Finding meaning in social media: content-based social network analysis of QuitNet to identify new opportunities for health promotion.

PubMed

Myneni, Sahiti; Cobb, Nathan K; Cohen, Trevor

2013-01-01

Unhealthy behaviors increase individual health risks and are a socioeconomic burden. Harnessing social influence is perceived as fundamental for interventions to influence health-related behaviors. However, the mechanisms through which social influence occurs are poorly understood. Online social networks provide the opportunity to understand these mechanisms as they digitally archive communication between members. In this paper, we present a methodology for content-based social network analysis, combining qualitative coding, automated text analysis, and formal network analysis such that network structure is determined by the content of messages exchanged between members. We apply this approach to characterize the communication between members of QuitNet, an online social network for smoking cessation. Results indicate that the method identifies meaningful theme-based social sub-networks. Modeling social network data using this method can provide us with theme-specific insights such as the identities of opinion leaders and sub-community clusters. Implications for design of targeted social interventions are discussed.

Pipelining in structural health monitoring wireless sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xu; Dorvash, Siavash; Cheng, Liang; Pakzad, Shamim

2010-04-01

Application of wireless sensor network (WSN) for structural health monitoring (SHM), is becoming widespread due to its implementation ease and economic advantage over traditional sensor networks. Beside advantages that have made wireless network preferable, there are some concerns regarding their performance in some applications. In long-span Bridge monitoring the need to transfer data over long distance causes some challenges in design of WSN platforms. Due to the geometry of bridge structures, using multi-hop data transfer between remote nodes and base station is essential. This paper focuses on the performances of pipelining algorithms. We summarize several prevent pipelining approaches, discuss their performances, and propose a new pipelining algorithm, which gives consideration to both boosting of channel usage and the simplicity in deployment.

A methodological approach to the analysis of egocentric social networks in public health research: a practical example.

PubMed

Djomba, Janet Klara; Zaletel-Kragelj, Lijana

2016-12-01

Research on social networks in public health focuses on how social structures and relationships influence health and health-related behaviour. While the sociocentric approach is used to study complete social networks, the egocentric approach is gaining popularity because of its focus on individuals, groups and communities. One of the participants of the healthy lifestyle health education workshop 'I'm moving', included in the study of social support for exercise was randomly selected. The participant was denoted as the ego and members of her/his social network as the alteri. Data were collected by personal interviews using a self-made questionnaire. Numerical methods and computer programmes for the analysis of social networks were used for the demonstration of analysis. The size, composition and structure of the egocentric social network were obtained by a numerical analysis. The analysis of composition included homophily and homogeneity. Moreover, the analysis of the structure included the degree of the egocentric network, the strength of the ego-alter ties and the average strength of ties. Visualisation of the network was performed by three freely available computer programmes, namely: Egonet.QF, E-net and Pajek. The computer programmes were described and compared by their usefulness. Both numerical analysis and visualisation have their benefits. The decision what approach to use is depending on the purpose of the social network analysis. While the numerical analysis can be used in large-scale population-based studies, visualisation of personal networks can help health professionals at creating, performing and evaluation of preventive programmes, especially if focused on behaviour change.

Network influences on dissemination of evidence-based guidelines in state tobacco control programs.

PubMed

Luke, Douglas A; Wald, Lana M; Carothers, Bobbi J; Bach, Laura E; Harris, Jenine K

2013-10-01

Little is known regarding the social network relationships that influence dissemination of evidence-based public health practices and policies. In public health, it is critical that evidence-based guidelines, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, are effectively and efficiently disseminated to intended stakeholders. To determine the organizational and network predictors of dissemination among state tobacco control programs, interviews with members of tobacco control networks across eight states were conducted between August 2009 and September 2010. Measures included partner attributes (e.g., agency type) and relationships among network members (frequency of contact, extent of collaboration, and dissemination of Best Practices). Exponential random graph modeling was used to examine attribute and structural predictors of collaboration and dissemination among partners in each network. Although density and centralization of dissemination ties varied across states, network analyses revealed a consistent prediction pattern across all eight states. State tobacco control dissemination networks were less dense but more centralized compared with organizational contact and collaboration networks. Tobacco control partners in each state were more likely to disseminate the Best Practices guidelines if they also had existing contact and collaboration relationships with one another. Evidence-based guidelines in public health need to be efficiently and broadly disseminated if we hope to translate science into practice. This study suggests that funders, advocacy groups, and public health agencies can take advantage of existing public health organizational relationships to support the communication and dissemination of evidence-based practices and policies.

Social Network Structures of Breast Cancer Patients and the Contributing Role of Patient Navigators.

PubMed

Gunn, Christine M; Parker, Victoria A; Bak, Sharon M; Ko, Naomi; Nelson, Kerrie P; Battaglia, Tracy A

2017-08-01

Minority women in the U.S. continue to experience inferior breast cancer outcomes compared with white women, in part due to delays in care delivery. Emerging cancer care delivery models like patient navigation focus on social barriers, but evidence demonstrating how these models increase social capital is lacking. This pilot study describes the social networks of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and explores the contributing role of patient navigators. Twenty-five women completed a one hour interview about their social networks related to cancer care support. Network metrics identified important structural attributes and influential individuals. Bivariate associations between network metrics, type of network, and whether the network included a navigator were measured. Secondary analyses explored associations between network structures and clinical outcomes. We identified three types of networks: kin-based, role and/or affect-based, or heterogeneous. Network metrics did not vary significantly by network type. There was a low prevalence of navigators included in the support networks (25%). Network density scores were significantly higher in those networks without a navigator. Network metrics were not predictive of clinical outcomes in multivariate models. Patient navigators were not frequently included in support networks, but provided distinctive types of support. If navigators can identify patients with poorly integrated (less dense) social networks, or who have unmet tangible support needs, the intensity of navigation services could be tailored. Services and systems that address gaps and variations in patient social networks should be explored for their potential to reduce cancer health disparities. This study used a new method to identify the breadth and strength of social support following a diagnosis of breast cancer, especially examining the role of patient navigators in providing support. While navigators were only included in one quarter of patient support networks, they did provide essential supports to some individuals. Health care providers and systems need to better understand the contributions of social supports both within and outside of health care to design and tailor interventions that seek to reduce health care disparities and improve cancer outcomes. © AlphaMed Press 2017.

Health in All Policies (HiAP) governance: lessons from network governance.

PubMed

Khayatzadeh-Mahani, Akram; Ruckert, Arne; Labonté, Ronald; Kenis, Patrick; Akbari-Javar, Mohammad Reza

2018-05-25

The Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach requires formal and sustained governance structures and mechanisms to ensure that the policies of various non-health sectors maximize positive and minimize negative impacts on population health. In this paper, we demonstrate the usefulness of a network perspective in understanding and contributing to the effectiveness of HiAP. We undertook an exploratory, qualitative case study of a HiAP structure in Iran, the Kerman province Council of Health and Food Security (CHFS) with diverse members from health and non-health sectors. We analyzed relevant policy texts and interviewed 32 policy actors involved in the CHFS. Data were analyzed using within-case analysis and constant comparative methodology. Our findings suggest that CHFS governance from a network perspective drew in practice on elements of two competing network governance modes: the network administrative organization (NAO) and the lead organization mode. Our results also show that a shift from a hierarchical and market-based mode of interaction to a network logic within CHFS has not yet taken place. In addition, CHFS suffers from large membership and an inability to address complex 'wicked problems', as well as low trust, legitimacy and goal consensus among its members. Drawing on other HiAP studies and commentaries, insights from organization network theory, and in-depth findings from our case study, we conclude that a NAO may be the most effective mode of governance for tackling complex social problems in HiAP structures. Since similar studies are limited, and our single case study may not be transferable across all contexts, we suggest that further research be undertaken to explore HiAP structures from a network perspective in different institutional and cultural settings. With increasing emphasis given to HiAP approaches in national and international health policy discourse, it is important that comparative knowledge about the effectiveness of HiAP governance arrangements be developed.

Experimental Modal Analysis and Dynaic Strain Fiber Bragg Gratings for Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Aerospace Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panopoulou, A.; Fransen, S.; Gomez Molinero, V.; Kostopoulos, V.

2012-07-01

The objective of this work is to develop a new structural health monitoring system for composite aerospace structures based on dynamic response strain measurements and experimental modal analysis techniques. Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) optical sensors were used for monitoring the dynamic response of the composite structure. The structural dynamic behaviour has been numerically simulated and experimentally verified by means of vibration testing. The hypothesis of all vibration tests was that actual damage in composites reduces their stiffness and produces the same result as mass increase produces. Thus, damage was simulated by slightly varying locally the mass of the structure at different zones. Experimental modal analysis based on the strain responses was conducted and the extracted strain mode shapes were the input for the damage detection expert system. A feed-forward back propagation neural network was the core of the damage detection system. The features-input to the neural network consisted of the strain mode shapes, extracted from the experimental modal analysis. Dedicated training and validation activities were carried out based on the experimental results. The system showed high reliability, confirmed by the ability of the neural network to recognize the size and the position of damage on the structure. The experiments were performed on a real structure i.e. a lightweight antenna sub- reflector, manufactured and tested at EADS CASA ESPACIO. An integrated FBG sensor network, based on the advantage of multiplexing, was mounted on the structure with optimum topology. Numerical simulation of both structures was used as a support tool at all the steps of the work. Potential applications for the proposed system are during ground qualification extensive tests of space structures and during the mission as modal analysis tool on board, being able via the FBG responses to identify a potential failure.

Network evaluation: principles, structures and outcomes of the German working group of Health Promoting Universities.

PubMed

Stock, Christiane; Milz, Simone; Meier, Sabine

2010-03-01

With more than 60 participating universities, the German working group of Health Promoting Universities (German HPU network) is the largest and most active network of universities as healthy settings. This study aims at evaluating processes and effects of the German HPU network and at supporting the future development of the network. The evaluation was based on the multi faceted network assessment instrument developed by Broesskamp-Stone (7). We used a document analysis, two expert interviews and a survey among members (n = 33) to collect relevant data for the assessment. The analysis showed that the visions of the network can be regarded as fulfilled in most aspects. The members of the network received network support through trustful and mutual relationships. The network ranked high on general network principles like implementation of mutual relationships, sharing of information, risks and resources, equal access to resources, responsibility and consensus orientation. However, a high degree of centralization was found as a negative indicator. Other critical aspects of the network's structures and processes have been the regional predominance of universities from the northern and middle part of Germany, the low representation of students in the network, and the low proportion of members that could successfully implement health promotion into the guiding principles of their university. Overall, the evaluation has shown that the network has worked effectively, has developed meaningful processes and structures and has formulated practical guidelines. Since its 12 years of existence the German HPU network has been able to adapt and to adequately respond to changing contextual conditions regarding health promotion at universities in Germany. The network should develop strategies to counteract the critical aspects and detected imbalances in order to further increase its impact on universities as healthy settings.

Community Interagency Connections for Immigrant Worker Health Interventions, King County, Washington State, 2012-2013.

PubMed

Tsai, Jenny Hsin-Chin; Petrescu-Prahova, Miruna

2016-06-02

Cross-sector community partnerships are a potentially powerful strategy to address population health problems, including health disparities. US immigrants - commonly employed in low-wage jobs that pose high risks to their health - experience such disparities because of hazardous exposures in the workplace. Hazardous exposures contribute to chronic health problems and complicate disease management. Moreover, prevention strategies such as worksite wellness programs are not effective for low-wage immigrant groups. The purpose of this article was to describe an innovative application of social network analysis to characterize interagency connections and knowledge needed to design and deliver a comprehensive community-based chronic disease prevention program for immigrant workers. Using iterative sample expansion, we identified 42 agencies representing diverse community sectors (service agencies, faith-based organizations, unions, nonprofits, government agencies) pertinent to the health of Chinese immigrant workers. To capture data on shared information, resources, and services as well as organizational characteristics, we jointly interviewed 2 representatives from each agency. We used social network analysis to describe interagency network structure and the positions of agencies within the networks. Agency interconnections were established primarily for information sharing. In the overall interagency network, a few service-oriented agencies held central or gatekeeper positions. Strong interconnectedness occurred predominately across service, public, and nonprofit sectors. The Chinese and Pan-Asian service sectors showed the strongest interconnectedness. Network analysis yields critical understanding of community structural links and assets needed to inform decisions about actual and potential community collaborations. Alternative intervention strategies may be needed to address health disparities among immigrant workers.

Building research infrastructure in community health centers: a Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) report.

PubMed

Likumahuwa, Sonja; Song, Hui; Singal, Robbie; Weir, Rosy Chang; Crane, Heidi; Muench, John; Sim, Shao-Chee; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2013-01-01

This article introduces the Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN), a practice-based research network of community health centers (CHCs). Established by the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2010, CHARN is a network of 4 community research nodes, each with multiple affiliated CHCs and an academic center. The four nodes (18 individual CHCs and 4 academic partners in 9 states) are supported by a data coordinating center. Here we provide case studies detailing how CHARN is building research infrastructure and capacity in CHCs, with a particular focus on how community practice-academic partnerships were facilitated by the CHARN structure. The examples provided by the CHARN nodes include many of the building blocks of research capacity: communication capacity and "matchmaking" between providers and researchers; technology transfer; research methods tailored to community practice settings; and community institutional review board infrastructure to enable community oversight. We draw lessons learned from these case studies that we hope will serve as examples for other networks, with special relevance for community-based networks seeking to build research infrastructure in primary care settings.

Building Research Infrastructure in Community Health Centers: A Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) Report

PubMed Central

Likumahuwa, Sonja; Song, Hui; Singal, Robbie; Weir, Rosy Chang; Crane, Heidi; Muench, John; Sim, Shao-Chee; DeVoe, Jennifer E.

2015-01-01

This article introduces the Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN), a practice-based research network of community health centers (CHCs). Established by the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2010, CHARN is a network of 4 community research nodes, each with multiple affiliated CHCs and an academic center. The four nodes (18 individual CHCs and 4 academic partners in 9 states) are supported by a data coordinating center. Here we provide case studies detailing how CHARN is building research infrastructure and capacity in CHCs, with a particular focus on how community practice-academic partnerships were facilitated by the CHARN structure. The examples provided by the CHARN nodes include many of the building blocks of research capacity: communication capacity and “matchmaking” between providers and researchers; technology transfer; research methods tailored to community practice settings; and community institutional review board infrastructure to enable community oversight. We draw lessons learned from these case studies that we hope will serve as examples for other networks, with special relevance for community-based networks seeking to build research infrastructure in primary care settings. PMID:24004710

Reducing emergency bed-days for older people? Network governance lessons from the 'Improving the Future for Older People' programme.

PubMed

Sheaff, Rod; Windle, Karen; Wistow, Gerald; Ashby, Sue; Beech, Roger; Dickinson, Angela; Henderson, Catherine; Knapp, Martin

2014-04-01

In 2007, the UK government set performance targets and public service agreements to control the escalation of emergency bed-days. Some years earlier, nine English local authorities had each created local networks with their health and third sector partners to tackle this increase. These networks formed the 'Improving the Future for Older People' initiative (IFOP), one strand of the national 'Innovation Forum' programme, set up in 2003. The nine sites set themselves one headline target to be achieved jointly over three years; a 20 per cent reduction in the number of emergency bed-days used by people aged 75 and over. Three ancillary targets were also monitored: emergency admissions, delayed discharges and project sustainability. Collectively the sites exceeded their headline target. Using a realistic evaluation approach, we explored which aspects of network governance appeared to have contributed to these emergency bed-day reductions. We found no simple link between network governance type and outcomes. The governance features associated with an effective IFOP network appeared to suggest that the selection and implementation of a small number of evidence-based services was central to networks' effectiveness. Each service needed to be coordinated by a network-based strategic group and hierarchically implemented at operational level by the responsible network member. Having a network-based implementation group with a 'joined-at-the-top' governance structure also appeared to promote network effectiveness. External factors, including NHS incentives, health reorganisations and financial targets similarly contributed to differences in performance. Targets and financial incentives could focus action but undermine horizontal networking. Local networks should specify which interventions network structures are intended to deliver. Effective projects are those likely to be evidence based, unique to the network and difficult to implement through vertical structures alone. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultra-low power wireless sensing for long-term structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilbao, Argenis; Hoover, Davis; Rice, Jennifer; Chapman, Jamie

2011-04-01

Researchers have made significant progress in recent years towards realizing long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) utilizing wireless smart sensor networks (WSSNs). These efforts have focused on improving the performance and robustness of such networks to achieve high quality data acquisition and in-network processing. One of the primary challenges still facing the use of smart sensors for long-term monitoring deployments is their limited power resources. Periodically accessing the sensor nodes to change batteries is not feasible or economical in many deployment cases. While energy harvesting techniques show promise for prolonging unattended network life, low-power design and operation are still critically important. This research presents a new, fully integrated ultra-low power wireless smart sensor node and a flexible base station, both designed for long-term SHM applications. The power consumption of the sensor nodes and base station has been minimized through careful hardware selection and the implementation of power-aware network software, without sacrificing flexibility and functionality.

Acoustic Techniques for Structural Health Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frankenstein, B.; Augustin, J.; Hentschel, D.; Schubert, F.; Köhler, B.; Meyendorf, N.

2008-02-01

Future safety and maintenance strategies for industrial components and vehicles are based on combinations of monitoring systems that are permanently attached to or embedded in the structure, and periodic inspections. The latter belongs to conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and can be enhanced or partially replaced by structural health monitoring systems. However, the main benefit of this technology for the future will consist of systems that can be differently designed based on improved safety philosophies, including continuous monitoring. This approach will increase the efficiency of inspection procedures at reduced inspection times. The Fraunhofer IZFP Dresden Branch has developed network nodes, miniaturized transmitter and receiver systems for active and passive acoustical techniques and sensor systems that can be attached to or embedded into components or structures. These systems have been used to demonstrate intelligent sensor networks for the monitoring of aerospace structures, railway systems, wind energy generators, piping system and other components. Material discontinuities and flaws have been detected and monitored during full scale fatigue testing. This paper will discuss opportunities and future trends in nondestructive evaluation and health monitoring based on new sensor principles and advanced microelectronics. It will outline various application examples of monitoring systems based on acoustic techniques and will indicate further needs for research and development.

European network for health technology assessment, EUnetHTA: planning, development, and implementation of a sustainable European network for health technology assessment.

PubMed

Kristensen, Finn Børlum; Mäkelä, Marjukka; Neikter, Susanna Allgurin; Rehnqvist, Nina; Håheim, Lise Lund; Mørland, Berit; Milne, Ruairidh; Nielsen, Camilla Palmhøj; Busse, Reinhard; Lee-Robin, Sun Hae; Wild, Claudia; Espallargues, Mireia; Chamova, Julia

2009-12-01

The European network on Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) aimed to produce tangible and practical results to be used in the various phases of health technology assessment and to establish a framework and processes to support this. This article presents the background, objectives, and organization of EUnetHTA, which involved a total of sixty-four partner organizations. Establishing an effective and sustainable structure for a transnational network involved many managerial, policy, and methodological tools, according to the objective of each task or Work Package. Transparency in organization, financial transactions, and decision making was a key principle in the management of the Project as was the commitment to appropriately involve stakeholders. EUnetHTA activities resulted in a clear management and governance structure, efficient partnership, and transnational cooperation. The Project developed a model for sustainable continuation of the EUnetHTA Collaboration. The EUnetHTA Project achieved its goals by producing a suite of practical tools, a strong network, and plans for continuing the work in a sustainable EUnetHTA Collaboration that facilitates and promotes the use of HTA at national and regional levels. Responsiveness to political developments in Europe should be balanced with maintaining a high level of ambition to promote independent, evidence-based information and well-tested tools for best practice based on a strong network of HTA institutions.

Network analysis of Bogotá's Ciclovía Recreativa, a self-organized multisectorial community program to promote physical activity in a middle-income country.

PubMed

Meisel, Jose D; Sarmiento, Olga L; Montes, Felipe; Martinez, Edwin O; Lemoine, Pablo D; Valdivia, Juan A; Brownson, Ross C; Zarama, Roberto

2014-01-01

Conduct a social network analysis of the health and non-health related organizations that participate in Bogotá's Ciclovía Recreativa (Ciclovía). Cross-sectional study. Ciclovía is a multisectoral community-based mass program in which streets are temporarily closed to motorized transport, allowing exclusive access to individuals for leisure activities and physical activity. Twenty-five organizations that participate in the Ciclovía. Seven variables were examined by using network analytic methods: relationship, link attributes (integration, contact, and importance), and node attributes (leadership, years in the program, and the sector of the organization). The network analytic methods were based on a visual descriptive analysis and an exponential random graph model. Analysis shows that the most central organizations in the network were outside of the Health sector and include Sports and Recreation, Government, and Security sectors. The organizations work in clusters formed by organizations of different sectors. Organization importance and structural predictors were positively related to integration, while the number of years working with Ciclovía was negatively associated with integration. Ciclovía is a network whose structure emerged as a self-organized complex system. Ciclovía of Bogotá is an example of a program with public health potential formed by organizations of multiple sectors with Sports and Recreation as the most central.

