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

Blogging Technologies for Outreach and Network Building

Theme: Blogging is commonly perceived as being for individuals to share their daily experiences. But what else can Web 2.0 technologies be used for? In the information and library world information dissemination and current awareness services are well-established activities. What are the impacts when you apply new collaborative technology to these well-worn traditional tasks? Description of project: DrugScope, the national drugs information charity, has been using RSS feeds and blogging for over a year. This paper presents a case study of how two projects - to streamline the dissemination of new catalogue data to our existing user group and to speed-up our acquisitions process - led to the development of the DrugScope blog and how this, in turn, afforded us networking and outreach opportunities within our own organisation, within our existing health and social care networks and within new sectors. We will cover, briefly, our use of news aggregators (Bloglines, NHS My Update, Google Alerts) to acquire information, of blogging software to create our own RSS and atom feeds, and of editorial policies to ensure focused content, before highlighting the impact blogging has had on our internal and external profiles. We will also discuss how networking assisted us in marketing our new product nationally and internationally, and how this increased the size and reach of our networks - even into the cultural sector. We will analyse the impact on our own workload, and, more significantly, the uptake of blogging within our sector - via seminars to independent health information professionals and through articles to European substance misuse specialists. The main focus of the paper is to explore the key learning points - both positive and negative - which could be applied to any professional sector - information, health, social care and beyond

Blogging Technologies for Outreach and Network Building

Theme: Blogging is commonly perceived as being for individuals to share their daily experiences. But what else can Web 2.0 technologies be used for? In the information and library world information dissemination and current awareness services are well-established activities. What are the impacts when you apply new collaborative technology to these well-worn traditional tasks? Description of project: DrugScope, the national drugs information charity, has been using RSS feeds and blogging for over a year. This paper presents a case study of how two projects - to streamline the dissemination of new catalogue data to our existing user group and to speed-up our acquisitions process - led to the development of the DrugScope blog and how this, in turn, afforded us networking and outreach opportunities within our own organisation, within our existing health and social care networks and within new sectors. We will cover, briefly, our use of news aggregators (Bloglines, NHS My Update, Google Alerts) to acquire information, of blogging software to create our own RSS and atom feeds, and of editorial policies to ensure focused content, before highlighting the impact blogging has had on our internal and external profiles. We will also discuss how networking assisted us in marketing our new product nationally and internationally, and how this increased the size and reach of our networks - even into the cultural sector. We will analyse the impact on our own workload, and, more significantly, the uptake of blogging within our sector - via seminars to independent health information professionals and through articles to European substance misuse specialists. The main focus of the paper is to explore the key learning points - both positive and negative - which could be applied to any professional sector - information, health, social care and beyond

Information Diffusion, Facebook Clusters, and the Simplicial Model of Social Aggregation: A Computational Simulation of Simplicial Diffusers for Community Health Interventions

By integrating the simplicial model of social aggregation with existing research on opinion leadership and diffusion networks, this article introduces the constructs of simplicial diffusers (mathematically defined as nodes embedded in simplexes; a simplex is a socially bonded cluster) and simplicial diffusing sets (mathematically defined as minimal covers of a simplicial complex; a simplicial complex is a social aggregation in which socially bonded clusters are embedded) to propose a strategic approach for information diffusion of cancer screenings as a health intervention on Facebook for community cancer prevention and control. This approach is novel in its incorporation of interpersonally bonded clusters, culturally distinct subgroups, and different united social entities that co-exist within a larger community into a computational simulation to select sets of simplicial diffusers with the highest degree of information diffusion for health intervention dissemination. The unique contributions of the article also include seven propositions and five algorithmic steps for computationally modeling the simplicial model with Facebook data

Polarization and Belief Dynamics in the Black and White Communities: An Agent-Based Network Model from the Data

Public health care interventions—regarding vaccination, obesity, and HIV, for example—standardly take the form of information dissemination across a community. But information networks can vary importantly between different ethnic communities, as can levels of trust in information from different sources. We use data from the Greater Pittsburgh Random Household Health Survey to construct models of information networks for White and Black communities--models which reflect the degree of information contact between individuals, with degrees of trust in information from various sources correlated with positions in that social network. With simple assumptions regarding belief change and social reinforcement, we use those modeled networks to build dynamic agent-based models of how information can be expected to flow and how beliefs can be expected to change across each community. With contrasting information from governmental and religious sources, the results show importantly different dynamic patterns of belief polarization within the two communities

Patterns of Interaction in Public Health Research Networks: Insight from Network Analysis

