Using Communication Infrastructure Theory to Formulate a Strategy to Locate “Hard-to-Reach” Research Participants

Exploring the Potential of Communication Infrastructure Theory for Informing Efforts to Reduce Health Disparities

“…Hearn and Foth () suggest that the communication ecology includes not just “traditional print, broadcast and telecommunication media” but also “social networking applications for peer to peer modes of communication, transport infrastructure that enable face to face interaction, as well as public and private places where people meet, chat, gossip” (n.p.). This latter part of Hearn and Foth's definition is similar to the communication hot spots discussed in more recent CIT research (Villanueva & Broad, ; Wilkin et al, ). Villanueva and Broad, for instance, are working on a method to identify and map the places where residents gather and engage in conversations (e.g., public spaces, retail establishments, community and religious associations, schools, public services and health clinics, and entertainment/recreation facilities).…”

“…Additionally, the latter project, as well as some of the initial survey‐based studies, support the notion proposed in previous research (e.g., Ackerson & Viswanath, ; Viswanath & Kreuter, ) that communication inequalities may contribute to health disparities. In terms of CIT, the people most affected by health disparities may not be connecting to an integrated STN due to CAC constraints (Wilkin et al, ). Therefore, researchers need to explore whether the CAC contributes to health disparities and determine if CAC‐based strategies can help reduce disparities.…”

How Low-Income Residents Decide Between Emergency and Primary Health Care for Non-Urgent Treatment

“…A member of our research team who was also a community leader recruited participants through neighborhood association meetings, community health organizations, referrals made by other participants, and by contacting people who were identified as 911 users in a previous research project (see Wilkin, Stringer, O'Quinn, Hunt, & Montgomery, 2011). She also moderated the discussions.…”

Neighborhood hotspot and community awareness: The double role of social network sites in local communities

“…This storytelling network is set within a neighborhood communication action context, which sets the preconditions for residents' interactions and varies along a continuum from encouraging to discouraging residents to interact with each other. Communication hotspots have been identified as encouraging factors in communication action contexts (Burgess, Walter, Ball-Rokeach, and Murphy, 2019;Wilkin, Stringer, O'Quin, Montgomery, and Hunt, 2011;Zhang, Motta, and Georgiou, 2018). Typically, hotspots are (semi-)public locations in the neighborhood, including local cafés, community centers or parks.…”