Implications of network structure on public health collaboratives.

PubMed

Retrum, Jessica H; Chapman, Carrie L; Varda, Danielle M

2013-10-01

Interorganizational collaboration is an essential function of public health agencies. These partnerships form social networks that involve diverse types of partners and varying levels of interaction. Such collaborations are widely accepted and encouraged, yet very little comparative research exists on how public health partnerships develop and evolve, specifically in terms of how subsequent network structures are linked to outcomes. A systems science approach, that is, one that considers the interdependencies and nested features of networks, provides the appropriate methods to examine the complex nature of these networks. Applying Mays and Scutchfields's categorization of "structural signatures" (breadth, density, and centralization), this research examines how network structure influences the outcomes of public health collaboratives. Secondary data from the Program to Analyze, Record, and Track Networks to Enhance Relationships (www.partnertool.net) data set are analyzed. This data set consists of dyadic (N = 12,355), organizational (N = 2,486), and whole network (N = 99) data from public health collaborations around the United States. Network data are used to calculate structural signatures and weighted least squares regression is used to examine how network structures can predict selected intermediary outcomes (resource contributions, overall value and trust rankings, and outcomes) in public health collaboratives. Our findings suggest that network structure may have an influence on collaborative-related outcomes. The structural signature that had the most significant relationship to outcomes was density, with higher density indicating more positive outcomes. Also significant was the finding that more breadth creates new challenges such as difficulty in reaching consensus and creating ties with other members. However, assumptions that these structural components lead to improved outcomes for public health collaboratives may be slightly premature. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Friendship Network and Dental Brushing Behavior among Middle School Students: An Agent Based Modeling Approach.

PubMed

Sadeghipour, Maryam; Khoshnevisan, Mohammad Hossein; Jafari, Afshin; Shariatpanahi, Seyed Peyman

2017-01-01

By using a standard questionnaire, the level of dental brushing frequency was assessed among 201 adolescent female middle school students in Tehran. The initial assessment was repeated after 5 months, in order to observe the dynamics in dental health behavior level. Logistic Regression model was used to evaluate the correlation among individuals' dental health behavior in their social network. A significant correlation on dental brushing habits was detected among groups of friends. This correlation was further spread over the network within the 5 months period. Moreover, it was identified that the average brushing level was improved within the 5 months period. Given that there was a significant correlation between social network's nodes' in-degree value, and brushing level, it was suggested that the observed improvement was partially due to more popularity of individuals with better tooth brushing habit. Agent Based Modeling (ABM) was used to demonstrate the dynamics of dental brushing frequency within a sample of friendship network. Two models with static and dynamic assumptions for the network structure were proposed. The model with dynamic network structure successfully described the dynamics of dental health behavior. Based on this model, on average, every 43 weeks a student changes her brushing habit due to learning from her friends. Finally, three training scenarios were tested by these models in order to evaluate their effectiveness. When training more popular students, considerable improvement in total students' brushing frequency was demonstrated by simulation results.

[The regionalized healthcare network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, from 2011 to 2015: governance system and oral healthcare].

PubMed

Godoi, Heloisa; Andrade, Selma Regina de; Mello, Ana Lúcia Schaefer Ferreira de

2017-09-28

: The objective was to describe the governance system used in structuring the regionalized healthcare network in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, based on the Bipartite Inter-Managerial Commission (CIB), with a focus on structuring of oral healthcare. This was a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive documental study, based on the foundations of governance as an analytical tool through identification of the dimensions actors, norms, nodal points, and processes. Secondary data were collected from the minutes of CIB meetings held from January 2011 to December 2015. The analysis shows weaknesses in CIB governance in Santa Catarina in relation to regionalized structuring of oral healthcare from a network perspective. Structuring of oral healthcare occurs in parallel to that of other thematic networks in the state and shows the expansion of dental services, especially those with medium complexity, as an effect of the prevailing governance process. The relations established between administrators and decision-making processes allowed recognizing this network's "prescription", since there is little negotiation and local demand, limited more to following recommendations and incentives from the federal/state sphere, intermediated by staff from the State Health Secretariat. Thus, setting a policy agenda for oral healthcare for the population of Santa Catarina is weakened, with a peripheral position in relation to other health programs.

Structural analysis of health-relevant policy-making information exchange networks in Canada.

PubMed

Contandriopoulos, Damien; Benoît, François; Bryant-Lukosius, Denise; Carrier, Annie; Carter, Nancy; Deber, Raisa; Duhoux, Arnaud; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Larouche, Catherine; Leclerc, Bernard-Simon; Levy, Adrian; Martin-Misener, Ruth; Maximova, Katerina; McGrail, Kimberlyn; Nykiforuk, Candace; Roos, Noralou; Schwartz, Robert; Valente, Thomas W; Wong, Sabrina; Lindquist, Evert; Pullen, Carolyn; Lardeux, Anne; Perroux, Melanie

2017-09-20

Health systems worldwide struggle to identify, adopt, and implement in a timely and system-wide manner the best-evidence-informed-policy-level practices. Yet, there is still only limited evidence about individual and institutional best practices for fostering the use of scientific evidence in policy-making processes The present project is the first national-level attempt to (1) map and structurally analyze-quantitatively-health-relevant policy-making networks that connect evidence production, synthesis, interpretation, and use; (2) qualitatively investigate the interaction patterns of a subsample of actors with high centrality metrics within these networks to develop an in-depth understanding of evidence circulation processes; and (3) combine these findings in order to assess a policy network's "absorptive capacity" regarding scientific evidence and integrate them into a conceptually sound and empirically grounded framework. The project is divided into two research components. The first component is based on quantitative analysis of ties (relationships) that link nodes (participants) in a network. Network data will be collected through a multi-step snowball sampling strategy. Data will be analyzed structurally using social network mapping and analysis methods. The second component is based on qualitative interviews with a subsample of the Web survey participants having central, bridging, or atypical positions in the network. Interviews will focus on the process through which evidence circulates and enters practice. Results from both components will then be integrated through an assessment of the network's and subnetwork's effectiveness in identifying, capturing, interpreting, sharing, reframing, and recodifying scientific evidence in policy-making processes. Knowledge developed from this project has the potential both to strengthen the scientific understanding of how policy-level knowledge transfer and exchange functions and to provide significantly improved advice on how to ensure evidence plays a more prominent role in public policies.

Exploiting social influence to magnify population-level behaviour change in maternal and child health: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of network targeting algorithms in rural Honduras

PubMed Central

Shakya, Holly B; Stafford, Derek; Hughes, D Alex; Keegan, Thomas; Negron, Rennie; Broome, Jai; McKnight, Mark; Nicoll, Liza; Nelson, Jennifer; Iriarte, Emma; Ordonez, Maria; Airoldi, Edo; Fowler, James H; Christakis, Nicholas A

2017-01-01

Introduction Despite global progress on many measures of child health, rates of neonatal mortality remain high in the developing world. Evidence suggests that substantial improvements can be achieved with simple, low-cost interventions within family and community settings, particularly those designed to change knowledge and behaviour at the community level. Using social network analysis to identify structurally influential community members and then targeting them for intervention shows promise for the implementation of sustainable community-wide behaviour change. Methods and analysis We will use a detailed understanding of social network structure and function to identify novel ways of targeting influential individuals to foster cascades of behavioural change at a population level. Our work will involve experimental and observational analyses. We will map face-to-face social networks of 30 000 people in 176 villages in Western Honduras, and then conduct a randomised controlled trial of a friendship-based network-targeting algorithm with a set of well-established care interventions. We will also test whether the proportion of the population targeted affects the degree to which the intervention spreads throughout the network. We will test scalable methods of network targeting that would not, in the future, require the actual mapping of social networks but would still offer the prospect of rapidly identifying influential targets for public health interventions. Ethics and dissemination The Yale IRB and the Honduran Ministry of Health approved all data collection procedures (Protocol number 1506016012) and all participants will provide informed consent before enrolment. We will publish our findings in peer-reviewed journals as well as engage non-governmental organisations and other actors through venues for exchanging practical methods for behavioural health interventions, such as global health conferences. We will also develop a ‘toolkit’ for practitioners to use in network-based intervention efforts, including public release of our network mapping software. Trial registration number NCT02694679; Pre-results. PMID:28289044

The influence of partnership centrality on organizational perceptions of support: a case study of the AHLN structure.

PubMed

Moore, Spencer; Smith, Cynthia; Simpson, Tammy; Minke, Sharlene Wolbeck

2006-10-31

Knowledge of the structure and character of inter-organizational relationships found among health promotion organizations is a prerequisite for the development of evidence-based network-level intervention activities. The Alberta Healthy Living Network (AHLN) mapped the inter-organizational structure of its members to examine the effects of the network environment on organizational-level perceptions. This exploratory analysis examines whether network structure, specifically partnership ties among AHLN members, influences organizational perceptions of support after controlling for organizational-level attributes. Organizational surveys were conducted with representatives from AHLN organizations as of February 2004 (n = 54). Organizational attribute and inter-organizational data on various network dimensions were collected. Organizations were classified into traditional and non-traditional categories. We examined the partnership network dimension. In- and out-degree centrality scores on partnership ties were calculated for each organization and tested against organizational perceptions of available financial support. Non-traditional organizations are more likely to view financial support as more readily available for their HEALTR programs and activities than traditional organizations (1.57, 95% CI: .34, 2.79). After controlling for organizational characteristics, organizations that have been frequently identified by other organizations as valuable partners in the AHLN network were found significantly more likely to perceive a higher sense of funding availability (In-degree partnership value) (.03, 95% CI: .01, .05). Organizational perceptions of a supportive environment are framed not only by organizational characteristics but also by an organization's position in an inter-organizational network. Network contexts can influence the way that organizations perceive their environment and potentially the actions that organizations may take in light of such perceptions. By developing evidence-based understandings on the influence of network contexts, the AHLN can better target the particularities of its specific health promotion network.

The influence of partnership centrality on organizational perceptions of support: a case study of the AHLN structure

PubMed Central

Moore, Spencer; Smith, Cynthia; Simpson, Tammy; Minke, Sharlene Wolbeck

2006-01-01

Background Knowledge of the structure and character of inter-organizational relationships found among health promotion organizations is a prerequisite for the development of evidence-based network-level intervention activities. The Alberta Healthy Living Network (AHLN) mapped the inter-organizational structure of its members to examine the effects of the network environment on organizational-level perceptions. This exploratory analysis examines whether network structure, specifically partnership ties among AHLN members, influences organizational perceptions of support after controlling for organizational-level attributes. Methods Organizational surveys were conducted with representatives from AHLN organizations as of February 2004 (n = 54). Organizational attribute and inter-organizational data on various network dimensions were collected. Organizations were classified into traditional and non-traditional categories. We examined the partnership network dimension. In- and out-degree centrality scores on partnership ties were calculated for each organization and tested against organizational perceptions of available financial support. Results Non-traditional organizations are more likely to view financial support as more readily available for their HEALTR programs and activities than traditional organizations (1.57, 95% CI: .34, 2.79). After controlling for organizational characteristics, organizations that have been frequently identified by other organizations as valuable partners in the AHLN network were found significantly more likely to perceive a higher sense of funding availability (In-degree partnership value) (.03, 95% CI: .01, .05). Conclusion Organizational perceptions of a supportive environment are framed not only by organizational characteristics but also by an organization's position in an inter-organizational network. Network contexts can influence the way that organizations perceive their environment and potentially the actions that organizations may take in light of such perceptions. By developing evidence-based understandings on the influence of network contexts, the AHLN can better target the particularities of its specific health promotion network. PMID:17076906

Community coalitions as a system: effects of network change on adoption of evidence-based substance abuse prevention.

PubMed

Valente, Thomas W; Chou, Chich Ping; Pentz, Mary Ann

2007-05-01

We examined the effect of community coalition network structure on the effectiveness of an intervention designed to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs. At baseline, 24 cities were matched and randomly assigned to 3 conditions (control, satellite TV training, and training plus technical assistance). We surveyed 415 community leaders at baseline and 406 at 18-month follow-up about their attitudes and practices toward substance abuse prevention programs. Network structure was measured by asking leaders whom in their coalition they turned to for advice about prevention programs. The outcome was a scale with 4 subscales: coalition function, planning, achievement of benchmarks, and progress in prevention activities. We used multiple linear regression and path analysis to test hypotheses. Intervention had a significant effect on decreasing the density of coalition networks. The change in density subsequently increased adoption of evidence-based practices. Optimal community network structures for the adoption of public health programs are unknown, but it should not be assumed that increasing network density or centralization are appropriate goals. Lower-density networks may be more efficient for organizing evidence-based prevention programs in communities.

Organizational capacities for health promotion implementation: results from an international hospital study.

PubMed

Röthlin, Florian; Schmied, Hermann; Dietscher, Christina

2015-06-01

In this article, organizational structures in hospitals are discussed as possible capacities for hospital health promotion (HP) implementation, based on data from the PRICES-HPH study. PRICES-HPH is a cross-sectional evaluation study of the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals & Health Services (HPH-Network) and was conducted in 2008-2012. Data from 159 acute care hospitals were used in the analysis. Twelve organizational structures, which were denoted as possible organizational health promotion capacities in previous literature, were tested for their association with certain strategic HP implementation approaches. Four organizational structures were significantly (p = 0.05) associated with one or more elaborate and comprehensive strategic HP implementation approaches: (1) a health promotion specific quality assessment routine; (2) an official hospital health promotion team; (3) a fulltime hospital health promotion coordinator; and (4) officially documented health promotion policies, strategies or standards. The results add further evidence to the importance of organizational capacity structures for hospital health promotion and identify four tangible structures as likely candidates for organizational HP capacities in hospitals. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Organization of Mental Health Services in Cuba.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camayd-Freixas, Yohel; Uriarte, Miren

1980-01-01

Reviews the status and organization of the Cuban mental health system. Focuses on the deliberate and systematic interdependence of mental health, public health, and socio-political structures; inpatient treatment modes and rehabilitation programs; use of social networks to support discharged patients; community-based care; and primary to tertiary…

Evaluating the benefits of collaboration in simulation games: the case of health care.

PubMed

Leung, Ricky

2014-01-28

Organizations have used simulation games for health promotion and communication. To evaluate how simulation games can foster collaboration among stakeholders, this paper develops two social network measures. The paper aims to initiate two specific measures that facilitate organizations and researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of Web-based simulation games in fostering collaboration. The two measures are: (1) network density and (2) network diversity. They measure the level of connectedness and communication evenness within social networks. To illustrate how these measures may be used, a hypothetical game about health policy is outlined. Web-based games can serve as an effective platform to engage stakeholders because interaction among them is quite convenient. Yet, systematic evaluation and planning are necessary to realize the benefits of these games. The paper suggests directions for testing how the social network dimension of Web-based games can augment individual-level benefits that stakeholders can obtain from playing simulation games. While this paper focuses on measuring the structural properties of social networks in Web-based games, further research should focus more attention on the appropriateness of game contents. In addition, empirical research should cover different geographical areas, such as East Asian countries where video games are very popular.

Networked Learning and Network Science: Potential Applications to Health Professionals' Continuing Education and Development.

PubMed

Margolis, Alvaro; Parboosingh, John

2015-01-01

Prior interpersonal relationships and interactivity among members of professional associations may impact the learning process in continuing medical education (CME). On the other hand, CME programs that encourage interactivity between participants may impact structures and behaviors in these professional associations. With the advent of information and communication technologies, new communication spaces have emerged that have the potential to enhance networked learning in national and international professional associations and increase the effectiveness of CME for health professionals. In this article, network science, based on the application of network theory and other theories, is proposed as an approach to better understand the contribution networking and interactivity between health professionals in professional communities make to their learning and adoption of new practices over time. © 2015 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

The structure of mental health research: networks of influence among psychiatry and clinical psychology journals.

PubMed

Haslam, N; Lusher, D

2011-12-01

Psychiatry and clinical psychology are the two dominant disciplines in mental health research, but the structure of scientific influence and information flow within and between them has never been mapped. Citations among 96 of the highest impact psychiatry and clinical psychology journals were examined, based on 10 052 articles published in 2008. Network analysis explored patterns of influence between journal clusters. Psychiatry journals tended to have greater influence than clinical psychology journals, and their influence was asymmetrical: clinical psychology journals cited psychiatry journals at a much higher rate than the reverse. Eight journal clusters were found, most dominated by a single discipline. Their citation network revealed an influential central cluster of 'core psychiatry' journals that had close affinities with a 'psychopharmacology' cluster. A group of 'core clinical psychology' journals was linked to a 'behavior therapy' cluster but both were subordinate to psychiatry journals. Clinical psychology journals were less integrated than psychiatry journals, and 'health psychology/behavioral medicine' and 'neuropsychology' clusters were relatively peripheral to the network. Scientific publication in the mental health field is largely organized along disciplinary lines, and is to some degree hierarchical, with clinical psychology journals tending to be structurally subordinate to psychiatry journals.

An exploration of the Facebook social networks of smokers and non-smokers.

PubMed

Fu, Luella; Jacobs, Megan A; Brookover, Jody; Valente, Thomas W; Cobb, Nathan K; Graham, Amanda L

2017-01-01

Social networks influence health behavior, including tobacco use and cessation. To date, little is known about whether and how the networks of online smokers and non-smokers may differ, or the potential implications of such differences with regards to intervention efforts. Understanding how social networks vary by smoking status could inform public health efforts to accelerate cessation or slow the adoption of tobacco use. These secondary analyses explore the structure of ego networks of both smokers and non-smokers collected as part of a randomized control trial conducted within Facebook. During the trial, a total of 14,010 individuals installed a Facebook smoking cessation app: 9,042 smokers who were randomized in the trial, an additional 2,881 smokers who did not meet full eligibility criteria, and 2,087 non-smokers. The ego network for all individuals was constructed out to second-degree connections. Four kinds of networks were constructed: friendship, family, photo, and group networks. From these networks we measured edges, isolates, density, mean betweenness, transitivity, and mean closeness. We also measured diameter, clustering, and modularity without ego and isolates. Logistic regressions were performed with smoking status as the response and network metrics as the primary independent variables and demographics and Facebook utilization metrics as covariates. The four networks had different characteristics, indicated by different multicollinearity issues and by logistic regression output. Among Friendship networks, the odds of smoking were higher in networks with lower betweenness (p = 0.00), lower transitivity (p = 0.00), and larger diameter (p = 0.00). Among Family networks, the odds of smoking were higher in networks with more vertices (p = .01), less transitivity (p = .04), and fewer isolates (p = .01). Among Photo networks, none of the network metrics were predictive of smoking status. Among Group networks, the odds of smoking were higher when diameter was smaller (p = .04). Together, these findings suggested that compared to non-smokers, smokers in this sample had less connected, more dispersed Facebook Friendship networks; larger but more fractured Family networks with fewer isolates; more compact Group networks; and Photo networks that were similar in network structure to those of non-smokers. This study illustrates the importance of examining structural differences in online social networks as a critical component for network-based interventions and lays the foundation for future research that examines the ways that social networks differ based on individual health behavior. Interventions that seek to target the behavior of individuals in the context of their social environment would be well served to understand social network structures of participants.

An exploration of the Facebook social networks of smokers and non-smokers

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background Social networks influence health behavior, including tobacco use and cessation. To date, little is known about whether and how the networks of online smokers and non-smokers may differ, or the potential implications of such differences with regards to intervention efforts. Understanding how social networks vary by smoking status could inform public health efforts to accelerate cessation or slow the adoption of tobacco use. Objectives These secondary analyses explore the structure of ego networks of both smokers and non-smokers collected as part of a randomized control trial conducted within Facebook. Methods During the trial, a total of 14,010 individuals installed a Facebook smoking cessation app: 9,042 smokers who were randomized in the trial, an additional 2,881 smokers who did not meet full eligibility criteria, and 2,087 non-smokers. The ego network for all individuals was constructed out to second-degree connections. Four kinds of networks were constructed: friendship, family, photo, and group networks. From these networks we measured edges, isolates, density, mean betweenness, transitivity, and mean closeness. We also measured diameter, clustering, and modularity without ego and isolates. Logistic regressions were performed with smoking status as the response and network metrics as the primary independent variables and demographics and Facebook utilization metrics as covariates. Results The four networks had different characteristics, indicated by different multicollinearity issues and by logistic regression output. Among Friendship networks, the odds of smoking were higher in networks with lower betweenness (p = 0.00), lower transitivity (p = 0.00), and larger diameter (p = 0.00). Among Family networks, the odds of smoking were higher in networks with more vertices (p = .01), less transitivity (p = .04), and fewer isolates (p = .01). Among Photo networks, none of the network metrics were predictive of smoking status. Among Group networks, the odds of smoking were higher when diameter was smaller (p = .04). Together, these findings suggested that compared to non-smokers, smokers in this sample had less connected, more dispersed Facebook Friendship networks; larger but more fractured Family networks with fewer isolates; more compact Group networks; and Photo networks that were similar in network structure to those of non-smokers. Conclusions This study illustrates the importance of examining structural differences in online social networks as a critical component for network-based interventions and lays the foundation for future research that examines the ways that social networks differ based on individual health behavior. Interventions that seek to target the behavior of individuals in the context of their social environment would be well served to understand social network structures of participants. PMID:29095958

Reflections from organization science on the development of primary health care research networks.

