An Introduction to Social Network Analysis in Public Health Systems and Services Research: Methods and Applications

While engaging in partnerships with multiple community systems is intrinsic to improving a public health system, the process by which public health departments have engaged partners in PHCs to address the multiple influences of these systems has varied, with few ways to measure the success of these partnerships. In this workshop, we use network theory and Social Network Analysis to outline the core dimensions of connectivity used to measure progress in public health collaboratives (PHCs).

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a tool used to gather and analyze data to explain the degree to which network actors connect to one another and the structural makeup of collaborative relationship (Scott, 1991).  SNA collects data on who is connected to whom and how those connections vary and change under specified circumstances.  Wasserman and Faust (1994) explain that “the focus on relations, and the patterns of relations, requires a set of methods and analytic concepts that are distinct from the methods of traditional statistics and data analysis…The social network perspective encompasses theories, models, and applications that are expressed in terms of relational concepts or processes.”  The SNA approach is summed up by Wasserman and Faust (1994: 3): “many researchers have realized that the network perspective allows new leverage for answering standard social and behavioral science research questions by giving precise formal definition to aspects of the political, economic, or social structure environment”.  This tool transcends theoretical applications and has become widely used by practitioners (particularly to strategize, understand, and influence organizational capacity), for example corporations like IBM use SNA to evaluate employee interaction, company embeddedness, and resource utilization).

This research methodology can be applied to a variety of social inquiries in a number of ways, and while its utilization and popularity has increased in a variety of fields, the public health sector has yet to reap the full potential of the method (little research in the field using this method and few practical application by public health agencies, most likely due to a lack of resources to hire social network analysts).  For this reason, we are conducting a 4 hour workshop on SNA and its applications to Public Health Systems and Services Research. 

 This workshop will provide an introduction to the methodology, key concepts, software, and examples of how both practitioners and academics can apply SNA to their work.  Topics covered will include:

• The application of SNA to organizational and community capacity assessments, for example, the technique and benefits of network weaving
• Simple network analytic concepts:  centrality, key players, information flow, visualizations
• An introduction to PARTNER (Program to Analyze, Record, and Track Networks to Enhance Relationships – www.partnertool.net – a social network analysis program designed for use by public health agencies (and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).

 The first half of the workshop will include lecture, interactive audience participation, and presentation of computer-based simulations.  The goals of this portion of the workshop are to introduce the audience to the concepts of Social Network Analysis and its application to evaluation of public health partnerships.  The workshop will include a real-time demonstration of PARTNER and an example of data collection and analysis.   The last hour of the workshop will focus on applications of SNA to a variety of research and practice examples. 

 The workshop will be organized and facilitated by Dr. Danielle Varda, creator of the PARTNER tool and a published researcher on the topics of SNA and collaboration among public health agencies and their community partners.  Guest speakers will include Dr. Jessica Retrum, PARTNER Post Doctoral Fellow and Dr. Jacqueline Merrill, expert in SNA and its applications to PHSSR.

 *Network map: Krebs, V. and J. Holley. (2002). “Building Smart Communities Through Network Weaving.”  http://www.orgnet.com.