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Results for “social network analysis”

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PubMed2005

Social support networks and medical service use among HIV-positive injection drug users: implications to intervention.

The study used network analysis to identify forms and sources of social support associated with a medical services use among a medically underserved population living with HIV/AIDS. Participants were African American former or current injection drug users (n=295; 34% female, 45% current drug users and 17% AIDS diagnosed). Outcomes were access to the same medical provider, use of outpatient services and emergency room (ER) use with or without subsequent hospitalization. Controlling for AIDS diagnosis, insurance, current drug use and gender, access to the same medical care provider was associated with more females in one's support network and more network sources of emotional support, financial support and instrumental assistance. Adjusting for confounders, outpatient service use was associated with more female support network members and more sources of emotional support. Controlling for participants' drug use and insurance, sub-optimal emergency department use was associated with greater number of active drug users in one's support network. Contrary to other study findings, having a supportive sex partner was associated with lower access to medical care, and kin support was not associated with medical service use. Results indicate that specific sources and forms of social support had differential influences on the sample's utilization of medical services. The findings suggest that promoting HIV-positive African American injection drug users' support network functioning may help improve HIV medical services utilization among this medically underserved population.

Adult↗

PubMed2026

Lipid reprogramming of stratified squamous epithelium by the high-risk HPV E6 and E6/E7 oncoproteins.

INTRODUCTION: High risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and genome integration with pronounced expression of the viral E6/E7 oncogenes is the major cause of cervical cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that HPV reprograms host metabolism to support viral persistence and cellular transformation. However, global HPV oncogene-induced lipidomic reprogramming remains poorly understood, particularly at early stages of HPV-induced transformation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to define the regulation of lipid metabolism in squamous epithelia of transgenic mice expressing the HPV16 oncogene E6 alone or in conjunction with E7. METHODS: Untargeted lipidomics was used to identify novel lipid biomarkers in the skin and female reproductive tract (FRT) of HPV16 E6 and E6/E7 transgenic compared to wild-type (WT) mice. To investigate enzymatic dysregulation of lipids by HPV oncogene expression, we employed Lipid Network Explorer (LINEX2), which analyzes lipidomics data through lipid enrichment analysis. We also used the Global Natural Product Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) platform to enhance lipid identification, exploring molecular networking to improve feature annotation. RESULTS: Our lipidomic analysis produced several new observations. First, E6 expression caused a consistent alteration of glycerophospholipids, with particularly significant substrate-product shifts in the phosphatidylcholine (PC) to lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) pathway in the skin. Second, E6/E7 expression caused a dysregulation of glucosylceramide (GlcCer) biosynthesis. Third, both E6/E7 expressing skin and FRT tissues exhibited a redox imbalance and increased levels of oxidized lipids, including oxylipins and several oxidized PCs. These findings suggest that HPV oncoproteins drive lipid reprogramming, potentially contributing to early HPV-related tumorigenesis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide new insights into HPV‑induced lipid reprogramming and establish a framework for future studies examining the functional and clinical relevance of lipid alterations in HPV‑associated cancers.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Factors influencing professional home care utilization among the elderly.

Most explanatory research into the utilization of home care for the elderly has been carried out in a cross-sectional design with multiple regression as the main method of analysis. For methodological reasons we chose another design in a project called 'Professional home care and informal help for the elderly', which has been conducted in the northern part of the Netherlands. Two types of causal variables were distinguished to detect influencing factors on professional home care utilization among the elderly, other than physical limitation: person-bound variables and social network variables. A Mokken Scale analysis for Polychotomous items (MSP) was used to measure the level of physical limitation and a matching procedure to compare 'users' and 'non-users' of professional home care. With regard to person-bound variables, sex, whether or not a person was living alone and the level of the elderly person's income appeared to play a role in the utilization of home care: the user group comprised significantly more women, more elderly living alone and more persons on a low income. Contrary to the findings in other Dutch research, depression and feelings of loneliness did not seem to discriminate between the two groups. With regard to social network variables, the size and structure of the social network was more or less identical in both groups. The non-users network lives slightly closer. In general, the small differences found between the groups were to the non-users' advantage. Moreover, the non-users received more informal and private care with ADL and IADL activities.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Receiving social support online: an analysis of a computer-mediated support group for individuals living with irritable bowel syndrome.