PubMed

Fenton, E; Harvey, J; Griffiths, F; Wild, A; Sturt, J

2001-10-01

In the UK, policy changes in primary health care research and development have led to the establishment of primary care research networks. These organizations aim to increase research culture, capacity and evidence base in primary care. As publicly funded bodies, these networks need to be accountable. Organizational science has studied network organizations including why and how they develop and how they function most effectively. This paper draws on organizational science to reflect on why primary care research networks appear to be appropriate for primary care research and how their structures and processes can best enable the achievement of their aims.

A web-based information system for a regional public mental healthcare service network in Brazil.

PubMed

Yoshiura, Vinicius Tohoru; de Azevedo-Marques, João Mazzoncini; Rzewuska, Magdalena; Vinci, André Luiz Teixeira; Sasso, Ariane Morassi; Miyoshi, Newton Shydeo Brandão; Furegato, Antonia Regina Ferreira; Rijo, Rui Pedro Charters Lopes; Del-Ben, Cristina Marta; Alves, Domingos

2017-01-01

Regional networking between services that provide mental health care in Brazil's decentralized public health system is challenging, partly due to the simultaneous existence of services managed by municipal and state authorities and a lack of efficient and transparent mechanisms for continuous and updated communication between them. Since 2011, the Ribeirao Preto Medical School and the XIII Regional Health Department of the Sao Paulo state, Brazil, have been developing and implementing a web-based information system to facilitate an integrated care throughout a public regional mental health care network. After a profound on-site analysis, the structure of the network was identified and a web-based information system for psychiatric admissions and discharges was developed and implemented using a socio-technical approach. An information technology team liaised with mental health professionals, health-service managers, municipal and state health secretariats and judicial authorities. Primary care, specialized community services, general emergency and psychiatric wards services, that comprise the regional mental healthcare network, were identified and the system flow was delineated. The web-based system overcame the fragmentation of the healthcare system and addressed service specific needs, enabling: detailed patient information sharing; active coordination of the processes of psychiatric admissions and discharges; real-time monitoring; the patients' status reports; the evaluation of the performance of each service and the whole network. During a 2-year period of operation, it registered 137 services, 480 health care professionals and 4271 patients, with a mean number of 2835 accesses per month. To date the system is successfully operating and further expanding. We have successfully developed and implemented an acceptable, useful and transparent web-based information system for a regional mental healthcare service network in a medium-income country with a decentralized public health system. Systematic collaboration between an information technology team and a wide range of stakeholders is essential for the system development and implementation.

Barriers to healthcare coordination in market-based and decentralized public health systems: a qualitative study in healthcare networks of Colombia and Brazil

PubMed Central

Vargas, Ingrid; Mogollón-Pérez, Amparo Susana; De Paepe, Pierre; Ferreira da Silva, Maria Rejane; Unger, Jean-Pierre; Vázquez, María-Luisa

2016-01-01

Although integrated healthcare networks (IHNs) are promoted in Latin America in response to health system fragmentation, few analyses on the coordination of care across levels in these networks have been conducted in the region. The aim is to analyse the existence of healthcare coordination across levels of care and the factors influencing it from the health personnel’ perspective in healthcare networks of two countries with different health systems: Colombia, with a social security system based on managed competition and Brazil, with a decentralized national health system. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive–interpretative study was conducted, based on a case study of healthcare networks in four municipalities. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a three stage theoretical sample of (a) health (112) and administrative (66) professionals of different care levels, and (b) managers of providers (42) and insurers (14). A thematic content analysis was conducted, segmented by cases, informant groups and themes. The results reveal poor clinical information transfer between healthcare levels in all networks analysed, with added deficiencies in Brazil in the coordination of access and clinical management. The obstacles to care coordination are related to the organization of both the health system and the healthcare networks. In the health system, there is the existence of economic incentives to compete (exacerbated in Brazil by partisan political interests), the fragmentation and instability of networks in Colombia and weak planning and evaluation in Brazil. In the healthcare networks, there are inadequate working conditions (temporary and/or part-time contracts) which hinder the use of coordination mechanisms, and inadequate professional training for implementing a healthcare model in which primary care should act as coordinator in patient care. Reforms are needed in these health systems and networks in order to modify incentives, strengthen the state planning and supervision functions and improve professional working conditions and skills. PMID:26874327

Structural Network Position and Performance of Health Leaders Within an HIV Prevention Trial.

PubMed

Mulawa, Marta I; Yamanis, Thespina J; Kajula, Lusajo J; Balvanz, Peter; Maman, Suzanne

2018-04-28

The effectiveness of peer leaders in promoting health may depend on the position they occupy within their social networks. Using sociocentric (whole network) and behavioral data from the intervention arm of a cluster-randomized HIV prevention trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we used generalized linear models with standardized predictors to examine the association between heath leaders' baseline structural network position (i.e., in-degree and betweenness centrality) and their 12-month self-reported (1) confidence in educating network members about HIV and gender-based violence (GBV) and (2) number of past-week conversations about HIV and GBV. As in-degree centrality increased, leaders reported fewer HIV-related conversations. As betweenness centrality increased, leaders reported greater number of conversations about GBV. Network position was not significantly associated with confidence in discussing either topic. Our results suggest that peer leaders who occupy spaces between sub-groups of network members may be more effective in engaging their peers in sensitive or controversial topics like GBV than more popular peer leaders.

Network analysis of Bogotá’s Ciclovía Recreativa, a self-organized multisectoral community program to promote physical activity in a middle-income country

PubMed Central

Meisel, Jose D; Sarmiento, Olga; Montes, Felipe; Martinez, Edwin O.; Lemoine, Pablo D; Valdivia, Juan A; Brownson, RC; Zarama, Robert

2016-01-01

Purpose Conduct a social network analysis of the health and non-health related organizations that participate in the Bogotá’s Ciclovía Recreativa (Ciclovía). Design Cross sectional study. Setting Ciclovía is a multisectoral community-based mass program in which streets are temporarily closed to motorized transport, allowing exclusive access to individuals for leisure activities and PA. Subjects 25 organizations that participate in the Ciclovía. Measures Seven variables were examined using network analytic methods: relationship, link attributes (integration, contact, and importance), and node attributes (leadership, years in the program, and the sector of the organization). Analysis The network analytic methods were based on a visual descriptive analysis and an exponential random graph model. Results Analysis shows that the most central organizations in the network were outside of the health sector and includes Sports and Recreation, Government, and Security sectors. The organizations work in clusters formed by organizations of different sectors. Organization importance and structural predictors were positively related to integration, while the number of years working with Ciclovía was negatively associated with integration. Conclusion Ciclovía is a network whose structure emerged as a self-organized complex system. Ciclovía of Bogotá is an example of a program with public health potential formed by organizations of multiple sectors with Sports and Recreation as the most central. PMID:23971523

Italian public health care organizations: specialization, institutional deintegration, and public networks relationships.

PubMed

Del Vecchio, Mario; De Pietro, Carlo

2011-01-01

The Italian National Health Service (INHS) has undergone profound changes over the past three decades. With establishment of the INHS in 1978--a tax-based public health care system with universal coverage--one of the underlying principles was integration. The recognition of health and health care as requiring integrated answers led to the creation of a single public organization, the Local Health Unit, responsible for the health status of the population of its catchment area. At the beginning of the 1990s, the scenario radically changed. The creation of hospital trusts, the development of quasi-market mechanisms and management control tools, the adoption of a prospective payment system for reimbursing health care providers--all were signs of deintegration and institutional unbundling. Two structural changes have deeply sustained this deintegration: patients' empowerment and the increased possibilities for outsourcing practices. In more recent years, a new reintegration effort has occurred, often led by regional governments and based on institutional cooperation and network relationships. However, the earlier structural changes require innovative approaches and solutions if public health care organizations want to retain their leading role.

The role of social networks in the governance of health systems: the case of eye care systems in Ghana.

PubMed

Blanchet, Karl; James, Philip

2013-03-01

Efforts have been increasingly invested to improve local health systems' capacities in developing countries. We describe the application of innovative methods based on a social network analysis approach. The findings presented refer to a study carried out between July 2008 and January 2010 in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. Social network analysis methods were applied in five different districts using the software package Ucinet to calculate the various properties of the social network of eye care providers. The study focused on the managerial decisions made by Ghanaian district hospital managers about the governance of the health system. The study showed that the health system in the Brong Ahafo region experienced significant changes specifically after a key shock, the departure of an international organization. Several other actors at different levels of the network disappeared, the positions of nurses and hospital managers changed, creating new relationships and power balances that resulted in a change in the general structure of the network. The system shifted from a centralized and dense hierarchical network towards an enclaved network composed of five sub-networks. The new structure was less able to respond to shocks, circulate information and knowledge across scales and implement multi-scale solutions than that which it replaced. Although the network became less resilient, it responded better to the management needs of the hospital managers who now had better access to information, even if this information was partial. The change of the network over time also showed the influence of the international organization on generating links and creating connections between actors from different levels. The findings of the study reveal the importance of creating international health connections between actors working in different spatial scales of the health system.

Interpersonal Influence Among Public Health Leaders in the United States Department of Health and Human Services

PubMed Central

Harris, Jenine K.; Carothers, Bobbi J.; Wald, Lana M.; Shelton, Sarah C.; Leischow, Scott J.

2012-01-01

Background In public health, interpersonal influence has been identified as an important factor in the spread of health information, and in understanding and changing health behaviors. However, little is known about influence in public health leadership. Influence is important in leadership settings, where public health professionals contribute to national policy and practice agendas. Drawing on social theory and recent advances in statistical network modeling, we examined influence in a network of tobacco control leaders at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Design and Methods Fifty-four tobacco control leaders across all 11 agencies in the DHHS were identified; 49 (91%) responded to a web-based survey. Participants were asked about communication with other tobacco control leaders, who influenced their work, and general job characteristics. Exponential random graph modeling was used to develop a network model of influence accounting for characteristics of individuals, their relationships, and global network structures. Results Higher job ranks, more experience in tobacco control, and more time devoted to tobacco control each week increased the likelihood of influence nomination, as did more frequent communication between network members. Being in the same agency and working the same number of hours per week were positively associated with mutual influence nominations. Controlling for these characteristics, the network also exhibited patterns associated with influential clusters of network members. Conclusions Findings from this unique study provide a perspective on influence within a government agency that both helps to understand decision-making and also can serve to inform organizational efforts that allow for more effective structuring of leadership. PMID:25170448

Interpersonal influence among public health leaders in the United States department of health and human services.

PubMed

Harris, Jenine K; Carothers, Bobbi J; Wald, Lana M; Shelton, Sarah C; Leischow, Scott J

2012-02-17

In public health, interpersonal influence has been identified as an important factor in the spread of health information, and in understanding and changing health behaviors. However, little is known about influence in public health leadership. Influence is important in leadership settings, where public health professionals contribute to national policy and practice agendas. Drawing on social theory and recent advances in statistical network modeling, we examined influence in a network of tobacco control leaders at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Fifty-four tobacco control leaders across all 11 agencies in the DHHS were identified; 49 (91%) responded to a web-based survey. Participants were asked about communication with other tobacco control leaders, who influenced their work, and general job characteristics. Exponential random graph modeling was used to develop a network model of influence accounting for characteristics of individuals, their relationships, and global network structures. Higher job ranks, more experience in tobacco control, and more time devoted to tobacco control each week increased the likelihood of influence nomination, as did more frequent communication between network members. Being in the same agency and working the same number of hours per week were positively associated with mutual influence nominations. Controlling for these characteristics, the network also exhibited patterns associated with influential clusters of network members. Findings from this unique study provide a perspective on influence within a government agency that both helps to understand decision-making and also can serve to inform organizational efforts that allow for more effective structuring of leadership.

Dental problems and Familismo: social network discussion of oral health issues among adults of Mexican origin living in the Midwest United States.

PubMed

Maupome, G; McConnell, W R; Perry, B L

2016-12-01

To examine the influence of collectivist orientation (often called familismo when applied to the Latino sub-group in the United States) in oral health discussion networks. Through respondent-driven sampling and face-to-face interviews, we identified respondents' (egos) personal social network members (alters). Egos stated whom they talked with about oral health, and how often they discussed dental problems in the preceding 12 months. An urban community of adult Mexican-American immigrants in the Midwest United States. We interviewed 332 egos (90% born in Mexico); egos named an average of 3.9 alters in their networks, 1,299 in total. We applied egocentric network methods to examine the ego, alter, and network variables that characterize health discussion networks. Kin were most often leveraged when dental problems arose; egos relied on individuals whom they perceive to have better knowledge about dental matters. However, reliance on knowledgeable alters decreased among egos with greater behavioral acculturation. This paper developed a network-based conceptualization of familismo. We describe the structure of oral health networks, including kin, fictive kin, peers, and health professionals, and examine how networks and acculturation help shape oral health among these Mexican-Americans. Copyright© 2016 Dennis Barber Ltd

Distributed health literacy among people living with type 2 diabetes in Portugal: Defining levels of awareness and support.

PubMed

Abreu, Liliana; Nunes, João Arriscado; Taylor, Peter; Silva, Susana

2018-01-01

This study embraces a patient-centred and narrative-oriented notion of health literacy, exploring how social networks and personal experiences constitute distributed health literacy (DHL) by mapping out health literacy mediators of each individual and how they enable self-management skills and knowledge of health conditions. Semi-structured interviews with 26 patients with type 2 diabetes were conducted in a Primary Care Center of Porto (Portugal) from October 2014 to December 2015. Data were collected based on McGill Illness Narrative Interview (MINI). Following the grounded theory, interviews were analysed as case-based and process-tracing-oriented. Three awareness narratives emerged: (i) a narrative of minimisation revealing minimal impact of diabetes in patients' lives and daily routines, resignation towards "inevitable" consequences of the diagnosis and dependence of a large network of health literacy mediators; (ii) a narrative of empathy, where patients tended to mention readjustments in their lives by following medical recommendations regarding medication without criticism and with few health literacy mediators; (iii) a narrative of disruption, with patients highlighting the huge impact of diabetes on their lives and their individual responsibility and autonomy with respect to the management of diabetes and the search for alternatives to medication, relying on a very restrictive network of mediators. Exploring meanings given to diagnosis, identifying health mediators and analysing the structure of social networks can contribute to understand the distributed nature of health literacy. Assessing DHL can assist health professionals and those providing care in the community in promoting health literacy and providing models for a more patient-centred health system. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A network approach for researching partnerships in health.

PubMed

Lewis, Jenny M

2005-10-07

The last decade has witnessed a significant move towards new modes of governing that are based on coordination and collaboration. In particular, local level partnerships have been widely introduced around the world. There are few comprehensive approaches for researching the effects of these partnerships. The aim of this paper is to outline a network approach that combines structure and agency based explanations to research partnerships in health. Network research based on two Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs) in Victoria is used to demonstrate the utility of this approach. The paper examines multiple types of ties between people (structure), and the use and value of relationships to partners (agency), using interviews with the people involved in two PCPs--one in metropolitan Melbourne and one in a rural area. Network maps of ties based on work, strategic information and policy advice, show that there are many strong connections in both PCPs. Not surprisingly, PCP staff are central and highly connected. Of more interest are the ties that are dependent on these dedicated partnership staff, as they reveal which actors become weakly linked or disconnected without them. Network measures indicate that work ties are the most dispersed and strategic information ties are the most concentrated around fewer people. Divisions of general practice are weakly linked, while local government officials and Department of Human Services (DHS) regional staff appear to play important bridging roles. Finally, the relationships between partners have changed and improved, and most of those interviewed value their new or improved links with partners. Improving service coordination and health promotion planning requires engaging people and building strong relationships. Mapping ties is a useful means for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of partnerships, and network analysis indicates concentration and dispersion, the importance of particular individuals, and the points at which they will fragment. A narrative approach adds an assessment of whether the partnerships are being used and valued. The approach outlined here, which examines structure and agency as separate but related explanations, has much to offer in examining partnerships.

Multisector Health Policy Networks in 15 Large US Cities.

PubMed

Harris, Jenine K; Leider, J P; Carothers, Bobbi J; Castrucci, Brian C; Hearne, Shelley

2016-01-01

Local health departments (LHDs) have historically not prioritized policy development, although it is one of the 3 core areas they address. One strategy that may influence policy in LHD jurisdictions is the formation of partnerships across sectors to work together on local public health policy. We used a network approach to examine LHD local health policy partnerships across 15 large cities from the Big Cities Health Coalition. We surveyed the health departments and their partners about their working relationships in 5 policy areas: core local funding, tobacco control, obesity and chronic disease, violence and injury prevention, and infant mortality. Drawing on prior literature linking network structures with performance, we examined network density, transitivity, centralization and centrality, member diversity, and assortativity of ties. Networks included an average of 21.8 organizations. Nonprofits and government agencies made up the largest proportions of the networks, with 28.8% and 21.7% of network members, whereas for-profits and foundations made up the smallest proportions in all of the networks, with just 1.2% and 2.4% on average. Mean values of density, transitivity, diversity, assortativity, centralization, and centrality showed similarity across policy areas and most LHDs. The tobacco control and obesity/chronic disease networks were densest and most diverse, whereas the infant mortality policy networks were the most centralized and had the highest assortativity. Core local funding policy networks had lower scores than other policy area networks by most network measures. Urban LHDs partner with organizations from diverse sectors to conduct local public health policy work. Network structures are similar across policy areas jurisdictions. Obesity and chronic disease, tobacco control, and infant mortality networks had structures consistent with higher performing networks, whereas core local funding networks had structures consistent with lower performing networks.

Multisector Health Policy Networks in 15 Large US Cities

PubMed Central

Leider, J. P.; Carothers, Bobbi J.; Castrucci, Brian C.; Hearne, Shelley

2016-01-01

Context: Local health departments (LHDs) have historically not prioritized policy development, although it is one of the 3 core areas they address. One strategy that may influence policy in LHD jurisdictions is the formation of partnerships across sectors to work together on local public health policy. Design: We used a network approach to examine LHD local health policy partnerships across 15 large cities from the Big Cities Health Coalition. Setting/Participants: We surveyed the health departments and their partners about their working relationships in 5 policy areas: core local funding, tobacco control, obesity and chronic disease, violence and injury prevention, and infant mortality. Outcome Measures: Drawing on prior literature linking network structures with performance, we examined network density, transitivity, centralization and centrality, member diversity, and assortativity of ties. Results: Networks included an average of 21.8 organizations. Nonprofits and government agencies made up the largest proportions of the networks, with 28.8% and 21.7% of network members, whereas for-profits and foundations made up the smallest proportions in all of the networks, with just 1.2% and 2.4% on average. Mean values of density, transitivity, diversity, assortativity, centralization, and centrality showed similarity across policy areas and most LHDs. The tobacco control and obesity/chronic disease networks were densest and most diverse, whereas the infant mortality policy networks were the most centralized and had the highest assortativity. Core local funding policy networks had lower scores than other policy area networks by most network measures. Conclusion: Urban LHDs partner with organizations from diverse sectors to conduct local public health policy work. Network structures are similar across policy areas jurisdictions. Obesity and chronic disease, tobacco control, and infant mortality networks had structures consistent with higher performing networks, whereas core local funding networks had structures consistent with lower performing networks. PMID:26910868

Exploiting social influence to magnify population-level behaviour change in maternal and child health: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of network targeting algorithms in rural Honduras.

