Dissemination of Health Information within Social Networks

In this paper, we investigate, how information about a common food born health hazard, known as Campylobacter, spreads once it was delivered to a random sample of individuals in France. The central question addressed here is how individual characteristics and the various aspects of social network influence the spread of information. A key claim of our paper is that information diffusion processes occur in a patterned network of social ties of heterogeneous actors. Our percolation models show that the characteristics of the recipients of the information matter as much if not more than the characteristics of the sender of the information in deciding whether the information will be transmitted through a particular tie. We also found that at least for this particular advisory, it is not the perceived need of the recipients for the information that matters but their general interest in the topic

Unveiling human interactions : approaches and techniques toward the discovery and representation of interactions in networks

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Rationale and study protocol for Unidas por la Vida (United for Life): A dyadic weight-loss intervention for high-risk Latina mothers and their adult daughters.

BackgroundHalf of Mexican-American women are under-active and nearly 78% are overweight/obese. The high lifetime risk of developing type 2 diabetes necessitates a culturally appropriate lifestyle intervention.PurposeUnidas por la Vida is a novel dyadic intervention that capitalizes on the centrality of family in Latino culture to mobilize an existing family dyad as a resource for health behavior change. The intervention aims to improve health behaviors and promote weight loss in two at-risk members of the same family: mothers with type 2 diabetes and their overweight/obese adult daughters who are at risk for developing diabetes.MethodsParticipants (N = 460 mother-adult daughter dyads) will be randomized into one of three conditions: 1) dyadic participation (mothers-daughters) in a lifestyle intervention; 2) individual participation (mothers alone; unrelated daughters alone) in a lifestyle intervention; and 3) mother-daughter dyads in a minimal intervention control group.ResultsThe primary outcome is weight loss. Secondary outcomes include physical activity, dietary intake, physiological measures (e.g. HbA1c), and body composition. Both the dyadic and individual interventions are expected to produce greater weight loss at 6, 12, and 18 months than those in minimal intervention control group, with women assigned to the dyadic intervention expected to lose more weight and to maintain the weight loss longer than women assigned to the individual intervention.ConclusionBecause health risks are often shared by multiple members of at-risk families, culturally appropriate, dyadic interventions have the potential to increase the success of behavior change efforts and to extend their reach to multiple family members.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02741037

Experiences of Heterosexual Couples Who Undergo HIV Counseling and Testing in Nakuru-Kenya

The increase in new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among heterosexual couples in Africa may reverse the gains made by HIV prevention programs. HIV screening among such couples remains low and understudied.This qualitative study focused on the motivations for HIV screening among heterosexual couples. The primary research goal was to examine the lived experiences of heterosexual couples who were screened for HIV and received their results in Nakuru-Kenya. The health belief model (HBM) served as the theoretical framework and as a basis for the secondary questions which sought to explore the participants\u27 perceptions on HIV based on the constructs of the HBM. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of 14 heterosexual couples. Data were collected through face-to-face audio-recorded interviews, which were coded and analyzed using Moustakas\u27s phenomenological data analysis method. Six major themes emerged from the clustered responses of the participants. Couples recognized that they may be susceptible to HIV infection because HIV is transmitted primarily through sexual contact. Some couples perceived HIV as a severe, life-threatening condition in their lives; others perceived HIV as chronic disease that could be managed through treatment and good health care. The fear of negative consequences was cited as a barrier to couples\u27 willingness to receive HIV counselling and testing. Couples perceived HIV testing as having multiple benefits, including freedom from worries and as a motivation to plan their lives. Health messages and partner dialogue were major cues that encouraged couples to undergo HIV testing. Testimonials from other couples who had been tested and chose to talk about their experiences contributed to a strong feeling of self-efficacy. These study findings may help to improve HIV prevention interventions for heterosexual couples

The affective extension of ‘Family’ in the context of changing elite business networks