In recent years, the rapid expansion in Internet access and computer-mediated communication has fostered new opportunities for individuals with health-related concerns to participate in supportive communication within a network of individuals dealing with similar issues. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of socially supportive communication that took place within a computer-mediated support network for individuals affected by irritable bowel syndrome. Using deductive thematic analysis, 572 posted messages were examined with reference to five main categories of social support (i.e., emotional, esteem, information, network, and tangible assistance). The analysis suggests that the primary function of this group was the communication of informational support, notably within the areas of symptom interpretation, illness management, and interaction with health care professionals.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Computational organization science: a new frontier.

Synthetic adaptation is the process whereby any entity composed of intelligent, adaptive, and computational agents is also an intelligent, adaptive, and computational agent. Because of synthetic adaptation, organizations, like the agents of which they are composed, are inherently computational. We can gain insight into the behavior of groups, organizations, and societies by using multiagent computational models composed of collections of intelligent adaptive artificial agents. CONSTRUCT-O and ORGAHEAD are examples of such models whose value for social, organizational, and policy analysis lies in the fact that they combine a network (social and knowledge approach) with a multiagent approach to effect more realistic behavior. The results from a series of virtual experiments using these models are examined to illustrate the power of this approach for social, organizational, and policy analysis.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

[Social relationships, stress and mortality].

Empirically it has been demonstrated in many cases that social networks induce lower mortality rates. This article discusses various approaches to explain this phenomenon in consideration of the influence of stress. The empirical analysis refers to the complex interrelation between social networks, stress and mortality. In doing so, quantitative and qualitative aspects of social networks, different indicators of stress as well as the interaction effect of stress and social network is analyzed. Data derive from the German "MONICA Project" (MONICA=Monitoring of trends and determinants of cardiovascular diseases). The data comprise two cross-sectional surveys in 1984/85 and 1989/90 in the Augsburg area as well as a mortality follow-up in 1997/98. The study includes 7329 persons between the age of 25 and 74 years with German nationality. The empirical analyses confirm the findings that social relationships induce lower mortality rates. Yet, social relationships lead to lower mortality independent of stress and social strains.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Participating in social activities helps preserve cognitive function: an analysis of a longitudinal, population-based study of the elderly.

BACKGROUND: This study examines how changes in cognition over time are related to participation in social activities and the extent of social networks. METHODS: Data are drawn from a population-based, longitudinal study that began in 1989 among elderly Taiwanese. An over-dispersed Poisson model is used to regress the number of failed cognitive tasks (0-5) in 1996, 1999, and 2000 on prior measures of cognitive impairment, social activities, social networks, health status, and sociodemographic characteristics. The analysis sample comprises 2387 individuals, who contribute a total of 4603 observations across three survey intervals (1993-96, 1996-99, 1999-2000). RESULTS: After adjusting for prior cognitive impairment, baseline health status, and sociodemographic factors, respondents who participated in one or two social activities failed 13% fewer cognitive tasks (P < 0.01) than those with no social activities; those who engaged in three or more activities failed 33% fewer cognitive tasks (P < 0.001). In contrast, none of the social network measures was related to cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a social structure where elderly persons often live with their children and social interaction is likely to be more family-centered than in western countries, data from Taiwan suggest that participation in social activities outside the family may have a bigger impact on cognitive function than social contacts with family or non-relatives.

Aged↗

PubMed1989

Social network and regular dental care utilisation in elderly men. Results from the population study "Men born in 1914", Malmö, Sweden.

In connection with an extensive examination of their health status, a representative sample of 68-year-old men (n = 621) in the city of Malmö, Sweden, were interviewed in detail regarding different aspects of the social network, social support and social influence of the individual, dental care utilisation and perceived dental health. 79% of the dentate and 7% of the edentulous subjects made regular dental visits. The most important reason for not visiting a dentist regularly was "no perceived need". Social class and different aspects of social network and social support were in univariate analyses associated with regular dental care. In the multivariate analysis, social anchorage and social participation, subconcepts of the social network, and social class showed independent associations with regular dental care. The addition of the social network and social support variables yielded a more differentiated and thereby a more valid picture of the determinants of regular dental care utilisation. These factors should therefore be considered when public health efforts to increase the number of elderly persons receiving regular dental care are made.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Culture-fair behavioral symptom differential assessment and intervention in dementing illness.