PubMed

Shakya, Holly B; Stafford, Derek; Hughes, D Alex; Keegan, Thomas; Negron, Rennie; Broome, Jai; McKnight, Mark; Nicoll, Liza; Nelson, Jennifer; Iriarte, Emma; Ordonez, Maria; Airoldi, Edo; Fowler, James H; Christakis, Nicholas A

2017-03-13

Despite global progress on many measures of child health, rates of neonatal mortality remain high in the developing world. Evidence suggests that substantial improvements can be achieved with simple, low-cost interventions within family and community settings, particularly those designed to change knowledge and behaviour at the community level. Using social network analysis to identify structurally influential community members and then targeting them for intervention shows promise for the implementation of sustainable community-wide behaviour change. We will use a detailed understanding of social network structure and function to identify novel ways of targeting influential individuals to foster cascades of behavioural change at a population level. Our work will involve experimental and observational analyses. We will map face-to-face social networks of 30 000 people in 176 villages in Western Honduras, and then conduct a randomised controlled trial of a friendship-based network-targeting algorithm with a set of well-established care interventions. We will also test whether the proportion of the population targeted affects the degree to which the intervention spreads throughout the network. We will test scalable methods of network targeting that would not, in the future, require the actual mapping of social networks but would still offer the prospect of rapidly identifying influential targets for public health interventions. The Yale IRB and the Honduran Ministry of Health approved all data collection procedures (Protocol number 1506016012) and all participants will provide informed consent before enrolment. We will publish our findings in peer-reviewed journals as well as engage non-governmental organisations and other actors through venues for exchanging practical methods for behavioural health interventions, such as global health conferences. We will also develop a 'toolkit' for practitioners to use in network-based intervention efforts, including public release of our network mapping software. NCT02694679; Pre-results. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Dynamics and control of diseases in networks with community structure.

PubMed

Salathé, Marcel; Jones, James H

2010-04-08

The dynamics of infectious diseases spread via direct person-to-person transmission (such as influenza, smallpox, HIV/AIDS, etc.) depends on the underlying host contact network. Human contact networks exhibit strong community structure. Understanding how such community structure affects epidemics may provide insights for preventing the spread of disease between communities by changing the structure of the contact network through pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical interventions. We use empirical and simulated networks to investigate the spread of disease in networks with community structure. We find that community structure has a major impact on disease dynamics, and we show that in networks with strong community structure, immunization interventions targeted at individuals bridging communities are more effective than those simply targeting highly connected individuals. Because the structure of relevant contact networks is generally not known, and vaccine supply is often limited, there is great need for efficient vaccination algorithms that do not require full knowledge of the network. We developed an algorithm that acts only on locally available network information and is able to quickly identify targets for successful immunization intervention. The algorithm generally outperforms existing algorithms when vaccine supply is limited, particularly in networks with strong community structure. Understanding the spread of infectious diseases and designing optimal control strategies is a major goal of public health. Social networks show marked patterns of community structure, and our results, based on empirical and simulated data, demonstrate that community structure strongly affects disease dynamics. These results have implications for the design of control strategies.

Social network properties and self-rated health in later life: comparisons from the Korean social life, health, and aging project and the national social life, health and aging project.

PubMed

Youm, Yoosik; Laumann, Edward O; Ferraro, Kenneth F; Waite, Linda J; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Park, Yeong-Ran; Chu, Sang Hui; Joo, Won-Tak; Lee, Jin A

2014-09-14

This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it provides an overview of the social network module, data collection procedures, and measurement of ego-centric and complete-network properties in the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP). Secondly, it directly compares the KSHAP structure and results to the ego-centric network structure and results of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), which conducted in-home interviews with 3,005 persons 57 to 85 years of age in the United States. The structure of the complete social network of 814 KSHAP respondents living in Township K was measured and examined at two levels of networks. Ego-centric network properties include network size, composition, volume of contact with network members, density, and bridging potential. Complete-network properties are degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and brokerage role. We found that KSHAP respondents with a smaller number of social network members were more likely to be older and tended to have poorer self-rated health. Compared to the NSHAP, the KSHAP respondents maintained a smaller network size with a greater network density among their members and lower bridging potential. Further analysis of the complete network properties of KSHAP respondents revealed that more brokerage roles inside the same neighborhood (Ri) were significantly associated with better self-rated health. Socially isolated respondents identified by network components had the worst self-rated health. The findings demonstrate the importance of social network analysis for the study of older adults' health status in Korea. The study also highlights the importance of complete-network data and its ability to reveal mechanisms beyond ego-centric network data.

Social network properties and self-rated health in later life: comparisons from the Korean social life, health, and aging project and the national social life, health and aging project

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it provides an overview of the social network module, data collection procedures, and measurement of ego-centric and complete-network properties in the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP). Secondly, it directly compares the KSHAP structure and results to the ego-centric network structure and results of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), which conducted in-home interviews with 3,005 persons 57 to 85 years of age in the United States. Methods The structure of the complete social network of 814 KSHAP respondents living in Township K was measured and examined at two levels of networks. Ego-centric network properties include network size, composition, volume of contact with network members, density, and bridging potential. Complete-network properties are degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and brokerage role. Results We found that KSHAP respondents with a smaller number of social network members were more likely to be older and tended to have poorer self-rated health. Compared to the NSHAP, the KSHAP respondents maintained a smaller network size with a greater network density among their members and lower bridging potential. Further analysis of the complete network properties of KSHAP respondents revealed that more brokerage roles inside the same neighborhood (Ri) were significantly associated with better self-rated health. Socially isolated respondents identified by network components had the worst self-rated health. Conclusions The findings demonstrate the importance of social network analysis for the study of older adults’ health status in Korea. The study also highlights the importance of complete-network data and its ability to reveal mechanisms beyond ego-centric network data. PMID:25217892

Influences on influenza transmission within terminal based on hierarchical structure of personal contact network.

PubMed

Shao, Quan; Jia, Meng

2015-03-18

Since the outbreak of pandemics, influenza has caused extensive attention in the field of public health. It is actually hard to distinguish what is the most effective method to control the influenza transmission within airport terminal. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the influences of passenger source, immunity difference and social relation structure on the influenza transmission in terminal. A method combining hierarchical structure of personal contact network with agent-based SEIR model was proposed to analyze the characteristics of influenza diffusion within terminal. Based on the spatial distance between individuals, the hierarchical structure of personal contact network was defined to construct a complex relationship of passengers in the real world. Moreover, the agent-based SEIR model was improved by considering the individual level of influenza spread characteristics. To evaluate the method, this process was fused in simulation based on the constructed personal contact network. In the terminal we investigated, personal contact network was defined by following four layers: social relation structure, procedure partition, procedure area, and the whole terminal. With the growing of layer, the degree distribution curves move right. The value of degree distribution p(k) reached a peak at a specific value, and then back down. Besides, with the increase of layer α, the clustering coefficients presented a tendency to exponential decay. Based on the influenza transmission experiments, the main infected areas were concluded when considering different factors. Moreover, partition of passenger sources was found to impact a lot in departure, while social relation structure imposed a great influence in arrival. Besides, immunity difference exerted no obvious effect on the spread of influenza in the transmission process both in departure and arrival. The proposed method is efficient to reproduce the evolution process of influenza transmission, and exhibits various roles of each factor in different processes, also better reflects the effect of passenger topological character on influenza spread. It contributes to proposing effective influenza measures by airport relevant department and improving the efficiency and ability of epidemic prevention on the public health.

Social networks and self-rated health in two French-speaking Canadian community dwelling populations over 65.

PubMed

Zunzunegui, M V; Koné, A; Johri, M; Béland, F; Wolfson, C; Bergman, H

2004-05-01

The objective was to evaluate the associations between older persons' health status and their social integration and social networks (family, children, friends and community), in two French-speaking, Canadian community dwelling populations aged 65 years and over, using the conceptual framework proposed by Berkman and Thomas. Data were taken from two 1995 surveys conducted in the city of Moncton (n = 1518) and the Montreal neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (n = 1500). Social engagement (a cumulative index of social activities), networks consisting of friends, family and children and social support were measured using validated scales. Multiple logistic regressions based on structured inclusion of potentially mediating variables were fitted to estimate the associations between health status and social networks. Self-rated health was better for those with a high level of social integration and a strong network of friends in both locations. In addition, in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve family and children networks were positively associated with good health, though the effect of friend networks was attenuated in the presence of disability, good social support from children was associated with good health. Age, sex and education were included as antecedent variables; smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, locus of control and depressive symptoms were considered intermediary variables between social networks and health. In conclusion, social networks, integration and support demonstrated unique positive associations with health. The nature of these associations may vary between populations and cultures.

Social Networks among the Older Chinese Population in the USA: Findings from the PINE Study.

PubMed

Dong, XinQi; Chang, E-Shien

2017-01-01

Social network research has become central to studies of health and aging. Its results may yield public health insights that are actionable and improve the quality of life of older adults. However, little is known about the social networks of older immigrant adults, whose social relationships often develop in the context of migration, compounded by cultural and linguistic barriers. This report aims to describe the structure, composition, and emotional components of social networks in the Chinese aging population of the USA, and to explore ways in which their social networks may be critical to their health decision-making. Our data come from the PINE study, a population-based epidemiological study of community-dwelling older Chinese American adults, aged 60 years and above, in the greater Chicago area. We conducted individual interviews in participants' homes from 2011 until 2013. Based on sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, this study computed descriptive statistics and trend tests for the social network measures adapted from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project study. The findings show that older Chinese adults have a relatively small social network in comparison with their counterparts from other ethnic and racial backgrounds. Only 29.6% of the participants could name 5 close network members, and 2.2% could name 0 members. Their network composition was more heavily kin oriented (95.0%). Relationships with network members differed according to the older adults' sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Subgroup variations included the likelihood of discussing health-related issues with network members. This study highlights the dynamic nature of social networks in later-life Chinese immigrants. For healthcare practitioners, developing cost-effective strategies that can mobilize social network support remains a critical undertaking in health intervention. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine the causal impact of social networks on various domains of health. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Developing an inter-organizational community-based health network: an Australian investigation.

PubMed

Short, Alison; Phillips, Rebecca; Nugus, Peter; Dugdale, Paul; Greenfield, David

2015-12-01

Networks in health care typically involve services delivered by a defined set of organizations. However, networked associations between the healthcare system and consumers or consumer organizations tend to be open, fragmented and are fraught with difficulties. Understanding the role and activities of consumers and consumer groups in a formally initiated inter-organizational health network, and the impacts of the network, is a timely endeavour. This study addresses this aim in three ways. First, the Unbounded Network Inter-organizational Collaborative Impact Model, a purpose-designed framework developed from existing literature, is used to investigate the process and products of inter-organizational network development. Second, the impact of a network artefact is explored. Third, the lessons learned in inter-organizational network development are considered. Data collection methods were: 16 h of ethnographic observation; 10 h of document analysis; six interviews with key informants and a survey (n = 60). Findings suggested that in developing the network, members used common aims, inter-professional collaboration, the power and trust engendered by their participation, and their leadership and management structures in a positive manner. These elements and activities underpinned the inter-organizational network to collaboratively produce the Health Expo network artefact. This event brought together healthcare providers, community groups and consumers to share information. The Health Expo demonstrated and reinforced inter-organizational working and community outreach, providing consumers with community-based information and linkages. Support and resources need to be offered for developing community inter-organizational networks, thereby building consumer capacity for self-management in the community. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Beyond context to the skyline: thinking in 3D.

PubMed

Hoagwood, Kimberly; Olin, Serene; Cleek, Andrew

2013-01-01

Sweeping and profound structural, regulatory, and fiscal changes are rapidly reshaping the contours of health and mental health practice. The community-based practice contexts described in the excellent review by Garland and colleagues are being fundamentally altered with different business models, regional networks, accountability standards, and incentive structures. If community-based mental health services are to remain viable, the two-dimensional and flat research and practice paradigm has to be replaced with three-dimensional thinking. Failure to take seriously the changes that are happening to the larger healthcare context and respond actively through significant system redesign will lead to the demise of specialty mental health services.

Barriers to healthcare coordination in market-based and decentralized public health systems: a qualitative study in healthcare networks of Colombia and Brazil.

PubMed

Vargas, Ingrid; Mogollón-Pérez, Amparo Susana; De Paepe, Pierre; Ferreira da Silva, Maria Rejane; Unger, Jean-Pierre; Vázquez, María-Luisa

2016-07-01

Although integrated healthcare networks (IHNs) are promoted in Latin America in response to health system fragmentation, few analyses on the coordination of care across levels in these networks have been conducted in the region. The aim is to analyse the existence of healthcare coordination across levels of care and the factors influencing it from the health personnel' perspective in healthcare networks of two countries with different health systems: Colombia, with a social security system based on managed competition and Brazil, with a decentralized national health system. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive-interpretative study was conducted, based on a case study of healthcare networks in four municipalities. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a three stage theoretical sample of (a) health (112) and administrative (66) professionals of different care levels, and (b) managers of providers (42) and insurers (14). A thematic content analysis was conducted, segmented by cases, informant groups and themes. The results reveal poor clinical information transfer between healthcare levels in all networks analysed, with added deficiencies in Brazil in the coordination of access and clinical management. The obstacles to care coordination are related to the organization of both the health system and the healthcare networks. In the health system, there is the existence of economic incentives to compete (exacerbated in Brazil by partisan political interests), the fragmentation and instability of networks in Colombia and weak planning and evaluation in Brazil. In the healthcare networks, there are inadequate working conditions (temporary and/or part-time contracts) which hinder the use of coordination mechanisms, and inadequate professional training for implementing a healthcare model in which primary care should act as coordinator in patient care. Reforms are needed in these health systems and networks in order to modify incentives, strengthen the state planning and supervision functions and improve professional working conditions and skills. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

A security framework for nationwide health information exchange based on telehealth strategy.

PubMed

Zaidan, B B; Haiqi, Ahmed; Zaidan, A A; Abdulnabi, Mohamed; Kiah, M L Mat; Muzamel, Hussaen

2015-05-01

This study focuses on the situation of health information exchange (HIE) in the context of a nationwide network. It aims to create a security framework that can be implemented to ensure the safe transmission of health information across the boundaries of care providers in Malaysia and other countries. First, a critique of the major elements of nationwide health information networks is presented from the perspective of security, along with such topics as the importance of HIE, issues, and main approaches. Second, a systematic evaluation is conducted on the security solutions that can be utilized in the proposed nationwide network. Finally, a secure framework for health information transmission is proposed within a central cloud-based model, which is compatible with the Malaysian telehealth strategy. The outcome of this analysis indicates that a complete security framework for a global structure of HIE is yet to be defined and implemented. Our proposed framework represents such an endeavor and suggests specific techniques to achieve this goal.

Structural methodologies for auditing SNOMED.

PubMed

Wang, Yue; Halper, Michael; Min, Hua; Perl, Yehoshua; Chen, Yan; Spackman, Kent A

2007-10-01

SNOMED is one of the leading health care terminologies being used worldwide. As such, quality assurance is an important part of its maintenance cycle. Methodologies for auditing SNOMED based on structural aspects of its organization are presented. In particular, automated techniques for partitioning SNOMED into smaller groups of concepts based primarily on relationships patterns are defined. Two abstraction networks, the area taxonomy and p-area taxonomy, are derived from the partitions. The high-level views afforded by these abstraction networks form the basis for systematic auditing. The networks tend to highlight errors that manifest themselves as irregularities at the abstract level. They also support group-based auditing, where sets of purportedly similar concepts are focused on for review. The auditing methodologies are demonstrated on one of SNOMED's top-level hierarchies. Errors discovered during the auditing process are reported.

Mental health care delivery system reform in Belgium: the challenge of achieving deinstitutionalisation whilst addressing fragmentation of care at the same time.

PubMed

Nicaise, Pablo; Dubois, Vincent; Lorant, Vincent

2014-04-01

Most mental health care delivery systems in welfare states currently face two major issues: deinstitutionalisation and fragmentation of care. Belgium is in the process of reforming its mental health care delivery system with the aim of simultaneously strengthening community care and improving integration of care. The new policy model attempts to strike a balance between hospitals and community services, and is based on networks of services. We carried out a content analysis of the policy blueprint for the reform and performed an ex-ante evaluation of its plan of operation, based on the current knowledge of mental health service networks. When we examined the policy's multiple aims, intermediate goals, suggested tools, and their articulation, we found that it was unclear how the new policy could achieve its goals. Indeed, deinstitutionalisation and integration of care require different network structures, and different modes of governance. Furthermore, most of the mechanisms contained within the new policy were not sufficiently detailed. Consequently, three major threats to the effectiveness of the reform were identified. These were: issues concerning the relationship between network structure and purpose, the continued influence of hospitals despite the goal of deinstitutionalisation, and the heterogeneity in the actual implementation of the new policy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wake-up transceivers for structural health monitoring of bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumberg, T.; Kokert, J.; Younesi, V.; Koenig, S.; Reindl, L. M.

2016-04-01

In this article we present a wireless sensor network to monitor the structural health of a large-scale highway bridge in Germany. The wireless sensor network consists of several sensor nodes that use wake-up receivers to realize latency free and low-power communication. The sensor nodes are either equipped with very accurate tilt sensor developed by Northrop Grumman LITEF GmbH or with a Novatel OEM615 GNSS receiver. Relay nodes are required to forward measurement data to a base station located on the bridge. The base station is a gateway that transmits the local measurement data to a remote server where it can be further analyzed and processed. Further on, we present an energy harvesting system to supply the energy demanding GNSS sensor nodes to realize long term monitoring.

Proposed health state awareness of helicopter blades using an artificial neural network strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Andrew; Habtour, Ed; Gadsden, S. A.

2016-05-01

Structural health prognostics and diagnosis strategies can be classified as either model or signal-based. Artificial neural network strategies are popular signal-based techniques. This paper proposes the use of helicopter blades in order to study the sensitivity of an artificial neural network to structural fatigue. The experimental setup consists of a scale aluminum helicopter blade exposed to transverse vibratory excitation at the hub using single axis electrodynamic shaker. The intent of this study is to optimize an algorithm for processing high-dimensional data while retaining important information content in an effort to select input features and weights, as well as health parameters, for training a neural network. Data from accelerometers and piezoelectric transducers is collected from a known system designated as healthy. Structural damage will be introduced to different blades, which they will be designated as unhealthy. A variety of different tests will be performed to track the evolution and severity of the damage. A number of damage detection and diagnosis strategies will be implemented. A preliminary experiment was performed on aluminum cantilever beams providing a simpler model for implementation and proof of concept. Future work will look at utilizing the detection information as part of a hierarchical control system in order to mitigate structural damage and fatigue. The proposed approach may eliminate massive data storage on board of an aircraft through retaining relevant information only. The control system can then employ the relevant information to intelligently reconfigure adaptive maneuvers to avoid harmful regimes, thus, extending the life of the aircraft.

Structural Health Monitoring of a Composite Panel Based on PZT Sensors and a Transfer Impedance Framework.

PubMed

Dziendzikowski, Michal; Niedbala, Patryk; Kurnyta, Artur; Kowalczyk, Kamil; Dragan, Krzysztof

2018-05-11

One of the ideas for development of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems is based on excitation of elastic waves by a network of PZT piezoelectric transducers integrated with the structure. In the paper, a variant of the so-called Transfer Impedance (TI) approach to SHM is followed. Signal characteristics, called the Damage Indices (DIs), were proposed for data presentation and analysis. The idea underlying the definition of DIs was to maintain most of the information carried by the voltage induced on PZT sensors by elastic waves. In particular, the DIs proposed in the paper should be sensitive to all types of damage which can influence the amplitude or the phase of the voltage induced on the sensor. Properties of the proposed DIs were investigated experimentally using a GFRP composite panel equipped with PZT networks attached to its surface and embedded into its internal structure. Repeatability and stability of DI indications under controlled conditions were verified in tests. Also, some performance indicators for surface-attached and structure-embedded sensors were obtained. The DIs' behavior was dependent mostly on the presence of a simulated damage in the structure. Anisotropy of mechanical properties of the specimen, geometrical properties of PZT network as well as, to some extent, the technology of sensor integration with the structure were irrelevant for damage indication. This property enables the method to be used for damage detection and classification.

Substance Use, Distress, and Adolescent School Networks

PubMed Central

McLeod, Jane D.; Uemura, Ryotaro

2012-01-01

This study examined the associations of substance use, psychological distress, and mental health services receipt with the structure and content of adolescent school-based networks. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we found that substance use was associated with receiving more, but making fewer, peer nominations. It also was associated with less favorable network characteristics, such as low GPA. Services receipt was associated with receiving and making fewer nominations, less favorable network characteristics, and a lower likelihood of reciprocated best friendships. Psychological distress had fewer significant associations. All associations were modest in magnitude. Our results suggest the importance of considering multiple indicators of socioemotional problems and multiple dimensions of social networks in research on adolescent peer relations. PMID:23066337

Prediction in Health Domain Using Bayesian Networks Optimization Based on Induction Learning Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felgaer, Pablo; Britos, Paola; García-Martínez, Ramón

A Bayesian network is a directed acyclic graph in which each node represents a variable and each arc a probabilistic dependency; they are used to provide: a compact form to represent the knowledge and flexible methods of reasoning. Obtaining it from data is a learning process that is divided in two steps: structural learning and parametric learning. In this paper we define an automatic learning method that optimizes the Bayesian networks applied to classification, using a hybrid method of learning that combines the advantages of the induction techniques of the decision trees (TDIDT-C4.5) with those of the Bayesian networks. The resulting method is applied to prediction in health domain.

