorders were followed for 30 months. A logistic regression model of the risk for being a target of violence among the members of the cohort's social network reveals that both target and respondent characteristics are salient, and that mothers who live with adult children who have schizophrenia and co-occurring substance abuse bear a substantially elevated risk of becoming a target of violence, compared to other social network members. Other factors that elevate the risk for being a target of violence are being an immediate family members of the respondent, more time in residence with the respondent, and whether the respondent is financially dependent on the family. Respondents with the most mental health center visits had lower odds of committing an act or threat of violence against a social network member.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

The relationship of social environment, social networks, and health outcomes in the Seattle Longitudinal Study: two analytical approaches.

This study examined the relation of social networks and perceived social environment to health outcomes and cost utilization over a 1-year period in a community sample of 387 (173 males, 214 females). Two analytical strategies, a variable-oriented approach and a subject-oriented approach, were used to complement each other: structural equation modeling assessed the direct relationship between social relationships and health, while cluster analysis examined how social relationship patterns were related to health outcomes. Lower levels of perceived social environment were associated with an increased number of hospital visits. For unmarried individuals, increased age was associated with greater medical usage and estimated total health care cost, while low perceived social environment was related to a greater number of doctor visits. Among married individuals, women had more frequent doctor visits, medication usage, estimated outpatient costs, and primary care visits. Married individuals with low levels of social networks had increased total health care costs, outpatient costs, and primary care visits. Cluster analysis was used to group individuals by characteristics of perceived social environment and social networks. Members of the cluster groups with greater health problems were more likely to be isolated, had the least social contact, and had lower levels of education and income. Including subject-oriented approaches is useful in complementing more popular regression methods for data analysis.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

The role of social determinants on men's and women's mobility in Italy. A comparison of discriminant analysis and artificial neural networks.

The paper focuses on the role of the spouse's occupation as a resource for mobile individuals, from the perspective that social positions are held by families, rather than by individuals. Three groups are confronted in terms of the role of the key variables and other relevant factors: men whose spouse does not have a paid job (group 1), men and women whose spouse has a paid job (group 2 and 3). The data set is provided by the national survey on social mobility in Italy, carried out in 1985; social achievements of members of the three groups are considered, including social origins and destinations, social position corresponding to respondent's first job, cultural background (educational achievement of respondent's father and mother found), respondent's education and spouse's social position. The techniques used are discriminant analysis and back propagation Neural Networks. Both techniques traced a clear boundary between group 1 and groups 2 and 3, which were discriminated mainly on the basis of the spouse's occupation; Artificial Neural Networks reached better classification results and allowed a deeper insight into the nonlinear effects of the discriminating variables for the three groups.

Artificial Intelligence↗

PubMed1993

Convoys of social support: an intergenerational analysis.

Within the Convoy Model, social networks are viewed as dynamic hierarchic structures surrounding the individual throughout life. As a step toward empirical definition of convoy structure and function across the life span, a bicultural sample (N = 159) of young adult women, their mothers, and their grandmothers were queried. Comparable results were obtained across generations and cultures with regard to network size, the amount of support provided by the network, and the nomination of close family members as primary sources of support. However, there was a marked shift across generations in the balance of familial versus friendship relations. Younger persons included fewer family members and more friends in their networks, and they received more support from friends. These cross-sectional results are consistent with the Convoy Model and suggest that longitudinal research is warranted.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Coordination among health care stakeholders: effects on state health policy choices.

This article proposes that coordination among health stakeholders is reflected in the structural relations within state health care lobbies and treats lobbies as a mechanism of social control over the industry. This article compares the effects of structural relations of lobbies and also professional associations and economic conditions upon a regulatory typology of health policy outcomes. Results of network analysis show that special interest structures exert social control, regulatory policy reflects choices between markets and regulation and vertical industry relations, and network analysis is useful for studying these complex ideas.

Decision Making↗

PubMed1993

Pain and depression in the nursing home: corroborating results.

The relationship between depressed affect and pain was examined in secondary analysis of data on 408 nursing home residents. Also assessed were cognitive impairment, activities of daily living impairment, quality of social networks, and number of medical diagnoses. Analysis revealed that depressed residents were more likely to have pain, regardless of the presence of cognitive impairment. Multiple regression revealed that depressed affect was predicted by more pain, a greater number of medical diagnoses, and poor quality of the social network. These findings corroborate and extend those from a recent study of nursing home and congregate apartment residents (Parmelee et al., 1991). This corroboration and extension of findings occurred despite differences between the two studies with regard to characteristics of participants (this research included residents with all levels of cognitive impairment, and research by Parmelee et al. excluded those who were too disoriented to respond to questions), type of data collection employed (this research used ratings by professional caregivers whereas research by Parmelee et al. used self-report), and assessment instruments used to tap constructs.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1988

[Social networks in schizophrenic disorders--a review].

In the fifties the "social network"-concept was developed in order to improve the analysis of the structure of different social groups; later on, its emphasis has shifted to the study of "personal networks", that deal with the structure of the social relations of a "focal individual". In the latter sense the term "social network" will be used in this paper. Social networks are discussed in terms of morphological characteristics such as the size or the number of clusters as well as in terms of interactional characteristics such as the number of social contacts of the focal person. Studies concerning the social networks of schizophrenics that have been carried out so far showed the following results: In comparison with the social networks of the mentally healthy those of schizophrenic patients are markedly smaller in size and contain a smaller number of clusters. The proportion of family members in the social networks of schizophrenics is higher than in those of the mentally healthy. Social relations of the latter generally show a more complex structure than those of the schizophrenics. The social networks of schizophrenics patients with multiple admissions are generally smaller than those of first admission schizophrenic patients who also have more extrafamilial contacts. -The last section of this paper discusses methodical problems of the existing studies that deal with the social networks of schizophrenic patients; some suggestions are made concerning the application of the network-concept to psychiatric therapy.

Family↗

PubMed1981

Analysis of a schizophrenic psychosocial network.

The amorphous concept of social support systems merits construction of a conceptually coherent theoretical model linked to social theory and amenable to empirical investigation. The social network paradigm is presented as such a model. The model is further defined in terms of the intimate psychosocial network, which has been empirically studied with the Pattison Psychosocial Kinship Inventory. The characteristics of the normal network are shown to differ substantially in the schizophrenic network. The structure and functions of the schizophrenic network are illustrated in a case study analysis. The schizophrenic network is shown to exhibit dynamics that generate and perpetuate psychotic behavior. A strategy for network intervention is described, based on the model of structural change in the network social system.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Social support and social networks: their relationship to the successful and unsuccessful survival of elderly people in the community. An analysis of concepts and a review of the evidence.

Many studies suggest that there is a relationship between social support and physical and psychological health status, risk of institutionalization and mortality of the elderly. Although longitudinal analyses confirm these suggestions, all studies experience problems with network methodology, and none use comparable operational or working definitions. It is known that there is an effect between these variables, but the nature of the relationship is still unknown. This paper reviews existing research on social networks, social support and associations with health status, mortality and risk of institutionalization.

Aged↗