Assessing State-Level Active Living Promotion Using Network Analysis

Abstract

Background:Physical inactivity is a growing problem in the United States, one that is being addressed through the development of active living communities. However, active living promotion requires collaboration among organizations that may not have previously shared goals.Methods:A network analysis was conducted to assess Hawaii’s active living promotion network. Twenty-six organizations playing a significant role in promoting active living in Hawaii were identified and surveyed about their frequency of contact, level of collaboration, and funding flow with other agencies.Results:A communication network was identified linking all agencies. This network had many long pathways, impeding information flow. The Department of Health (DOH) and the State Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition (NPAC) were central nodes, but DOH connected state agencies while NPAC linked county and voluntary organizations. Within the network, information sharing was common, but collaboration and formal partnership were low. Linkages between county and state agencies, between counties, and between state agencies with different core agendas were particularly low.Conclusions:Results suggest that in the early stages of development, active living networks may be divided by geography and core missions, requiring work to bridge these divides. Network mapping appears helpful in identifying areas for network development.

Mapping the Possibilities: Using Network Analysis to Identify Opportunities for Building Nutrition Partnerships Within Diverse Low-Income Communities

“…10,11 Instead, they more closely resembled the diffuse webs of connection found in multinational research collaborations 21 or in connections between agencies providing different types of services to individuals with human immunodeficiency virus or chronic disease. 22,23 This may be what happens when agencies with differing missions share overlapping concerns, but there has been no concerted effort to build collaboration.…”

“…9 Network analysis can uncover links between groups, map communication pathways, and identify opportunities for improving collaboration. Network studies have been used to identify communication patterns between agencies working in statewide tobacco prevention 10 and physical activity promotion 11 efforts, to track patterns in partnership between organizations involved in regional and international health collaborations, 12 and to assess changes in regional partnership patterns among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) agencies. 13 Network analysis may prove a useful diagnostic tool for building nutrition partnerships within complex communities.…”

Community partnerships in healthy eating and lifestyle promotion: A network analysis

“…Adapted from Buchthal et al (2013), the network survey consists of 3 core questions that assess the frequency of communication, financial exchange, and level of integration among agencies in each of the 4 Michigan counties.…”

“…Following Buchthal et al (2013) and Harris et al (2008), 2 indices were adopted to measure network centralization—betweenness centrality of individual agencies, and betweenness centralization of the entire network. Betweenness centrality is an indicator of an agency's influence in a network (Scott, 2013).…”

“…In public health research, network analysis has been widely performed to examine disease transmission, information diffusion, role of social support and social capital, impact of personal and social networks on health and risk behavior, and inter-organizational structure of health care systems (Luke and Harris, 2007). For example, network analysis has been adopted to assess the collaboration among partners working in state tobacco control programs and active living promotion programs (Buchthal et al, 2013, Harris et al, 2008). …”