Network resilience in the face of health system reform.

PubMed

Sheaff, Rod; Benson, Lawrence; Farbus, Lou; Schofield, Jill; Mannion, Russell; Reeves, David

2010-03-01

Many health systems now use networks as governance structures. Network 'macroculture' is the complex of artefacts, espoused values and unarticulated assumptions through which network members coordinate network activities. Knowledge of how network macroculture during 2006-2008 develops is therefore of value for understanding how health networks operate, how health system reforms affect them, and how networks function (and can be used) as governance structures. To examine how quasi-market reforms impact upon health networks' macrocultures we systematically compared longitudinal case studies of these impacts across two care networks, a programme network and a user-experience network in the English NHS. We conducted interviews with key informants, focus groups, non-participant observations of meetings and analyses of key documents. We found that in these networks, artefacts adapted to health system reform faster than espoused values did, and the latter adapted faster than basic underlying assumptions. These findings contribute to knowledge by providing empirical support for theories which hold that changes in networks' core practical activity are what stimulate changes in other aspects of network macroculture. The most powerful way of using network macroculture to manage the formation and operation of health networks therefore appears to be by focusing managerial activity on the ways in which networks produce their core artefacts. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of management and environment on local health department organizational structure and adaptation: a longitudinal network analysis.

PubMed

Keeling, Jonathan W; Pryde, Julie A; Merrill, Jacqueline A

2013-01-01

The nation's 2862 local health departments (LHDs) are the primary means for assuring public health services for all populations. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of organizational network analysis on management decisions in LHDs and to demonstrate the technique's ability to detect organizational adaptation over time. We conducted a longitudinal network analysis in a full-service LHD with 113 employees serving about 187,000 persons. Network survey data were collected from employees at 3 times: months 0, 8, and 34. At time 1 the initial analysis was presented to LHD managers as an intervention with information on evidence-based management strategies to address the findings. At times 2 and 3 interviews documented managers' decision making and events in the task environment. Response rates for the 3 network analyses were 90%, 97%, and 83%. Postintervention (time 2) results showed beneficial changes in network measures of communication and integration. Screening and case identification increased for chlamydia and for gonorrhea. Outbreak mitigation was accelerated by cross-divisional teaming. Network measurements at time 3 showed LHD adaptation to H1N1 and budget constraints with increased centralization. Task redundancy increased dramatically after National Incident Management System training. Organizational network analysis supports LHD management with empirical evidence that can be translated into strategic decisions about communication, allocation of resources, and addressing knowledge gaps. Specific population health outcomes were traced directly to management decisions based on network evidence. The technique can help managers improve how LHDs function as organizations and contribute to our understanding of public health systems.

Optimal Network for Patients with Severe Mental Illness: A Social Network Analysis.

PubMed

Lorant, Vincent; Nazroo, James; Nicaise, Pablo

2017-11-01

It is still unclear what the optimal structure of mental health care networks should be. We examine whether certain types of network structure have been associated with improved continuity of care and greater social integration. A social network survey was carried out, covering 954 patients across 19 mental health networks in Belgium in 2014. We found continuity of care to be associated with large, centralized, and homophilous networks, whereas social integration was associated with smaller, centralized, and heterophilous networks. Two important goals of mental health service provision, continuity of care and social integration, are associated with different types of network. Further research is needed to ascertain the direction of this association.

Analysing Health Professionals' Learning Interactions in an Online Social Network: A Longitudinal Study.

PubMed

Li, Xin; Verspoor, Karin; Gray, Kathleen; Barnett, Stephen

2016-01-01

This paper summarises a longitudinal analysis of learning interactions occurring over three years among health professionals in an online social network. The study employs the techniques of Social Network Analysis (SNA) and statistical modeling to identify the changes in patterns of interaction over time and test associated structural network effects. SNA results indicate overall low participation in the network, although some participants became active over time and even led discussions. In particular, the analysis has shown that a change of lead contributor results in a change in learning interaction and network structure. The analysis of structural network effects demonstrates that the interaction dynamics slow down over time, indicating that interactions in the network are more stable. The health professionals may be reluctant to share knowledge and collaborate in groups but were interested in building personal learning networks or simply seeking information.

A Social Network Analysis of the Financial Links Backing Health and Fitness Apps.

PubMed

Grundy, Quinn; Held, Fabian; Bero, Lisa

2017-11-01

To identify the major stakeholders in mobile health app development and to describe their financial relationships using social network analysis. We conducted a structured content analysis of a purposive sample of prominent health and fitness apps available in November 2015 in the United States, Canada, and Australia. We conducted a social network analysis of apps' developers, investors, other funding sources, and content advisors to describe the financial relationships underpinning health app development. Prominent health and fitness apps are largely developed by private companies based in North America, with an average of 4.7 (SD = 5.5) financial relations, including founders, external investors, acquiring companies, and commercial partnerships. Network analysis revealed a core of 41 sampled apps connected to 415 other entities by 466 financial relations. This core largely comprised apps published by major technology, pharmaceutical, and fashion corporations. About one third of apps named advisors, many of whom had commercial affiliations. Public health needs to extend its scrutiny and advocacy beyond the health messages contained within apps to understanding commercial influences on health and, when necessary, challenging them.

A network approach for researching partnerships in health

PubMed Central

Lewis, Jenny M

2005-01-01

Background The last decade has witnessed a significant move towards new modes of governing that are based on coordination and collaboration. In particular, local level partnerships have been widely introduced around the world. There are few comprehensive approaches for researching the effects of these partnerships. The aim of this paper is to outline a network approach that combines structure and agency based explanations to research partnerships in health. Network research based on two Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs) in Victoria is used to demonstrate the utility of this approach. The paper examines multiple types of ties between people (structure), and the use and value of relationships to partners (agency), using interviews with the people involved in two PCPs – one in metropolitan Melbourne and one in a rural area. Results Network maps of ties based on work, strategic information and policy advice, show that there are many strong connections in both PCPs. Not surprisingly, PCP staff are central and highly connected. Of more interest are the ties that are dependent on these dedicated partnership staff, as they reveal which actors become weakly linked or disconnected without them. Network measures indicate that work ties are the most dispersed and strategic information ties are the most concentrated around fewer people. Divisions of general practice are weakly linked, while local government officials and Department of Human Services (DHS) regional staff appear to play important bridging roles. Finally, the relationships between partners have changed and improved, and most of those interviewed value their new or improved links with partners. Conclusion Improving service coordination and health promotion planning requires engaging people and building strong relationships. Mapping ties is a useful means for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of partnerships, and network analysis indicates concentration and dispersion, the importance of particular individuals, and the points at which they will fragment. A narrative approach adds an assessment of whether the partnerships are being used and valued. The approach outlined here, which examines structure and agency as separate but related explanations, has much to offer in examining partnerships. PMID:16209718

How can the functioning and effectiveness of networks in the settings approach of health promotion be understood, achieved and researched?

PubMed

Dietscher, Christina

2017-02-01

Networks in health promotion (HP) have, after the launch of WHO's Ottawa Charter [(World Health Organization (WHO) (eds). (1986) Ottawa Charter on Health Promotion. Towards A New Public Health. World Health Organization, Geneva], become a widespread tool to disseminate HP especially in conjunction with the settings approach. Despite their allegedly high importance for HP practice and more than two decades of experiences with networking so far, a sound theoretical basis to support effective planning, formation, coordination and strategy development for networks in the settings approach of HP (HPSN) is still widely missing. Brößkamp-Stone's multi-facetted interorganizational network assessment framework (2004) provides a starting point but falls short of specifying the outcomes that can be reasonably expected from the specific network type of HPSN, and the specific processes/strategies and structures that are needed to achieve them. Based on outcome models in HP, on social, managerial and health science theories of networks, settings and organizations, a sociological systems theory approach and the capacity approach in HP, this article points out why existing approaches to studying networks are insufficient for HPSN, what can be understood by their functioning and effectiveness, what preconditions there are for HPSN effectiveness and how an HPSN functioning and effectiveness framework proposed on these grounds can be used for researching networks in practice, drawing on experiences from the ‘Project on an Internationally Comparative Evaluation Study of the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services’ (PRICES-HPH), which was coordinated by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion in Hospitals and Health Services (Vienna WHO-CC) from 2008 to 2012.

Structural integration and performance of inter-sectoral public health-related policy networks: An analysis across policy phases.

PubMed

Peters, D T J M; Raab, J; Grêaux, K M; Stronks, K; Harting, J

2017-12-01

Inter-sectoral policy networks may be effective in addressing environmental determinants of health with interventions. However, contradictory results are reported on relations between structural network characteristics (i.e., composition and integration) and network performance, such as addressing environmental determinants of health. This study examines these relations in different phases of the policy process. A multiple-case study was performed on four public health-related policy networks. Using a snowball method among network actors, overall and sub-networks per policy phase were identified and the policy sector of each actor was assigned. To operationalise the outcome variable, interventions were classified by the proportion of environmental determinants they addressed. In the overall networks, no relation was found between structural network characteristics and network performance. In most effective cases, the policy development sub-networks were characterised by integration with less interrelations between actors (low cohesion), more equally distributed distances between the actors (low closeness centralisation), and horizontal integration in inter-sectoral cliques. The most effective case had non-public health central actors with less connections in all sub-networks. The results suggest that, to address environmental determinants of health, sub-networks should be inter-sectorally composed in the policy development rather than in the intervention development and implementation phases, and that policy development actors should have the opportunity to connect with other actors, without strong direction from a central actor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social networks of HIV-positive women and their association with social support and depression symptoms.

PubMed

Cederbaum, Julie A; Rice, Eric; Craddock, Jaih; Pimentel, Veronica; Beaver, Patty

2017-02-01

Social support is important to the mental health and well-being of HIV-positive women. Limited information exists about the specific structure and composition of HIV-positive women's support networks or associations of these network properties with mental health outcomes. In this pilot study, the authors examine whether support network characteristics were associated with depressive symptoms. Survey and network data were collected from HIV-positive women (N = 46) via a web-based survey and an iPad application in August 2012. Data were analyzed using multivariate linear regression models in SAS. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with a greater number of doctors in a woman's network; having more HIV-positive network members was associated with less symptom reporting. Women who reported more individuals who could care for them had more family support. Those who reported feeling loved were less likely to report disclosure stigma. This work highlighted that detailed social network data can increase our understanding of social support so as to identify interventions to support the mental health of HIV-positive women. Most significant is the ongoing need for support from peers.

The effect of road network patterns on pedestrian safety: A zone-based Bayesian spatial modeling approach.

PubMed

Guo, Qiang; Xu, Pengpeng; Pei, Xin; Wong, S C; Yao, Danya

2017-02-01

Pedestrian safety is increasingly recognized as a major public health concern. Extensive safety studies have been conducted to examine the influence of multiple variables on the occurrence of pedestrian-vehicle crashes. However, the explicit relationship between pedestrian safety and road network characteristics remains unknown. This study particularly focused on the role of different road network patterns on the occurrence of crashes involving pedestrians. A global integration index via space syntax was introduced to quantify the topological structures of road networks. The Bayesian Poisson-lognormal (PLN) models with conditional autoregressive (CAR) prior were then developed via three different proximity structures: contiguity, geometry-centroid distance, and road network connectivity. The models were also compared with the PLN counterpart without spatial correlation effects. The analysis was based on a comprehensive crash dataset from 131 selected traffic analysis zones in Hong Kong. The results indicated that higher global integration was associated with more pedestrian-vehicle crashes; the irregular pattern network was proved to be safest in terms of pedestrian crash occurrences, whereas the grid pattern was the least safe; the CAR model with a neighborhood structure based on road network connectivity was found to outperform in model goodness-of-fit, implying the importance of accurately accounting for spatial correlation when modeling spatially aggregated crash data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Associations of a social network typology with physical and mental health risks among older adults in South Korea.

PubMed

Park, N S; Jang, Y; Lee, B S; Chiriboga, D A; Chang, S; Kim, S Y

2018-05-01

The objectives of this study were to (1) develop an empirical typology of social networks in older Koreans; and (2) examine its effect on physical and mental health. A sample of 6900 community-dwelling older adults in South Korea was drawn from the 2014 Korean National Elderly Survey. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to derive social network types using eight common social network characteristics (marital status, living arrangement, the number and frequency of contact with close family/relatives, the number and frequency of contact with close friends, frequency of participation in social activities, and frequency of having visitors at home). The identified typologies were then regressed on self-rated health and depressive symptoms to explore the health risks posed by the group membership. The LPA identified a model with five types of social network as being most optimal (BIC = 153,848.34, entropy = .90). The groups were named diverse/family (enriched networks with more engagement with family), diverse/friend (enriched networks with more engagement with friends), friend-focused (high engagement with friends), distant (structurally disengaged), and restricted (structurally engaged but disengaged in family/friends networks). A series of regression analyses showed that membership in the restricted type was associated with more health and mental health risks than all types of social networks except the distant type. Findings demonstrate the importance of family and friends as a source of social network and call attention to not only structural but also non-structural aspects of social isolation. Findings and implications are discussed in cultural contexts.

Re-examining the paradox of structure: a child health network perspective.

PubMed

McPherson, Charmaine M; Popp, Janice K; Lindstrom, Ronald R

2006-01-01

In their lead paper, Huerta, Casebeer and VanderPlaat argue that there are several key forces driving the development of health services delivery (HSD) networks, and propose a series of paradoxes and propositions to initiate this timely and essential dialogue. Ultimately, they submit that networks are likely to remain within the healthcare system to build system capacity and drive integration. Given this, they challenge us to further the dialogue and investigate these networks. While this peer commentary shares many of the lead author's perspectives, the generic nature of the discussion does not bring us to the relative complexities revealed in some HSD network practices. A Canadian child health network lens is used to re-examine the lead paper's conceptualization of network typologies and the proposed paradox of structure. We combine network practice and academic expertise to highlight the structural, governance and leadership tensions between traditional hierarchical public service organizations and the non-hierarchical nature of inter-organizational networks. Child health network leaders and members must examine and work with the challenges associated with importing traditional organizational cultures into an inter-organizationally networked context, while simultaneously maintaining these dual (or duelling) cultures.

Structural Health Monitoring of a Composite Panel Based on PZT Sensors and a Transfer Impedance Framework

PubMed Central

Dziendzikowski, Michal; Niedbala, Patryk; Kurnyta, Artur; Kowalczyk, Kamil; Dragan, Krzysztof

2018-01-01

One of the ideas for development of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems is based on excitation of elastic waves by a network of PZT piezoelectric transducers integrated with the structure. In the paper, a variant of the so-called Transfer Impedance (TI) approach to SHM is followed. Signal characteristics, called the Damage Indices (DIs), were proposed for data presentation and analysis. The idea underlying the definition of DIs was to maintain most of the information carried by the voltage induced on PZT sensors by elastic waves. In particular, the DIs proposed in the paper should be sensitive to all types of damage which can influence the amplitude or the phase of the voltage induced on the sensor. Properties of the proposed DIs were investigated experimentally using a GFRP composite panel equipped with PZT networks attached to its surface and embedded into its internal structure. Repeatability and stability of DI indications under controlled conditions were verified in tests. Also, some performance indicators for surface-attached and structure-embedded sensors were obtained. The DIs’ behavior was dependent mostly on the presence of a simulated damage in the structure. Anisotropy of mechanical properties of the specimen, geometrical properties of PZT network as well as, to some extent, the technology of sensor integration with the structure were irrelevant for damage indication. This property enables the method to be used for damage detection and classification. PMID:29751664

A new SMART sensing system for aerospace structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, David C.; Yu, Pin; Beard, Shawn; Qing, Peter; Kumar, Amrita; Chang, Fu-Kuo

2007-04-01

It is essential to ensure the safety and reliability of in-service structures such as unmanned vehicles by detecting structural cracking, corrosion, delamination, material degradation and other types of damage in time. Utilization of an integrated sensor network system can enable automatic inspection of such damages ultimately. Using a built-in network of actuators and sensors, Acellent is providing tools for advanced structural diagnostics. Acellent's integrated structural health monitoring system consists of an actuator/sensor network, supporting signal generation and data acquisition hardware, and data processing, visualization and analysis software. This paper describes the various features of Acellent's latest SMART sensing system. The new system is USB-based and is ultra-portable using the state-of-the-art technology, while delivering many functions such as system self-diagnosis, sensor diagnosis, through-transmission mode and pulse-echo mode of operation and temperature measurement. Performance of the new system was evaluated for assessment of damage in composite structures.

The association between social network relationships and depressive symptoms among older Americans: what matters most?

PubMed

Litwin, Howard

2011-08-01

Although social network relationships are linked to mental health in late life, it is still unclear whether it is the structure of social networks or their perceived quality that matters. The current study regressed a dichotomous 8-item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-8) score on measures of social network relationships among Americans, aged 65-85 years, from the first wave of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project. The network indicators included a structural variable - social network type - and a series of relationship quality indicators: perceived positive and negative ties with family, friends and spouse/ partner. Multivariate logistic regression analyses controlled for age, gender, education, income, race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, functional health and physical health. The perceived social network quality variables were unrelated to the presence of a high level of depressive symptoms, but social network type maintained an association with this mental health outcome even after controlling for confounders. Respondents embedded in resourceful social network types in terms of social capital--"diverse," "friend" and "congregant" networks--reported less presence of depressive symptoms, to varying degrees. The results show that the structure of the network seems to matter more than the perceived quality of the ties as an indicator of depressive symptoms. Moreover, the composite network type variable stands out in capturing the differences in mental state. The construct of network type should be incorporated in mental health screening among older people who reside in the community. One's social network type can be an important initial indicator that one is at risk.

Design of external sensors board based on Bluetooth interface of smart phones for structural health monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yan; Zhou, Yaping; Zhao, Xuefeng; Li, Dongsheng; Ou, Jinping

2016-04-01

As an important part of new information technology, the Internet of Things(IoT) is based on intelligent perception, recognition technology, ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous network integration, and it is known as the third wave of the development of information industry in the world after the computer and the Internet. And Smart Phones are the general term for a class of mobile phones with a separate operating system and operational memory, in which the third-party service programs including software, games, navigation, et.al, can be installed. Smart Phones, with not only sensors but also actuators, are widely used in the IoT world. As the current hot issues in the engineering area, Structural health monitoring (SHM) is also facing new problems about design ideas in the IoT environment. The development of IoT, wireless sensor network and mobile communication technology, provides a good technical platform for SHM. Based on these facts, this paper introduces a kind of new idea for Structural Health Monitoring using Smart Phones Technique. The system is described in detail, and the external sensor board based on Bluetooth interface is designed, the test based on Smart Phones is finished to validate the implementation and feasibility. The research is preliminary and more tests need to be carried out before it can be of practical use.

The patient perspective in health care networks.

PubMed

Raus, Kasper; Mortier, Eric; Eeckloo, Kristof

2018-06-05

Health care organization is entering a new age. Focus is increasingly shifting from individual health care institutions to interorganizational collaboration and health care networks. Much hope is set on such networks which have been argued to improve economic efficiency and quality of care. However, this does not automatically mean they are always ethically justified. A relevant question that remains is what ethical obligations or duties one can ascribe to these networks especially because networks involve many risks. Due to their often amorphous and complex structure, collective responsibility and accountability may increase while individual responsibility goes down. We argue that a business ethics approach to ethical obligations for health care networks, is problematic and we propose to opt for a patient perspective. Using the classic four principles of biomedical ethics (justice, nonmaleficence, beneficence and autonomy) it is possible to identify specific ethical duties. Based on the principle of justice, health care networks have an ethical duty to provide just and fair access for all patients and to be transparent to patients about how access is regulated. The principle of nonmaleficence implies an obligation to guarantee patient safety, whereas the principle of beneficence implies an obligation for health care networks to guarantee continuity of care in all its dimensions. Finally, the principle of autonomy is translated into a specific obligation to promote and respect patient choice. Networks that fail to meet any of these conditions are suspect and cannot be justified ethically. Faced with daunting challenges, the health care system is changing rapidly. Currently many hopes ride on integrated care and broad health care networks. Such networks are the topic of empirical debate, but more attention should be given to the ethical aspects. Health care networks raise new and pressing ethical issues and we are in need of a framework for assessing how and when such networks are justified.

Work-based social networks and health status among Japanese employees.