Drawing on 49 oral-history interviews with Scottish family business owner-managers, six key-informant interviews, and secondary sources, this interdisciplinary study analyses the decline of kinship-based connections and the emergence of new kinds of elite networks around the 1980s. As the socioeconomic context changed rapidly during this time, cooperation built primarily around literal family ties could not survive unaltered. Instead of finding unity through bio-legal family connections, elite networks now came to redefine their ‘family businesses’ in terms of affectively loaded ‘family values’ such as loyalty, care, commitment, and even ‘love’. Consciously nurturing ‘as-if-family’ emotional and ethical connections arose as a psychologically effective way to bring together network members who did not necessarily share pre-existing connections of bio-legal kinship. The social-psychological processes involved in this extension of the ‘family’ can be understood using theories of the moral sentiments first developed in the Scottish Enlightenment. These theories suggest that, when the context is amenable, family-like emotional bonds can be extended via sympathy to those to whom one is not literally related. As a result of this ‘progress of sentiments’, one now earns his/her place in a Scottish family business, not by inheriting or marrying into it, but by performing family-like behaviours motivated by shared ethics and affects

Dads and Dyads: stress and coping when a child has Retinoblastoma

Child psychosocial oncology research offers limited examination of fathers’ and dyadic stress and coping. Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare genetic eye cancer occurring at birth or early childhood. This qualitative sociological study examines individual and dyadic stress and coping across 4 fatherhood role categories when their child is diagnosed/treated for Retinoblastoma. Using purposive sampling, 23 Canadian Rb couples and 7 unmatched parents completed individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Findings confirm fatherhood role identity is diverse, influenced by the current situation, elements of discourse, and cultural references. Often contested in public and private spheres, fathering roles show transitional or permanent change tied to circumstance and dyadic support. In a stress process model, fathers primarily relied on problem-oriented and instrumental coping. Partners were the primary mediator of stress for all fathers, providing extensive emotional and informational supports. Using a systemic-transactional model of coping, most study dyads used positive coping strategies and were often supported by the extended clinical team and Social Worker. These dyads showed symmetrical coping that enhanced short and long term well-being. A life course perspective emerges for individuals with heritable Rb. Mothers focused on their child’s future health risk and Rb transmission to future generations. Fathers focused on possible socioeconomic disadvantage for their child. A disease-treatment matrix impacts the life course experience. Heritable Rb is referred to the single tertiary treatment centre in Canada. Regular travel from home and the absence of common social supports increases individual and dyadic stress for many affected parents. Implications for clinical practice include the importance of face-to-face meetings with clinicians as a primary parent coping strategy. Fathers should be actively encouraged to attend Rb appointments with their partner and child whenever possible. Those that did so enhanced both individual coping and positive dyadic coping outcomes. After clinician information, parents preferred brief, plain language pamphlets and brochures for take-away information. These were commonly lacking and internet resources were the default information source for parents. Some Rb parents gain substantial informal informational and social support from peer parents. Social media is the emerging channel among younger parents for that informal peer support

Spillover effects of foreign entry on local firms and business networks in Russia - A Case study on Fazer Bakeries in St. Petersburg

siirretty Doriast

Fibromyalgia Syndrome: The Relationship between Alexithymia and Attachment Style on Couple Relationship

The fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is the most frequent cause of chronic, widespread pain in North America and Europe. It is a non-inflammatory musculoskeletal syndrome predominantly found in the female middle-aged population with a ratio men/women of ¼. Considered for decades an `imaginary\u27 or at best a psychosomatic disease, fibromyalgia gained its status as a diagnosable entity in the early 90s giving a `voice\u27 to the invisible suffering of people, the majority of them being women afflicted by it. While in general the research on psychosocial aspects of fibromyalgia is scarce, couple and family aspects are even less studied than individual aspects. In an attempt to shed more light on the quality of couple relationship of people suffering from FMS, this study looked at the mediation effect of alexithymia and attachment style on the relationship between the impact of fibromyalgia and couple satisfaction. This is a quantitative study that employed a Structural Equation Modeling statistical analysis. The findings from this study show that neither alexithymia nor a specific attachment style is a mediator of the relationship between fibromyalgia impact and couple satisfaction. The study also shows that fibromyalgia symptoms do not have a statistically significant impact on couple adjustment. A combination of the presence of alexithymia traits and an avoidant attachment style seems to have the most powerful impact on couple satisfaction in the population suffering from fibromyalgia. Several clinical implications are highlighted as a result of this study: couple therapists working with clients with fibromyalgia should familiarize themselves with the symptoms of this syndrome and how they affect the everyday life of the partners, as well as the impact of the alexithymia traits and an insecure attachment style on the couple relationship in this population. Due to its emphasis on emotional experiences and its psychoeducational aspects in regards to processing feelings, Emotionally-Focused Therapy is proposed to be very well suited in working with fibromyalgia sufferers and their partners, especially those with alexithymia features and insecure attachment styles