Ethnically diverse populations are not represented in the dementia-related noncognitive behavioral symptom research arena. Some of the obstacles are structural, centering around the lack of inclusion of ethnic minority groups within existing projects. These impediments are surmountable by the systematic targeting and incorporation of ethically diverse populations in research and the deployment of a variety of research-related outreach approaches. The more formidable barriers are conceptual. They relate to the need to differentiate cultural factors from socioeconomic and social status (SES) artifacts and to include life-long exposure to various forms of prejudice and discrimination, all of which can come together in the late-life manifestation of behavioral symptoms. A culture-fair behavioral assessment and intervention model is presented. It allows researcher and clinician alike access to ethnocultural data, while differentiating SES influences. A comparative Hispanic/Anglo dementia caregiver pilot study has provided a partial test of the model with statistically significant outcomes. Two-tailed t tests (p < or = 0.05) uncovered ethnic group differences with respect to four specific dimensions of caregiving. The differences were demonstrated around reactivity to caregiving burden, caregiver health status, coping and helpseeking styles, and configuration of social support received from social network members. Further multiple regression analysis sustained the observed differences despite income, education, and mean age variance between the two ethnic groups. The model has an overall multicultural applied intent. More study is indicated.

Acculturation↗

PubMed1986

Social networks and social competence: exploring the effects of early adolescent friendships.

This study explored the relationship between friendship social network variables and social competence indices using a sample of 98 young black lower SES adolescents. Analyses indicated that perceived emotional support received from friends and the number of reciprocated best friends in an adolescents' social network were related positively. Multivariate hierarchical regression analyses indicated that perceived friend emotional support and number of reciprocated best friends contributed independently to school competence, peer competence, and perceived self-competence measures. The friendship network's school achievement orientation was related positively to school competence but was unrelated to peer or perceived self-competence. Friendship network density did not add to the variance explained by the other network variables. Methodological contributions of this study include the development of a computer program to map friendship networks and the expansion of network analysis beyond the examination of social support functions.

Achievement↗

PubMed2003

Large-scale structural organization of social networks.

The characterization of large-scale structural organization of social networks is an important interdisciplinary problem. We show, by using scaling analysis and numerical computation, that the following factors are relevant for models of social networks: the correlation between friendship ties among people and the position of their social groups, as well as the correlation between the positions of different social groups to which a person belongs.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1991

A population-based study of functional status and social support networks of elderly patients newly diagnosed with cancer.

We assessed the functional status and social support networks of 799 men and women aged 65 years or older newly diagnosed with cancer and living in six New Mexico counties. Functional limitations included depending on others for transportation (33%) and mental incompetence or poor recent memory (42%). The percentage of patients with functional limitation increased sharply with increasing age. In a substantial number of patients there was also evidence for poor social support networks; 26.5% of subjects lived alone and 38.9% had no children living in the vicinity. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, the predictors of having a poor social support network included non-Hispanic white ethnicity, advanced age, low income, and being a recent migrant to the area. Subjects with functional limitations were more likely to have poor social support networks than subjects without such limitations. The deleterious combination of impaired functional status and a limited social support network may explain why elderly cancer patients are at increased risk for not receiving appropriate therapy. Given the potential complexities involving the evaluation and appropriate treatment of cancer, care must be taken to adequately assess functional status and support mechanisms of older patients, and to provide adequate support to ensure compliance with treatment.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

Social networks, perceptions of risk, and changing attitudes towards HIV/AIDS: new evidence from a longitudinal study using fixed-effects analysis.