PubMed

Suzuki, E; Takao, S; Subramanian, S V; Doi, H; Kawachi, I

2009-09-01

Despite the worldwide trend towards more time being spent at work by employed people, few studies have examined the independent influences of work-based versus home-based social networks on employees' health. We examined the association between work-based social networks and health status by controlling for home-based social networks in a cross-sectional study. By employing a two-stage stratified random sampling procedure, 1105 employees were identified from 46 companies in Okayama, Japan, in 2007. Work-based social networks were assessed by asking the number of co-workers whom they consult with ease on personal issues. The outcome was self-rated health; the adjusted OR for poor health compared employees with no network with those who have larger networks. Although a clear (and inverse) dose-response relationship was found between the size of work-based social networks and poor health (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.27, comparing those with the lowest versus highest level of social network), the association was attenuated to statistical non-significance after we controlled for the size of home-based social networks. In further analyses stratified on age groups, in older workers (> or =50 years) work-based social networks were apparently associated with better health status, whereas home-based networks were not. The reverse was true among middle-aged workers (30-49 years). No associations were found among younger workers (<30 years). The present study suggests a differential association of alternative sources of social support on health according to age groups. We hypothesise that these patterns reflect generational differences in workers' commitment to their workplace.

Development and Application of a Structural Health Monitoring System Based on Wireless Smart Aggregates

PubMed Central

Ma, Haoyan; Li, Peng; Song, Gangbing; Wu, Jianxin

2017-01-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems can improve the safety and reliability of structures, reduce maintenance costs, and extend service life. Research on concrete SHMs using piezoelectric-based smart aggregates have reached great achievements. However, the newly developed techniques have not been widely applied in practical engineering, largely due to the wiring problems associated with large-scale structural health monitoring. The cumbersome wiring requires much material and labor work, and more importantly, the associated maintenance work is also very heavy. Targeting a practical large scale concrete crack detection (CCD) application, a smart aggregates-based wireless sensor network system is proposed for the CCD application. The developed CCD system uses Zigbee 802.15.4 protocols, and is able to perform dynamic stress monitoring, structural impact capturing, and internal crack detection. The system has been experimentally validated, and the experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed system. This work provides important support for practical CCD applications using wireless smart aggregates. PMID:28714927

Development and Application of a Structural Health Monitoring System Based on Wireless Smart Aggregates.

PubMed

Yan, Shi; Ma, Haoyan; Li, Peng; Song, Gangbing; Wu, Jianxin

2017-07-17

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems can improve the safety and reliability of structures, reduce maintenance costs, and extend service life. Research on concrete SHMs using piezoelectric-based smart aggregates have reached great achievements. However, the newly developed techniques have not been widely applied in practical engineering, largely due to the wiring problems associated with large-scale structural health monitoring. The cumbersome wiring requires much material and labor work, and more importantly, the associated maintenance work is also very heavy. Targeting a practical large scale concrete crack detection (CCD) application, a smart aggregates-based wireless sensor network system is proposed for the CCD application. The developed CCD system uses Zigbee 802.15.4 protocols, and is able to perform dynamic stress monitoring, structural impact capturing, and internal crack detection. The system has been experimentally validated, and the experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed system. This work provides important support for practical CCD applications using wireless smart aggregates.

The Structure and Effectiveness of Health Systems: Exploring the Impact of System Integration in Rural China.

PubMed

Wang, Xin; Birch, Stephen; Ma, Huifen; Zhu, Weiming; Meng, Qingyue

2016-08-12

Facing the challenges of aging populations, increasing chronic diseases prevalence and health system fragmentation, there have been several pilots of integrated health systems in China. But little is known about their structure, mechanism and effectiveness. The aim of this paper is to analyze health system integration and develop recommendations for achieving integration. Huangzhong and Hualong counties in Qinghai province were studied as study sites, with only Huangzhong having implemented health system integration. Questionnaires, interviews, and health insurance records were sources of data. Social network analysis was employed to analyze integration, through structure measurement and effectiveness evaluation. Health system integration in Huangzhong is higher than in Hualong, so is system effectiveness. The patient referral network in Hualong has more "leapfrog" referrals. The information sharing networks in both counties are larger than the other types of networks. The average distance in the joint training network of Huangzhong is less than in Hualong. Meanwhile, there are deficiencies common to both systems. Both county health systems have strengths and limitations regarding system integration. The use of medical consortia in Huangzhong has contributed to system effectiveness. Future research might consider alternative more context specific models of health system integration.

Hierarchical structural health monitoring system combining a fiber optic spinal cord network and distributed nerve cell devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minakuchi, Shu; Tsukamoto, Haruka; Takeda, Nobuo

2009-03-01

This study proposes novel hierarchical sensing concept for detecting damages in composite structures. In the hierarchical system, numerous three-dimensionally structured sensor devices are distributed throughout the whole structural area and connected with the optical fiber network through transducing mechanisms. The distributed "sensory nerve cell" devices detect the damage, and the fiber optic "spinal cord" network gathers damage signals and transmits the information to a measuring instrument. This study began by discussing the basic concept of the hierarchical sensing system thorough comparison with existing fiber optic based systems and nerve systems in the animal kingdom. Then, in order to validate the proposed sensing concept, impact damage detection system for the composite structure was proposed. The sensor devices were developed based on Comparative Vacuum Monitoring (CVM) system and the Brillouin based distributed strain sensing was utilized to gather the damage signals from the distributed devices. Finally a verification test was conducted using prototype devices. Occurrence of barely visible impact damage was successfully detected and it was clearly indicated that the hierarchical system has better repairability, higher robustness, and wider monitorable area compared to existing systems utilizing embedded optical fiber sensors.

An eConsent-based System Architecture Supporting Cooperation in Integrated Healthcare Networks.

PubMed

Bergmann, Joachim; Bott, Oliver J; Hoffmann, Ina; Pretschner, Dietrich P

2005-01-01

The economical need for efficient healthcare leads to cooperative shared care networks. A virtual electronic health record is required, which integrates patient related information but reflects the distributed infrastructure and restricts access only to those health professionals involved into the care process. Our work aims on specification and development of a system architecture fulfilling these requirements to be used in concrete regional pilot studies. Methodical analysis and specification have been performed in a healthcare network using the formal method and modelling tool MOSAIK-M. The complexity of the application field was reduced by focusing on the scenario of thyroid disease care, which still includes various interdisciplinary cooperation. Result is an architecture for a secure distributed electronic health record for integrated care networks, specified in terms of a MOSAIK-M-based system model. The architecture proposes business processes, application services, and a sophisticated security concept, providing a platform for distributed document-based, patient-centred, and secure cooperation. A corresponding system prototype has been developed for pilot studies, using advanced application server technologies. The architecture combines a consolidated patient-centred document management with a decentralized system structure without needs for replication management. An eConsent-based approach assures, that access to the distributed health record remains under control of the patient. The proposed architecture replaces message-based communication approaches, because it implements a virtual health record providing complete and current information. Acceptance of the new communication services depends on compatibility with the clinical routine. Unique and cross-institutional identification of a patient is also a challenge, but will loose significance with establishing common patient cards.

Hemispheric asymmetry of electroencephalography-based functional brain networks.

PubMed

Jalili, Mahdi

2014-11-12

Electroencephalography (EEG)-based functional brain networks have been investigated frequently in health and disease. It has been shown that a number of graph theory metrics are disrupted in brain disorders. EEG-based brain networks are often studied in the whole-brain framework, where all the nodes are grouped into a single network. In this study, we studied the brain networks in two hemispheres and assessed whether there are any hemispheric-specific patterns in the properties of the networks. To this end, resting state closed-eyes EEGs from 44 healthy individuals were processed and the network structures were extracted separately for each hemisphere. We examined neurophysiologically meaningful graph theory metrics: global and local efficiency measures. The global efficiency did not show any hemispheric asymmetry, whereas the local connectivity showed rightward asymmetry for a range of intermediate density values for the constructed networks. Furthermore, the age of the participants showed significant direct correlations with the global efficiency of the left hemisphere, but only in the right hemisphere, with local connectivity. These results suggest that only local connectivity of EEG-based functional networks is associated with brain hemispheres.

Multilevel examination of facility characteristics, social integration, and health for older adults living in nursing homes.

PubMed

Leedahl, Skye N; Chapin, Rosemary K; Little, Todd D

2015-01-01

Testing a model based on past research and theory, this study assessed relationships between facility characteristics (i.e., culture change efforts, social workers) and residents' social networks and social support across nursing homes; and examined relationships between multiple aspects of social integration (i.e., social networks, social capital, social engagement, social support) and mental and functional health for older adults in nursing homes. Data were collected at nursing homes using a planned missing data design with random sampling techniques. Data collection occurred at the individual-level through in-person structured interviews with older adult nursing home residents (N = 140) and at the facility-level (N = 30) with nursing home staff. The best fitting multilevel structural equation model indicated that the culture change subscale for relationships significantly predicted differences in residents' social networks. Additionally, social networks had a positive indirect relationship with mental and functional health among residents primarily via social engagement. Social capital had a positive direct relationship with both health outcomes. To predict better social integration and mental and functional health outcomes for nursing homes residents, study findings support prioritizing that close relationships exist among staff, residents, and the community as well as increased resident social engagement and social trust. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Leadership networks in Catholic parishes: Implications for implementation research in health

PubMed Central

Negrón, Rosalyn; Leyva, Bryan; Allen, Jennifer; Ospino, Hosffman; Tom, Laura; Rustan, Sarah

2014-01-01

Through two case studies of Catholic parishes in Massachusetts, this study explores the implications of leader-centered versus distributed leadership in Catholic parishes for the implementation of evidence-based health interventions. The two parishes involved in the study differ from each other in several ways. In the first, parishioners are less engaged in leadership activities at the decision-making level in the parish. A small group of lay volunteers work with the parish priest and other ordained leaders on parish activities. In the second parish, a large and active lay volunteer leadership have forged an organizational structure that allows more independence from the pastor's direct oversight. In this parish, lay volunteer leaders are the prime drivers of organizational programs and events. In 2012–2013, three types of networks were assessed at each parish: discussion, collaboration, and outside-of-parish ties. The contrasts between each parish include differences in density of collaboration, in frequency of discussion, and network centrality of the respective parish priests. We further identified key actors in the network structures at each parish. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding organizational capacity in the context of health program implementation. PMID:25441317

Leadership networks in Catholic parishes: implications for implementation research in health.

PubMed

Negrón, Rosalyn; Leyva, Bryan; Allen, Jennifer; Ospino, Hosffman; Tom, Laura; Rustan, Sarah

2014-12-01

Through two case studies of Catholic parishes in Massachusetts, this study explores the implications of leader-centered versus distributed leadership in Catholic parishes for the implementation of evidence-based health interventions. The two parishes involved in the study differ from each other in several ways. In the first, parishioners are less engaged in leadership activities at the decision-making level in the parish. A small group of lay volunteers work with the parish priest and other ordained leaders on parish activities. In the second parish, a large and active lay volunteer leadership have forged an organizational structure that allows more independence from the pastor's direct oversight. In this parish, lay volunteer leaders are the prime drivers of organizational programs and events. In 2012-2013, three types of networks were assessed at each parish: discussion, collaboration, and outside-of-parish ties. The contrasts between each parish include differences in density of collaboration, in frequency of discussion, and network centrality of the respective parish priests. We further identified key actors in the network structures at each parish. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding organizational capacity in the context of health program implementation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Regional geriatric care concept in the District of Lippe : Structural effects and network formation in the case management-based model project].

PubMed

Şahin, Charlotte; Iseringhausen, Olaf; Hower, Kira; Liebe, Constanze; Rethmeier-Hanke, Anja; Wedmann, Bernd

2018-04-01

Regional planning of healthcare requires special consideration for the complex needs of elderly, multimorbid people living in a domestic environment. In the District of Lippe, a hospital (Klinikum Lippe) and network of ambulatory care physicians (Ärztenetz Lippe) developed and tested a geriatric care network based on case management for geriatric patients living in a domestic environment. The establishment of the geriatric care network (e.g. promoting networking acceptance and implementation) was formatively evaluated, e. g. with qualitative methods. Data were acquired by guideline-based interviews with experts and analyzed by qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Structural effects included forming a cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary network for a functioning care network and a geriatric care pathway. The practical work of case managers (CM) is essential for communication with patients, family members and care providers as well as integrating providers into the network. A critical factor was working together with general practitioners and the close cooperation with the hospital's department of geriatric. The quality of care is improved because of exchange of information between sectors and continuity in the course of care. In the District of Lippe the quality of care was improved and structures of care were integrated by the network according to the needs of the target group. The integrative perspective was achieved in particular by the geriatric care pathway and integration of providers into the communication and care process; however, the scope of this care model could not be extended into routine care due to the rigid and subdivided health care system.

Social Network Influences on Adolescent Substance Use: Disentangling Structural Equivalence from Cohesion

PubMed Central

Fujimoto, Kayo; Valente, Thomas W.

2012-01-01

This study investigates two contagion mechanisms of peer influence based on direct communication (cohesion) versus comparison through peers who occupy similar network positions (structural equivalence) in the context of adolescents' drinking alcohol and smoking. To date, the two contagion mechanisms have been considered observationally inseparable, but this study attempts to disentangle structural equivalence from cohesion as a contagion mechanism by examining the extent to which the transmission of drinking and smoking behaviors attenuates as a function of social distance (i.e., from immediate friends to indirectly connected peers). Using the U.S. Add Health data consisting of a nationally representative sample of American adolescents (Grades 7-12), this study measured peer risk-taking up to four steps away from the adolescent (friends of friends of friends of friends) using a network exposure model. Peer influence was tested using a logistic regression model of alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking. Results indicate that influence based on structural equivalence tended to be stronger than influence based on cohesion in general, and that the magnitude of the effect decreased up to three steps away from the adolescent (friends of friends of friends). Further analysis indicated that structural equivalence acted as a mechanism of contagion for drinking and cohesion acted as one for smoking. These results indicate that the two transmission mechanisms with differing network proximities can differentially affect drinking and smoking behaviors in American adolescents. PMID:22475405

Communication networks of men facing a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

PubMed

Brown, Dot; Oetzel, John; Henderson, Alison

2016-11-01

This study seeks to identify the factors that shape the communication networks of men who face a potential diagnosis of prostate cancer, and how these factors relate to their disclosure about their changing health status. Men facing a potential diagnosis of prostate cancer are in a challenging situation; the support benefits of disclosing their changing health status to others in their communication networks is set against a backdrop of the potential stigma and uncertainty of the diagnosis. All men on a prostate biopsy waiting list were eligible for inclusion in an exploratory and interpretive study. Semi-structured interviews with 40 men explored their network structures and disclosure of health information. Thematic analysis highlighted the factors which contributed to their network structures and their disclosure about their health status. Four network factors shaped men's perspectives about disclosing their health status: (1) tie strength, comprising both strong and weak ties; (2) knowledgeable others, with a focus on medical professionals in the family; (3) homophily, which included other individuals with a similar medical condition; and (4) geographical proximity, with a preference for face-to-face communication. Communication networks influence men's disclosure of their health status and in particular weak ties with medical knowledge have an important role. Men who use the potential for support in their networks may experience improved psychosocial outcomes. Using these four network factors-tie strength, knowledgeable others, homophily or geographical proximity-to forecast men's willingness to disclose helps identify men who lack potential support and so are at risk of poor psychosocial health. Those with few strong ties or knowledgeable others in their networks may be in the at-risk cohort. The support provided in communication networks complements formal medical care from nurses and other health professionals, and encouraging patients to use their communication networks improves the psychosocial health of the men themselves, their partners and their families. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Social support network and health of elderly individuals with chronic pneumopathies].

PubMed

Mesquita, Rafael Barreto de; Morano, Maria Tereza Aguiar Pessoa; Landim, Fátima Luna Pinheiro; Collares, Patrícia Moreira Costa; Pinto, Juliana Maria de Sousa

2012-05-01

This study sought to analyze characteristics of the social support network of the elderly with chronic pneumopathies, establishing links with health maintenance/rehabilitation. The assumptions of Social Network Analysis (SNA) methodology were used, addressing the social support concept. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, both applied to 16 elderly people attended by a public hospital in Fortaleza-CE, were used for data collection. Quantitative data were processed using the UCINET 6.123, NetDraw 2.38 and Microsoft Excel software programs. In the qualitative analysis, the body of material was subjected to interpretations based on relevant and current theoretical references. Each informant brought an average of 10.37 individuals into the network. Among the 3 types of social support, there was a predominance of informational support given by health professionals. The importance of reciprocity in providing/receiving social support was also noted, as well as the participation of health professionals and the family functioning as social support. The conclusion reached was that the network of the elderly with pneumopathies is not cohesive, being restricted to the personal network of each individual, and that even so, the informants recognize and are satisfied with the social support it provides.

Telematics and smart cards in integrated health information system.

PubMed

Sicurello, F; Nicolosi, A

1997-01-01

Telematics and information technology are the base on which it will be possible to build an integrated health information system to support population and improve their quality of life. This system should be based on record linkage of all data based on the interactions of the patients with the health structures, such as general practitioners, specialists, health institutes and hospitals, pharmacies, etc. The record linkage can provide the connection and integration of various records, thanks to the use of telematic technology (either urban or geographical local networks, such as the Internet) and electronic data cards. Particular emphasis should be placed on the introduction of smart cards, such as portable health cards, which will contain a standardized data set and will be sufficient to access different databases found in various health services. The inter-operability of the social-health records (including multimedia types) and the smart cards (which are one of the most important prerequisites for the homogenization and wide diffusion of these cards at an European level) should be strongly taken into consideration. In this framework a project is going to be developed aiming towards the integration of various data bases distributed territorially, from the reading of the software and the updating of the smart cards to the complete management of the patients' evaluation records, to the quality of the services offered and to the health planning. The applications developed will support epidemiological investigation software and data analysis. The inter-connection of all the databases of the various structures involved will take place through a coordination center, the most important system of which we will call "record linkage" or "integrated database". Smart cards will be distributed to a sample group of possible users and the necessary smart card management tools will be installed in all the structures involved. All the final users (the patients) in the whole network of services involved will be monitored for the duration of the project. The system users will also include general practitioners, social workers, physicians, health operators, pharmacists, laboratory workers and administrative personnel of the municipality and of the health structures concerned.

Community-based organizations in the health sector: A scoping review

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Community-based organizations are important health system stakeholders as they provide numerous, often highly valued programs and services to the members of their community. However, community-based organizations are described using diverse terminology and concepts from across a range of disciplines. To better understand the literature related to community-based organizations in the health sector (i.e., those working in health systems or more broadly to address population or public health issues), we conducted a scoping review by using an iterative process to identify existing literature, conceptually map it, and identify gaps and areas for future inquiry. We searched 18 databases and conducted citation searches using 15 articles to identify relevant literature. All search results were reviewed in duplicate and were included if they addressed the key characteristics of community-based organizations or networks of community-based organizations. We then coded all included articles based on the country focus, type of literature, source of literature, academic discipline, disease sector, terminology used to describe organizations and topics discussed. We identified 186 articles addressing topics related to the key characteristics of community-based organizations and/or networks of community-based organizations. The literature is largely focused on high-income countries and on mental health and addictions, HIV/AIDS or general/unspecified populations. A large number of different terms have been used in the literature to describe community-based organizations and the literature addresses a range of topics about them (mandate, structure, revenue sources and type and skills or skill mix of staff), the involvement of community members in organizations, how organizations contribute to community organizing and development and how they function in networks with each other and with government (e.g., in policy networks). Given the range of terms used to describe community-based organizations, this scoping review can be used to further map their meanings/definitions to develop a more comprehensive typology and understanding of community-based organizations. This information can be used in further investigations about the ways in which community-based organizations can be engaged in health system decision-making and the mechanisms available for facilitating or supporting their engagement. PMID:23171160

Community-based organizations in the health sector: a scoping review.

PubMed

Wilson, Michael G; Lavis, John N; Guta, Adrian

2012-11-21

Community-based organizations are important health system stakeholders as they provide numerous, often highly valued programs and services to the members of their community. However, community-based organizations are described using diverse terminology and concepts from across a range of disciplines. To better understand the literature related to community-based organizations in the health sector (i.e., those working in health systems or more broadly to address population or public health issues), we conducted a scoping review by using an iterative process to identify existing literature, conceptually map it, and identify gaps and areas for future inquiry.We searched 18 databases and conducted citation searches using 15 articles to identify relevant literature. All search results were reviewed in duplicate and were included if they addressed the key characteristics of community-based organizations or networks of community-based organizations. We then coded all included articles based on the country focus, type of literature, source of literature, academic discipline, disease sector, terminology used to describe organizations and topics discussed. We identified 186 articles addressing topics related to the key characteristics of community-based organizations and/or networks of community-based organizations. The literature is largely focused on high-income countries and on mental health and addictions, HIV/AIDS or general/unspecified populations. A large number of different terms have been used in the literature to describe community-based organizations and the literature addresses a range of topics about them (mandate, structure, revenue sources and type and skills or skill mix of staff), the involvement of community members in organizations, how organizations contribute to community organizing and development and how they function in networks with each other and with government (e.g., in policy networks).Given the range of terms used to describe community-based organizations, this scoping review can be used to further map their meanings/definitions to develop a more comprehensive typology and understanding of community-based organizations. This information can be used in further investigations about the ways in which community-based organizations can be engaged in health system decision-making and the mechanisms available for facilitating or supporting their engagement.