OBJECTIVES: Studies from the past three decades have found evidence of wide variation in public health practices and policies across states and communities despite an expanding evidence base of efficacious public health strategies, suggesting gaps in implementation and translation processes. Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are expected to accelerate research participation and translation. This study uses social network analysis methods with twelve Public Health PBRNs to study processes influencing the implementation and translation of research within diverse public health settings. DATA and METHODS: A cross-sectional network analysis survey was validated and fielded with participants in two cohorts of public health PBRNs approximately one year after network formation: five PBRNs during Spring and Summer 2010; and seven PBRNs during Fall and Winter 2011. A total of 347 organizational participants were represented in the twelve networks, including public health agencies, universities, and community-based organizations. Standard measures of network structure and flow were constructed for each PBRN using information about the types and frequencies of interaction reported by network participants. Hierarchical ordered logistic regression models were used to estimate how organizational attributes and network structures influence the experiences of PBRN participants with research participation and patterns of interaction. FINDINGS: The density and centrality of research networks varied widely across the twelve PH-PBRN networks. Local public health agencies and community-based organizations were significantly more likely than state agencies and academic institutions to be located in the periphery of these networks (p\u3c0.05) and to exhibit relatively low levels of network embeddedness. Nevertheless, participants in the periphery of their networks reported significantly larger benefits from research participation than did more central participants (p\u3c0.05), particularly regarding their ability to steer research projects to practice-relevant questions and to identify innovations in practice worthy of study and dissemination. Peripheral network members were also more likely to report engagement in activities to apply research findings internally and to assist others with research translation (p\u3c0.05). IMPLICATIONS: PBRN networks can serve as effective mechanisms for facilitating implementation and translation of research findings, particularly when practice agencies locate peripherally within networks to serve as boundary interfaces with non-participating practice settings. Due to their peripheral location in research networks, practice agencies may require targeted resources and incentives to sustain their engagement in research implementation and translation activities over time

Can Seeding in the Clinic Reach a Wide Audience? A Proof of Concept Study on Spreading a Health Message About Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Using a Shareable Online Video

BACKGROUND: Shareable online video offers the potential for spreading a health message across online and real world social networks. Seeding a message in a clinical setting may be advantageous. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential of an online video to spread a health message about juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) when delivered or seeded in a clinical setting and investigate factors that influence sharing behavior. METHODS: Multimethod proof of concept study. Concepts for two different styles of video were developed using focus groups and interviews and reviewed by an online market research panel. We compared dissemination of the two videos from two specialist pediatric rheumatology clinics in NHS Hospitals. Participants were 15 patients, family members, and clinical staff with knowledge of JIA at concept stage; 300 market research panel members in development stage; and 38 patients and their parents or guardians in the seeding stage. Newly diagnosed patients with JIA and/or parents or guardians were invited to view and share an online video with a health message about JIA across real-life and electronic social networks. Main outcome measures were viewing statistics, sharing behavior and patterns, and participant feedback. RESULTS: Of 38 patients and/or their parents or guardians given links, 26 visited the video webpage and shared the link, 2 visited and did not share, and 10 did not visit. Most links were viewed and shared within a few days. A total of 3314 pageviews were recorded with a mean of 89.6 pageviews per link (range 0-1245). Links were accessed from 26 countries, with most viewers in the United Kingdom (82.5%). Mothers were the most active group of sharers. CONCLUSIONS: Distribution of a video link in a clinical setting may be an effective way to spread a health message. Parents or guardians of children with JIA are more likely to share a link than young people. Dissemination depends on a small number of active sharers, the content of the video, and the willingness of participants to share health information about themselves. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio ID (UKCRN): 13747; http://public.ukcrn.org.uk/Search/StudyDetail.aspx?StudyID=13747 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6eeXlMmM6)

Mapping stakeholders to maximise the impact of research on health inequalities for people with learning disabilities: the development of a framework for the Making Positive Moves study

© 2024 The Authors. British Journal of Learning Disabilities published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Background: People with learning disabilities experience health and social inequalities, and research that could improve health services may not be implemented in real‐life settings. Building stakeholder networks that can share and implement research findings may address this. This paper presents a framework for building a stakeholder network that maximises the likelihood of research recommendations being implemented in practice. This was developed as part of the ‘Making Positive Moves’ (MPM) study, which explores the experiences of people with learning disabilities following discharge from a residential stay within a hospital inpatient setting. Methods: We reviewed the literature on existing theoretical frameworks to support the development of a model for dissemination of the MPM findings. Stakeholder categories were identified through consultation with the MPM researchers, experts by experience and the steering group and a hub and spoke model to represent all stakeholder categories was created. These categories include person moving; family of the person moving; specialist schools; social care; care providers; regulators; third sector organisations; policy organisations; academic community; and NHS professionals. After establishing the categories, we consulted with people with learning disabilities and other stakeholders and conducted online searches to create a stakeholder database. Through information gathering and direct contact with stakeholders, we assessed levels of interest, power and engagement to determine which stakeholders to prioritise in our dissemination activities. The Stakeholder Wheel was created to present the data captured within the database and engagement profiles in an illustrative way. Findings: We use two stakeholder sub‐categories, user‐led organisations and care providers, to demonstrate the methodological approach. The examples illustrate how a scoring system helped us to identify high‐priority stakeholders who we then contacted to collaborate within developing our dissemination strategy to maximise the impact of the MPM research findings. Conclusions: We developed a framework to map stakeholders for the MPM study and enable targeted dissemination to increase the impact of the research. This approach has the potential to reduce health inequalities among people with learning disabilities by increasing the awareness of and ability to implement evidence‐based recommendations in real‐life settings. The stakeholder mapping framework could be applied to research projects associated with learning disabilities to bridge the gap between research and practice and reduce health inequalities.Peer reviewe

Gap Analysis of Environmental Health Research in Malawi : Report to the National Commission of Science and Technology

The aim of this consultancy was to assess the current gaps in research for the environmental health sector in Malawi, and to recommend research priorities and an effective action plan to address these gap