The study presented here is an investigation of the importance of social interactions to perceptions of the risk of AIDS, and explores spousal communication about the AIDS epidemic in rural Malawi. A fixed-effects analysis based on longitudinal data collected in 1998 and 2001 shows that social interactions on the subject of HIV/AIDS have significant and substantial effects on respondents' perceptions of the risk of HIV/AIDS, even after controlling for unobserved factors that affect the selection of social networks. These effects are more complex than previously thought. The dominant mechanisms--social learning and social influence--are found to vary by sex and by region, because of regional variations in the marriage pattern and the resulting implications for the formation of local social networks. The conclusion of the study is that rather than fostering denial and inaction, social interactions are an important vector of change in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

The heart of what's the matter. The semantics of illness in Iran.

Our understanding of the psychosocial and cultural dimensions of disease and illness is limited not merely by a lack of empirical knowledge but also by an inadequate medical semantics. The empiricist theories of medical language commonly employed both by comparative ethnosemantic studies and by medical theory are unable to account for the integration of illness and the language of high medical traditions into distinctive social and symbolic contexts. A semantic network analysis conceives the meaning of illness categories to be constituted not primarily as an ostensive relationship between signs and natural disease entities but as a 'syndrome' of symbols and experiences which typically 'run together' for the members of a society. Such analysis dirests our attention to the patterns of associations which provide meaning to elements of a medical lexicon and to the constitution of that meaning through the use of medical discourse to articulate distinctive configurations of social stress and to negotiate relief for the sufferer. This paper provides a critical discussion of medical semantics and develops a semantic network analysis of 'heart distress', a folk illness in Iran.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Preferential attachment in the growth of social networks: the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia.

We present an analysis of the statistical properties and growth of the free on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia. By describing topics by vertices and hyperlinks between them as edges, we can represent this encyclopedia as a directed graph. The topological properties of this graph are in close analogy with those of the World Wide Web, despite the very different growth mechanism. In particular, we measure a scale-invariant distribution of the in and out degree and we are able to reproduce these features by means of a simple statistical model. As a major consequence, Wikipedia growth can be described by local rules such as the preferential attachment mechanism, though users, who are responsible of its evolution, can act globally on the network.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Social networks, structural interdependence, and marital quality over the transition to marriage: a prospective analysis.

This study examined the relationship between couples' network interdependence and marital quality in a sample of 347 couples that were recruited at the time of their first marriage. Husbands and wives completed separate, self-administered questionnaires at home. Analyses are based on data collected at the time of marriage, at the first anniversary, and at the second anniversary. Results indicated that after marriage, husbands' and wives' friend and family networks became increasingly interdependent. Moreover, the interdependence of the friend and family networks at marriage predicted wives' marital quality at the first anniversary, whereas wives' marital quality at the first anniversary predicted the interdependence of the friend network at the second anniversary. No significant longitudinal relations were observed for husbands.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Social networks and functional status in patients with psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether large social networks are associated with better functional outcome in psychotic disorders. METHOD: A prospective cohort study of epidemiologically representative patients with psychosis was analysed to examine the relationship between social networks and functional outcome. Standardized validated measures were used for diagnosis, social networks and outcome. RESULTS: There was strong evidence of cross-sectional associations between the size of the social network and the number of active interactions, and functional outcome. Structural equation modelling found weak evidence of an additional longitudinal association. CONCLUSION: There was consistent evidence of a positive correlation between the total size of patients' social networks and the number of active interactions, and functional outcome. The direction of causality cannot be determined by this analysis, although it is suggested that the effect of social networks on functioning is stronger than vice versa. Patients' functioning may improve with interventions that improve social networks.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Social networks among older Australians: a validation of Glass's model.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to validate a set of measures of social networks that will be useful in epidemiological studies of the health of older persons. METHODS: Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a multi-dimensional model of social networks. Data were drawn from The Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing, conducted in the greater metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. Participants were 1477 persons aged > or = 70 years who lived in the community or an institution and took part in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Social networks with children, other relatives, friends and confidants were considered. Demographic indicators of gender, age group, income, education, marital status and place of residence were also measured, and social networks were compared for categories of these variables. RESULTS: Networks with children, relatives, friends and confidants were substantiated in these analyses. Differences in networks between categories of the demographic variables were evident. DISCUSSION: Adoption of the proposed measures will allow greater comparability between studies of older persons. This could lead to a better understanding of the effect of specific social networks upon health.

Aged↗