A pilot study on diagnostic sensor networks for structure health monitoring.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-08-01

The proposal was submitted in an effort to obtain some preliminary results on using sensor networks for real-time structure health : monitoring. The proposed work has twofold: to develop and validate an elective algorithm for the diagnosis of coupled...

Oral health sentinel-based surveillance: a pilot study on dentinal hypersensitivity pain.

PubMed

Guerra, F; Corridore, D; Cocco, F; Arrica, M; Rinaldo, F; Mazur, M; Sanavia, C; Nardi, G M; Campus, G; Ottolenghi, L

2017-01-01

Aim of the study is to assess the development of a structured sentinel system for oral health data collection at national level. Furthermore, this pilot study aims to investigate the prevalence data on dentinal sensitivity pain collected through a nationwide network of epidemiological sentinels (dental hygienists). Each sentinel was given a specific number of examinees and periodicity of data collection. Overall, 116 adults were recruited from 19 Regions, 42,24% male and 57,76% female, with a mean age of 26. DH result was consistent with literature data, being 45%. All sentinel completed the standard forms and assured a good compliance. The overall good customer satisfaction assures adhesion of the sentinels to the procedure, and the regular data collection. The pilot study proved the effectiveness of a structured nationwide network of epidemiological sentinels (dental hygienists) for oral health data collection at national level. This methodology can be an essential starting point for periodic comparative studies.

Software-Enabled Distributed Network Governance: The PopMedNet Experience.

PubMed

Davies, Melanie; Erickson, Kyle; Wyner, Zachary; Malenfant, Jessica; Rosen, Rob; Brown, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

The expanded availability of electronic health information has led to increased interest in distributed health data research networks. The distributed research network model leaves data with and under the control of the data holder. Data holders, network coordinating centers, and researchers have distinct needs and challenges within this model. The concerns of network stakeholders are addressed in the design and governance models of the PopMedNet software platform. PopMedNet features include distributed querying, customizable workflows, and auditing and search capabilities. Its flexible role-based access control system enables the enforcement of varying governance policies. Four case studies describe how PopMedNet is used to enforce network governance models. Trust is an essential component of a distributed research network and must be built before data partners may be willing to participate further. The complexity of the PopMedNet system must be managed as networks grow and new data, analytic methods, and querying approaches are developed. The PopMedNet software platform supports a variety of network structures, governance models, and research activities through customizable features designed to meet the needs of network stakeholders.

Equity in access to maternal and child health services in five developing countries: what works.

PubMed

Talukder, M D Noorunnabi; Rob, Ubaidur

2010-01-01

People living in rural areas are yet to have equitable access to maternal and child health services in many developing countries. This article examines selected health service delivery models that improved access to services in five developing countries. The article is based on the review of background papers on Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, Ghana, and Tanzania, prepared as part of a multi-country study on health systems and maternal and child health. Findings suggest that equity in access to health services largely depends on a system that ensures a combination of facility-based service delivery and outreach services with a functioning referral network. A key factor is the availability of health workforce at the community level. Community-based deployment of service providers or recruitment and training of community health workers is critical in enhancing service coverage and linking local populations to a health facility. Incentive is necessary to keep community health workers' interest in providing services. However, health workforce alone cannot ensure good health outcomes. They must be embedded in a functioning service delivery network to transform structural inputs into outcomes. Moreover, local-level health systems should have the ability to allocate resources in strategic ways addressing the pressing health needs of the people.

What are the reasons for clinical network success? A qualitative study.

PubMed

McInnes, Elizabeth; Haines, Mary; Dominello, Amanda; Kalucy, Deanna; Jammali-Blasi, Asmara; Middleton, Sandy; Klineberg, Emily

2015-11-05

Clinical networks have been established to improve patient outcomes and processes of care by implementing a range of innovations and undertaking projects based on the needs of local health services. Given the significant investment in clinical networks internationally, it is important to assess their effectiveness and sustainability. This qualitative study investigated the views of stakeholders on the factors they thought were influential in terms of overall network success. Ten participants were interviewed using face-to-face, audio-recorded semi-structured interviews about critical factors for networks' successes over the study period 2006-2008. Respondents were purposively selected from two stakeholder groups: i) chairs of networks during the study period of 2006-2008 from high- moderate- and low-impact networks (as previously determined by an independent review panel) and ii) experts in the clinical field of the network who had a connection to the network but who were not network members. Participants were blind to the performance of the network they were interviewed about. Transcribed data were coded and analysed to generate themes relating to the study aims. Themes relating to influential factors critical to network success were: network model principles; leadership; formal organisational structures and processes; nature of network projects; external relationships; profile and credibility of the network. This study provides clinical networks with guidance on essential factors for maximising optimal network outcomes and that may assist networks to move from being a 'low-impact' to 'high-impact' network. Important ingredients for successful clinical networks were visionary and strategic leadership with strong links to external stakeholders; and having formal infrastructure and processes to enable the development and management of work plans aligned with health priorities.

Discourse, ideas and power in global health policy networks: political attention for maternal and child health in the millennium development goal era.

PubMed

McDougall, Lori

2016-05-18

Maternal and child health issues have gained global political attention and resources in the past 10 years, due in part to their prominence on the Millennium Development Goal agenda and the use of evidence-based advocacy by policy networks. This paper identifies key factors for this achievement, and raises questions about prospective challenges for sustaining attention in the transition to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, far broader in scope than the Millennium Development Goals. This paper relies on participant observation methods and document analysis to develop a case study of the behaviours of global maternal and child health advocacy networks during 2005-2015. The development of coordinated networks of heterogeneous actors facilitated the rise in attention to maternal and child health during the past 10 years. The strategic use of epidemiological and economic evidence by these networks enabled policy attention and promoted network cohesion. The time-bound opportunity of reaching the 2015 Millennium Development Goals created a window of opportunity for joint action. As the new post-2015 goals emerge, networks seek to sustain attention by repositioning their framing of issues, network structures, and external alliances, including with networks that lay both inside and outside of the health domain. Issues rise on global policy agendas because of how ideas are constructed, portrayed and positioned by actors within given contexts. Policy networks play a critical role by uniting stakeholders to promote persuasive ideas about policy problems and solutions. The behaviours of networks in issue-framing, member-alignment, and strategic outreach can force open windows of opportunity for political attention -- or prevent them from closing.

Enabling Community Through Social Media

PubMed Central

Haythornthwaite, Caroline

2013-01-01

Background Social network analysis provides a perspective and method for inquiring into the structures that comprise online groups and communities. Traces from interaction via social media provide the opportunity for understanding how a community is formed and maintained online. Objective The paper aims to demonstrate how social network analysis provides a vocabulary and set of techniques for examining interaction patterns via social media. Using the case of the #hcsmca online discussion forum, this paper highlights what has been and can be gained by approaching online community from a social network perspective, as well as providing an inside look at the structure of the #hcsmca community. Methods Social network analysis was used to examine structures in a 1-month sample of Twitter messages with the hashtag #hcsmca (3871 tweets, 486 unique posters), which is the tag associated with the social media–supported group Health Care Social Media Canada. Network connections were considered present if the individual was mentioned, replied to, or had a post retweeted. Results Network analyses revealed patterns of interaction that characterized the community as comprising one component, with a set of core participants prominent in the network due to their connections with others. Analysis showed the social media health content providers were the most influential group based on in-degree centrality. However, there was no preferential attachment among people in the same professional group, indicating that the formation of connections among community members was not constrained by professional status. Conclusions Network analysis and visualizations provide techniques and a vocabulary for understanding online interaction, as well as insights that can help in understanding what, and who, comprises and sustains a network, and whether community emerges from a network of online interactions. PMID:24176835

A key heterogeneous structure of fractal networks based on inverse renormalization scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Yanan; Huang, Ning; Sun, Lina

2018-06-01

Self-similarity property of complex networks was found by the application of renormalization group theory. Based on this theory, network topologies can be classified into universality classes in the space of configurations. In return, through inverse renormalization scheme, a given primitive structure can grow into a pure fractal network, then adding different types of shortcuts, it exhibits different characteristics of complex networks. However, the effect of primitive structure on networks structural property has received less attention. In this paper, we introduce a degree variance index to measure the dispersion of nodes degree in the primitive structure, and investigate the effect of the primitive structure on network structural property quantified by network efficiency. Numerical simulations and theoretical analysis show a primitive structure is a key heterogeneous structure of generated networks based on inverse renormalization scheme, whether or not adding shortcuts, and the network efficiency is positively correlated with degree variance of the primitive structure.

System identification of a tied arch bridge using reference-based wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hietbrink, Colby; Whelan, Matthew J.

2012-04-01

Vibration-based methods of structural health monitoring are generally founded on the principle that localized damage to a structure would exhibit changes within the global dynamic response. Upon this basis, accelerometers provide a unique health monitoring strategy in that a distributed network of sensors provides the technical feasibility to isolate the onset of damage without requiring that any sensor be located exactly on or in close proximity to the damage. While in theory this may be sufficient, practical experience has shown significant improvement in the application of damage diagnostic routines when mode shapes characterized by strongly localized behavior of specific elements are captured by the instrumentation array. In traditional applications, this presents a challenge since the cost and complexity of cable-based systems often effectively limits the number of instrumented locations thereby constraining the modal parameter extraction to only global modal responses. The advent of the low-cost RF chip transceiver with wireless networking capabilities has afforded a means by which a substantial number of output locations can be measured through referencebased testing using large-scale wireless sensor networks. In the current study, this approach was applied to the Prairie du Chien Bridge over the Mississippi River to extract operational mode shapes with high spatial reconstruction, including strongly localized modes. The tied arch bridge was instrumented at over 230 locations with single-axis accelerometers conditioned and acquired over a high-rate lossless wireless sensor network with simultaneous sampling capabilities. Acquisition of the dynamic response of the web plates of the arch rib was specifically targeted within the instrumentation array for diagnostic purposes. Reference-based operational modal analysis of the full structure through data-driven stochastic subspace identification is presented alongside finite element analysis results for confirmation of modal parameter plausibility. Particular emphasis is placed on the identification and reconstruction of modal response with large contribution from the arch rib web plates.

Using Social Networking to Understand Social Networks: Analysis of a Mobile Phone Closed User Group Used by a Ghanaian Health Team

PubMed Central

Akosah, Eric; Ohemeng-Dapaah, Seth; Sakyi Baah, Joseph; Kanter, Andrew S

2013-01-01

Background The network structure of an organization influences how well or poorly an organization communicates and manages its resources. In the Millennium Villages Project site in Bonsaaso, Ghana, a mobile phone closed user group has been introduced for use by the Bonsaaso Millennium Villages Project Health Team and other key individuals. No assessment on the benefits or barriers of the use of the closed user group had been carried out. Objective The purpose of this research was to make the case for the use of social network analysis methods to be applied in health systems research—specifically related to mobile health. Methods This study used mobile phone voice records of, conducted interviews with, and reviewed call journals kept by a mobile phone closed user group consisting of the Bonsaaso Millennium Villages Project Health Team. Social network analysis methodology complemented by a qualitative component was used. Monthly voice data of the closed user group from Airtel Bharti Ghana were analyzed using UCINET and visual depictions of the network were created using NetDraw. Interviews and call journals kept by informants were analyzed using NVivo. Results The methodology was successful in helping identify effective organizational structure. Members of the Health Management Team were the more central players in the network, rather than the Community Health Nurses (who might have been expected to be central). Conclusions Social network analysis methodology can be used to determine the most productive structure for an organization or team, identify gaps in communication, identify key actors with greatest influence, and more. In conclusion, this methodology can be a useful analytical tool, especially in the context of mobile health, health services, and operational and managerial research. PMID:23552721

Using social networking to understand social networks: analysis of a mobile phone closed user group used by a Ghanaian health team.

PubMed

Kaonga, Nadi Nina; Labrique, Alain; Mechael, Patricia; Akosah, Eric; Ohemeng-Dapaah, Seth; Sakyi Baah, Joseph; Kodie, Richmond; Kanter, Andrew S; Levine, Orin

2013-04-03

The network structure of an organization influences how well or poorly an organization communicates and manages its resources. In the Millennium Villages Project site in Bonsaaso, Ghana, a mobile phone closed user group has been introduced for use by the Bonsaaso Millennium Villages Project Health Team and other key individuals. No assessment on the benefits or barriers of the use of the closed user group had been carried out. The purpose of this research was to make the case for the use of social network analysis methods to be applied in health systems research--specifically related to mobile health. This study used mobile phone voice records of, conducted interviews with, and reviewed call journals kept by a mobile phone closed user group consisting of the Bonsaaso Millennium Villages Project Health Team. Social network analysis methodology complemented by a qualitative component was used. Monthly voice data of the closed user group from Airtel Bharti Ghana were analyzed using UCINET and visual depictions of the network were created using NetDraw. Interviews and call journals kept by informants were analyzed using NVivo. The methodology was successful in helping identify effective organizational structure. Members of the Health Management Team were the more central players in the network, rather than the Community Health Nurses (who might have been expected to be central). Social network analysis methodology can be used to determine the most productive structure for an organization or team, identify gaps in communication, identify key actors with greatest influence, and more. In conclusion, this methodology can be a useful analytical tool, especially in the context of mobile health, health services, and operational and managerial research.

Social pathways to health: On the mediating role of the social network in the relation between socio-economic position and health.

PubMed

Aartsen, Marja; Veenstra, Marijke; Hansen, Thomas

2017-12-01

Good health is one of the key qualities of life, but opportunities to be and remain healthy are unequally distributed across socio-economic groups. The beneficial health effects of the social network are well known. However, research on the social network as potential mediator in the pathway from socio-economic position (SEP) to health is scarce, while there are good reasons to expect a socio-economical patterning of networks. We aim to contribute to our understanding of socio-economic inequalities in health by examining the mediating role of structural and functional characteristics of the social network in the SEP-health relationship. Data were from the second wave of the Norwegian study on the life course, aging and generation study (NorLAG) and comprised 4534 men and 4690 women aged between 40 and 81. We applied multiple mediation models to evaluate the relative importance of each network characteristic, and multiple group analysis to examine differences between middle-aged and older men and women. Our results indicated a clear socio-economical patterning of the social network for men and women. People with higher SEP had social networks that better protect against loneliness, which in turn lead to better health outcomes. The explained variance in health in older people by the social network and SEP was only half of the explained variance observed in middle-aged people, suggesting that other factors than SEP were more important for health when people age. We conclude that it is the function of the network, rather than the structure, that counts for health.

Post opioid overdose outreach by public health and public safety agencies: Exploration of emerging programs in Massachusetts.

PubMed

Formica, Scott W; Apsler, Robert; Wilkins, Lindsay; Ruiz, Sarah; Reilly, Brittni; Walley, Alexander Y

2018-04-01

Opioid overdose is a significant public health problem. Collaborative programs between local public health and public safety agencies have emerged to connect overdose survivors and their personal networks with harm reduction and addiction treatment services following a non-fatal overdose event. This study explored the prevalence of these programs in Massachusetts and the different ways they have been structured and function. We sent an online screening questionnaire to police and fire departments in all 351 communities in Massachusetts to find instances in which they collaborated with a community-based public health agency to implement a post-overdose outreach and support program. We conducted telephone interviews with communities that implemented this type of program and categorized programs based on their structure, outreach approach, and other key characteristics. Police and fire personnel from 110 of the 351 communities in Massachusetts (31% response rate) completed the screening survey. Among respondents, 21% (23/110) had implemented a collaborative, community-based, post-overdose program with a well-defined process to connect overdose survivors and their personal networks with support services or addiction treatment services. Using data from the interviews, we identified four types of programs: (1) Multi-Disciplinary Team Visit, (2) Police Visit with Referrals, (3) Clinician Outreach, and (4) Location-Based Outreach. This study represents the first attempt to systematically document an emerging approach intended to connect opioid overdose survivors and their personal networks with harm reduction and addiction treatment services soon after a non-fatal overdose event. These programs have the potential to increase engagement with the social service and addiction treatment systems by those who are at elevated risk for experiencing a fatal opioid overdose. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A mobile sensing system for structural health monitoring: design and validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Dapeng; Yi, Xiaohua; Wang, Yang; Lee, Kok-Meng; Guo, Jiajie

2010-05-01

This paper describes a new approach using mobile sensor networks for structural health monitoring. Compared with static sensors, mobile sensor networks offer flexible system architectures with adaptive spatial resolutions. The paper first describes the design of a mobile sensing node that is capable of maneuvering on structures built with ferromagnetic materials. The mobile sensing node can also attach/detach an accelerometer onto/from the structural surface. The performance of the prototype mobile sensor network has been validated through laboratory experiments. Two mobile sensing nodes are adopted for navigating on a steel portal frame and providing dense acceleration measurements. Transmissibility function analysis is conducted to identify structural damage using data collected by the mobile sensing nodes. This preliminary work is expected to spawn transformative changes in the use of mobile sensors for future structural health monitoring.

Long-term real-time structural health monitoring using wireless smart sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Shinae; Mensah-Bonsu, Priscilla O.; Li, Jingcheng; Dahal, Sushil

2013-04-01

Improving the safety and security of civil infrastructure has become a critical issue for decades since it plays a central role in the economics and politics of a modern society. Structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure using wireless smart sensor network has emerged as a promising solution recently to increase structural reliability, enhance inspection quality, and reduce maintenance costs. Though hardware and software framework are well prepared for wireless smart sensors, the long-term real-time health monitoring strategy are still not available due to the lack of systematic interface. In this paper, the Imote2 smart sensor platform is employed, and a graphical user interface for the long-term real-time structural health monitoring has been developed based on Matlab for the Imote2 platform. This computer-aided engineering platform enables the control, visualization of measured data as well as safety alarm feature based on modal property fluctuation. A new decision making strategy to check the safety is also developed and integrated in this software. Laboratory validation of the computer aided engineering platform for the Imote2 on a truss bridge and a building structure has shown the potential of the interface for long-term real-time structural health monitoring.

Impact of information network structure on interorganizational partnership collaboration : a hierarchical perspective.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

Transportation is one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, ground : based air pollution and pollution in waters and streams. Researchers have also linked the : human health issues of obesity and lung disease with automobile use. T...

GOOD HEALTH AND THE BRIDGING OF STRUCTURAL HOLES

PubMed Central

Cornwell, Benjamin

2009-01-01

Bridges that span structural holes are often explained in terms of the entrepreneurial personalities or rational motivations of brokers, or structural processes that lead to the intersection of social foci. I argue that the existence and use of bridges in interpersonal networks also depends on individuals’ health. Poor health may make it more difficult to withstand the pressures and to execute some of the common tasks associated with bridging (e.g., brokerage). I examine this possibility using egocentric network data on over 2,500 older adults drawn from the recent National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). Multivariate regression analyses show that both cognitive and functional health are significantly positively associated with bridging, net of sociodemographic and life-course controls. The relationship between functional (kinesthetic) health and bridging appears to be partially mediated by network composition, as older adults who have poorer functional health also tend to have networks that are richer in strong ties. Several potential mediation mechanisms are discussed. Cognitive function remains significantly associated with bridging net of network composition, suggesting that the inherent challenges of maintaining bridging positions may be more difficult to cope with for those who have cognitive impairments than for those who have functional impairments such as limited mobility. An alternative explanation is that cognitively impaired individuals have more difficulty recognizing (and thus strategically using) bridges in their networks. Theoretical implications and possibilities for future research are discussed. PMID:20046998

The effect of time synchronization of wireless sensors on the modal analysis of structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnamurthy, V.; Fowler, K.; Sazonov, E.

2008-10-01

Driven by the need to reduce the installation cost and maintenance cost of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are becoming increasingly popular. Perfect time synchronization amongst the wireless sensors is a key factor enabling the use of low-cost, low-power WSNs for structural health monitoring applications based on output-only modal analysis of structures. In this paper we present a theoretical framework for analysis of the impact created by time delays in the measured system response on the reconstruction of mode shapes using the popular frequency domain decomposition (FDD) technique. This methodology directly estimates the change in mode shape values based on sensor synchronicity. We confirm the proposed theoretical model by experimental validation in modal identification experiments performed on an aluminum beam. The experimental validation was performed using a wireless intelligent sensor and actuator network (WISAN) which allows for close time synchronization between sensors (0.6-10 µs in the tested configuration) and guarantees lossless data delivery under normal conditions. The experimental results closely match theoretical predictions and show that even very small delays in output response impact the mode shapes.

Health Systems Sustainability and Rare Diseases.

PubMed

Ferrelli, Rita Maria; De Santis, Marta; Egle Gentile, Amalia; Taruscio, Domenica

2017-01-01

The paper is addressing aspects of health system sustainability for rare diseases in relation to the current economic crisis and equity concerns. It takes into account the results of the narrative review carried out in the framework of the Joint Action for Rare Diseases (Joint RD-Action) "Promoting Implementation of Recommendations on Policy, Information and Data for Rare Diseases", that identified networks as key factors for health systems sustainability for rare diseases. The legal framework of European Reference Networks and their added value is also presented. Networks play a relevant role for health systems sustainability, since they are based upon, pay special attention to and can intervene on health systems knowledge development, partnership, organizational structure, resources, leadership and governance. Moreover, sustainability of health systems can not be separated from the analysis of the context and the action on it, including fiscal equity. As a result of the financial crisis of 2008, cuts of public health-care budgets jeopardized health equity, since the least wealthy suffered from the greatest health effects. Moreover, austerity policies affected economic growth much more adversely than previously believed. Therefore, reducing public health expenditure not only is going to jeopardise citizens' health, but also to hamper fair and sustainable development.

A systematic review protocol: social network analysis of tobacco use.

PubMed

Maddox, Raglan; Davey, Rachel; Lovett, Ray; van der Sterren, Anke; Corbett, Joan; Cochrane, Tom

2014-08-08

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world. Evidence indicates that behaviours such as tobacco use can influence social networks, and that social network structures can influence behaviours. Social network analysis provides a set of analytic tools to undertake methodical analysis of social networks. We will undertake a systematic review to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the literature regarding social network analysis and tobacco use. The review will answer the following research questions: among participants who use tobacco, does social network structure/position influence tobacco use? Does tobacco use influence peer selection? Does peer selection influence tobacco use? We will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and search the following databases for relevant articles: CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature); Informit Health Collection; PsycINFO; PubMed/MEDLINE; Scopus/Embase; Web of Science; and the Wiley Online Library. Keywords include tobacco; smoking; smokeless; cigarettes; cigar and 'social network' and reference lists of included articles will be hand searched. Studies will be included that provide descriptions of social network analysis of tobacco use.Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method data that meets the inclusion criteria for the review, including methodological rigour, credibility and quality standards, will be synthesized using narrative synthesis. Results will be presented using outcome statistics that address each of the research questions. This systematic review will provide a timely evidence base on the role of social network analysis of tobacco use, forming a basis for future research, policy and practice in this area. This systematic review will synthesise the evidence, supporting the hypothesis that social network structures can influence tobacco use. This will also include exploring the relationship between social network structure, social network position, peer selection, peer influence and tobacco use across all age groups, and across different demographics. The research will increase our understanding of social networks and their impact on tobacco use, informing policy and practice while highlighting gaps in the literature and areas for further research.

The physical therapy clinical research network (PTClinResNet): methods, efficacy, and benefits of a rehabilitation research network.

PubMed

Winstein, Carolee; Pate, Patricia; Ge, Tingting; Ervin, Carolyn; Baurley, James; Sullivan, Katherine J; Underwood, Samantha J; Fowler, Eileen G; Mulroy, Sara; Brown, David A; Kulig, Kornelia; Gordon, James; Azen, Stanley P

2008-11-01

This article describes the vision, methods, and implementation strategies used in building the infrastructure for PTClinResNet, a clinical research network designed to assess outcomes for health-related mobility associated with evidence-based physical therapy interventions across and within four different disability groups. Specific aims were to (1) create the infrastructure necessary to develop and sustain clinical trials research in rehabilitation, (2) generate evidence to evaluate the efficacy of resistance exercise-based physical interventions designed to improve muscle performance and movement skills, and (3) provide education and training opportunities for present and future clinician-researchers and for the rehabilitation community at-large in its support of evidence-based practice. We present the network's infrastructure, development, and several examples that highlight the benefits of a clinical research network. We suggest that the network structure is ideal for building research capacity and fostering multisite, multiinvestigator clinical research projects designed to generate evidence for the efficacy of rehabilitation interventions.

Health care networks implementation and regional governance challenges in the Legal Amazon Region: an analysis of the QualiSUS-Rede Project.

PubMed

Casanova, Angela Oliveira; Cruz, Marly Marques; Giovanella, Ligia; Alves, Glaydes Dos Reis; Cardoso, Gisela Cordeiro Pereira

2017-04-01

This paper aims to analyze the potential, limits and challenges of regional governance in the implementation process of health care networks in three Brazilian regions: Alto Solimões (Amazonas), Belém (Pará) and an interstate region comprising Tocantins, Pará and Maranhão states (Topama). The study is based on the evaluation study on the implementation of the Quality Health Care Network Development and Improvement Project (QualiSUS-Rede). This is a qualitative multiple case study with the analysis of official documents and use of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders conducted from July to December 2014. Governance review encompassed three components: stakeholders involved, especially local steering groups and their regional coordination capacity; strategies used for strengthening regional governance, anchored on the intervention's modeling; and implementation of local health care networks. Results point that the regional managing commissions were the main governance strategy and that the QualiSUS-Rede Project strengthened regional governance and integration differently in every case, depending on stakeholders' administration and consensus capacity on regional and political priorities.

Conflict Structures in Family Networks of Older Adults and Their Relationship With Health-Related Quality of Life

PubMed Central

Widmer, Eric D.; Girardin, Myriam; Ludwig, Catherine

2017-01-01

This study explores the interrelationships between health-related quality of life and conflict structures in family networks of older adults. Data were derived from a sample of 2,858 elders (aged 65 years and older) from the Vivre/Leben/Vivere study, a large survey addressing family life and health conditions of older people in Switzerland. Conflict density in family networks and the betweenness centrality of respondents in family conflict are significantly associated with health-related quality of life measures. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that conflict–health associations are mediated by the level of perceived individual stress where psychological health is concerned. Family conflict structures depend to a large extent on family composition and age. This study stresses the importance of older adults actively shaping the composition of their family contexts in ways that promote both conflict and stress avoidance. PMID:29593370

Understanding the structure of community collaboration: the case of one Canadian health promotion network.

PubMed

Barnes, Martha; Maclean, Joanne; Cousens, Laura

2010-06-01

In 2004, over 6.8 million Canadians were considered overweight, with an additional 2.4 million labeled clinically obese. Due to these escalating levels of obesity in Canada, physical activity is being championed by politicians, physicians, educators and community members as a means to address this health crisis. In doing so, many organizations are being called upon to provide essential physical activity services and programs to combat rising obesity rates. Yet, strategies for achieving these organizations' mandates, which invariably involve stretching already scarce resources, are difficult to implement and sustain. One strategy for improving the health and physical activity levels of people in communities has been the creation of inter-organizational networks of service providers. Yet, little is known about whether networks are effective in addressing policy issues in non-clinical health settings. The purpose of this investigation was 2-fold; to use whole network analysis to determine the structure of one health promotion network in Canada, and to identify the types of ties shared by actors in the health network. Findings revealed a network wherein information sharing constituted the basis for collaboration, whereas efforts related to sharing resources, marketing and/or fundraising endeavors were less evident.

Being around and knowing the players: networks of influence in health policy.

PubMed

Lewis, Jenny M

2006-05-01

The accumulation and use of power is crucial to the health policy process. This paper examines the power of the medical profession in the health policy arena, by analysing which actors are perceived as influential, and how influence is structured in health policy. It combines an analysis of policy networks and social networks, to examine positional and personal influence in health policy in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the sub-graph of the influence network examined here, those most widely regarded as influential are academics, medically qualified and male. Positional actors (the top politician, political advisor and bureaucrat in health and the top nursing official) form part of a core group within this network structure. A second central group consists of medical influentials working in academia, research institutes and health-related NGOs. In this network locale overall, medical academics appear to combine positional and personal influence, and play significant intermediary roles across the network. While many claim that the medical profession has lost power in health policy and politics, this analysis yields few signs that the power of medicine to shape the health policy process has been greatly diminished in Victoria. Medical expertise is a potent embedded resource connecting actors through ties of association, making it difficult for actors with other resources and different knowledge to be considered influential. The network concepts and analytical techniques used here provide a novel means for uncovering different types of influence in health policy.

Building a Governance Strategy for CER: The Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) Network Experience

PubMed Central

Paolino, Andrea R.; McGlynn, Elizabeth A.; Lieu, Tracy; Nelson, Andrew F.; Prausnitz, Stephanie; Horberg, Michael A.; Arterburn, David E.; Gould, Michael K.; Laws, Reesa L.; Steiner, John F.

2016-01-01

Introduction: The Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) Network was established with funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in 2014. The PORTAL team adapted governance structures and processes from past research network collaborations. We will review and outline the structures and processes of the PORTAL governance approach and describe how proactively focusing on priority areas helped us to facilitate an ambitious research agenda. Background: For years a variety of funders have supported large-scale infrastructure grants to promote the use of clinical datasets to answer important comparative effectiveness research (CER) questions. These awards have provided the impetus for health care systems to join forces in creating clinical data research networks. Often, these scientific networks do not develop governance processes proactively or systematically, and address issues only as problems arise. Even if network leaders and collaborators foresee the need to develop governance approaches, they may underestimate the time and effort required to develop sound processes. The resulting delays can impede research progress. Innovation: Because the PORTAL sites had built trust and a foundation of collaboration by participating with one another in past research networks, essential elements of effective governance such as guiding principles, decision making processes, project governance, data governance, and stakeholders in governance were familiar to PORTAL investigators. This trust and familiarity enabled the network to rapidly prioritize areas that required sound governance approaches: responding to new research opportunities, creating a culture of trust and collaboration, conducting individual studies, within the broader network, assigning responsibility and credit to scientific investigators, sharing data while protecting privacy/security, and allocating resources. The PORTAL Governance Document, complete with a Toolkit of Appendices is included for reference and for adaptation by other networks. Credibility: As a result of identifying project-based governance priorities (IRB approval, subcontracting, selection of new research including lead PI and participating sites, and authorship) and data governance priorities (reciprocal data use agreement, analytic plan procedures, and other tools for data governance), PORTAL established most of its governance structure by Month 6 of the 18 month project. This allowed science to progress and collaborators to experience first-hand how the structures and procedures functioned in the remaining 12 months of the project, leaving ample time to refine them and to develop new structures or processes as necessary. Discussion: The use of procedures and processes with which participating investigators and their home institutions were already familiar allowed project and regulatory requirements to be established quickly to protect patients, their data, and the health care systems that act as stewards for both. As the project progressed, PORTAL was able to test and adjust the structures it put place, and to make substantive revisions by Month 17. As a result, priority processes have been predictable, transparent and effective. Conclusion/Next steps: Strong governance practices are a stewardship responsibility of research networks to justify the trust of patients, health plan members, health care delivery organizations, and other stakeholders. Well-planned governance can reduce the time necessary to initiate the scientific activities of a network, a particular concern when the time frame to complete research is short. Effective network and data governance structures protect patient and institutional data as well as the interests of investigators and their institutions, and assures that the network has built an environment to meet the goals of the research. PMID:27141524

Building a Governance Strategy for CER: The Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) Network Experience.

PubMed

Paolino, Andrea R; McGlynn, Elizabeth A; Lieu, Tracy; Nelson, Andrew F; Prausnitz, Stephanie; Horberg, Michael A; Arterburn, David E; Gould, Michael K; Laws, Reesa L; Steiner, John F

2016-01-01

The Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) Network was established with funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in 2014. The PORTAL team adapted governance structures and processes from past research network collaborations. We will review and outline the structures and processes of the PORTAL governance approach and describe how proactively focusing on priority areas helped us to facilitate an ambitious research agenda. For years a variety of funders have supported large-scale infrastructure grants to promote the use of clinical datasets to answer important comparative effectiveness research (CER) questions. These awards have provided the impetus for health care systems to join forces in creating clinical data research networks. Often, these scientific networks do not develop governance processes proactively or systematically, and address issues only as problems arise. Even if network leaders and collaborators foresee the need to develop governance approaches, they may underestimate the time and effort required to develop sound processes. The resulting delays can impede research progress. Because the PORTAL sites had built trust and a foundation of collaboration by participating with one another in past research networks, essential elements of effective governance such as guiding principles, decision making processes, project governance, data governance, and stakeholders in governance were familiar to PORTAL investigators. This trust and familiarity enabled the network to rapidly prioritize areas that required sound governance approaches: responding to new research opportunities, creating a culture of trust and collaboration, conducting individual studies, within the broader network, assigning responsibility and credit to scientific investigators, sharing data while protecting privacy/security, and allocating resources. The PORTAL Governance Document, complete with a Toolkit of Appendices is included for reference and for adaptation by other networks. As a result of identifying project-based governance priorities (IRB approval, subcontracting, selection of new research including lead PI and participating sites, and authorship) and data governance priorities (reciprocal data use agreement, analytic plan procedures, and other tools for data governance), PORTAL established most of its governance structure by Month 6 of the 18 month project. This allowed science to progress and collaborators to experience first-hand how the structures and procedures functioned in the remaining 12 months of the project, leaving ample time to refine them and to develop new structures or processes as necessary. The use of procedures and processes with which participating investigators and their home institutions were already familiar allowed project and regulatory requirements to be established quickly to protect patients, their data, and the health care systems that act as stewards for both. As the project progressed, PORTAL was able to test and adjust the structures it put place, and to make substantive revisions by Month 17. As a result, priority processes have been predictable, transparent and effective. Strong governance practices are a stewardship responsibility of research networks to justify the trust of patients, health plan members, health care delivery organizations, and other stakeholders. Well-planned governance can reduce the time necessary to initiate the scientific activities of a network, a particular concern when the time frame to complete research is short. Effective network and data governance structures protect patient and institutional data as well as the interests of investigators and their institutions, and assures that the network has built an environment to meet the goals of the research.

Effect of socio-economic status, family smoking and mental health through social network on the substance use potential in adolescents: a mediation analysis.

PubMed

Sajjadi, H; Jorjoran Shushtari, Z; Mahboubi, S; Rafiey, H; Salimi, Y

2018-04-01

Understanding pathways that influence substance use potential (SUP) can help with effective substance use prevention interventions among adolescents. The aim of the present study is to contribute to a better understanding of the SUP of adolescents by examining the mediating role of social network quality in the SUP of Iranian adolescents. A cross-sectional study. Structural equation modeling was conducted to assess the hypothesized model that social network quality would mediate the association of family socio-economic status, a mental health disorder, and family smoking with addiction potential. The model shows a good fit to the data. Social network quality mediated the effect of family smoking on the SUP for boys. A mental health disorder had a positive significant direct effect on addiction potential for both girls and boys. Social network quality mediates the effect of family smoking on boys' addiction potential in the context of Iran. Educational programs based on local societal ways and cultural norms are recommended to change tobacco smoking behavior among family members. In addition, to prevent subsequent substance use among adolescents, more effort is needed to improve their mental health. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Information Does Your EHR Contain? Automatic Generation of a Clinical Metadata Warehouse (CMDW) to Support Identification and Data Access Within Distributed Clinical Research Networks.

PubMed

Bruland, Philipp; Doods, Justin; Storck, Michael; Dugas, Martin

2017-01-01

Data dictionaries provide structural meta-information about data definitions in health information technology (HIT) systems. In this regard, reusing healthcare data for secondary purposes offers several advantages (e.g. reduce documentation times or increased data quality). Prerequisites for data reuse are its quality, availability and identical meaning of data. In diverse projects, research data warehouses serve as core components between heterogeneous clinical databases and various research applications. Given the complexity (high number of data elements) and dynamics (regular updates) of electronic health record (EHR) data structures, we propose a clinical metadata warehouse (CMDW) based on a metadata registry standard. Metadata of two large hospitals were automatically inserted into two CMDWs containing 16,230 forms and 310,519 data elements. Automatic updates of metadata are possible as well as semantic annotations. A CMDW allows metadata discovery, data quality assessment and similarity analyses. Common data models for distributed research networks can be established based on similarity analyses.

Intelligent Wireless Sensor Networks for System Health Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alena, Rick

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network (PAN) standard are finding increasing use in the home automation and emerging smart energy markets. The network and application layers, based on the ZigBee 2007 Standard, provide a convenient framework for component-based software that supports customer solutions from multiple vendors. WSNs provide the inherent fault tolerance required for aerospace applications. The Discovery and Systems Health Group at NASA Ames Research Center has been developing WSN technology for use aboard aircraft and spacecraft for System Health Monitoring of structures and life support systems using funding from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and Exploration Technology Development and Demonstration Program. This technology provides key advantages for low-power, low-cost ancillary sensing systems particularly across pressure interfaces and in areas where it is difficult to run wires. Intelligence for sensor networks could be defined as the capability of forming dynamic sensor networks, allowing high-level application software to identify and address any sensor that joined the network without the use of any centralized database defining the sensors characteristics. The IEEE 1451 Standard defines methods for the management of intelligent sensor systems and the IEEE 1451.4 section defines Transducer Electronic Datasheets (TEDS), which contain key information regarding the sensor characteristics such as name, description, serial number, calibration information and user information such as location within a vehicle. By locating the TEDS information on the wireless sensor itself and enabling access to this information base from the application software, the application can identify the sensor unambiguously and interpret and present the sensor data stream without reference to any other information. The application software is able to read the status of each sensor module, responding in real-time to changes of PAN configuration, providing the appropriate response for maintaining overall sensor system function, even when sensor modules fail or the WSN is reconfigured. The session will present the architecture and technical feasibility of creating fault-tolerant WSNs for aerospace applications based on our application of the technology to a Structural Health Monitoring testbed. The interim results of WSN development and testing including our software architecture for intelligent sensor management will be discussed in the context of the specific tradeoffs required for effective use. Initial certification measurement techniques and test results gauging WSN susceptibility to Radio Frequency interference are introduced as key challenges for technology adoption. A candidate Developmental and Flight Instrumentation implementation using intelligent sensor networks for wind tunnel and flight tests is developed as a guide to understanding key aspects of the aerospace vehicle design, test and operations life cycle.

Incorporating social network effects into cost-effectiveness analysis: a methodological contribution with application to obesity prevention

PubMed Central

Konchak, Chad; Prasad, Kislaya

2012-01-01

Objectives To develop a methodology for integrating social networks into traditional cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) studies. This will facilitate the economic evaluation of treatment policies in settings where health outcomes are subject to social influence. Design This is a simulation study based on a Markov model. The lifetime health histories of a cohort are simulated, and health outcomes compared, under alternative treatment policies. Transition probabilities depend on the health of others with whom there are shared social ties. Setting The methodology developed is shown to be applicable in any healthcare setting where social ties affect health outcomes. The example of obesity prevention is used for illustration under the assumption that weight changes are subject to social influence. Main outcome measures Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results When social influence increases, treatment policies become more cost effective (have lower ICERs). The policy of only treating individuals who span multiple networks can be more cost effective than the policy of treating everyone. This occurs when the network is more fragmented. Conclusions (1) When network effects are accounted for, they result in very different values of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). (2) Treatment policies can be devised to take network structure into account. The integration makes it feasible to conduct a cost-benefit evaluation of such policies. PMID:23117559

Organization of the Saudi health system.

PubMed

Al-Yousuf, M; Akerele, T M; Al-Mazrou, Y Y

2002-01-01

Using existing data, we reviewed the organizational structure of the Saudi Arabian health system: its demography and history, principal health indicators, organization and management, type and distribution of facilities, financial base, and the impact on it of the Haj. We noted duplication of services, inadequate coordination between some health industry sectors, and the need for a more extensive and rational health centre network with improved information systems and data collection. We also noted scope for a greater role for the private health sector and increased cooperation between it and the public sector to improve health service delivery and population health.

A systematic review of collaboration and network research in the public affairs literature: implications for public health practice and research.

PubMed

Varda, Danielle; Shoup, Jo Ann; Miller, Sara

2012-03-01

We explored and analyzed how findings from public affairs research can inform public health research and practice, specifically in the area of interorganizational collaboration, one of the most promising practice-based approaches in the public health field. We conducted a systematic review of the public affairs literature by following a grounded theory approach. We coded 151 articles for demographics and empirical findings (n = 258). Three primary findings stand out in the public affairs literature: network structure affects governance, management strategies exist for administrators, and collaboration can be linked to outcomes. These findings are linked to priorities in public health practice. Overall, we found that public affairs has a long and rich history of research in collaborations that offers unique organizational theory and management tools to public health practitioners.

[From normative aspects to the reality of the Unified Health System: revealing barriers that curtail access to the health care network].

PubMed

Sousa, Fabiana de Oliveira Silva; de Medeiros, Kátia Rejane; Gurgel Júnior, Garibaldi Dantas; de Albuquerque, Paulette Cavalcanti

2014-04-01

This article analyzes the conditions of comprehensive access to health care in Recife in the state of Pernambuco based on the trajectory experienced by users from primary health services through to specialist care. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were combined with triangulation of methods as the research technique. Systemic Arterial Hypertension was chosen as a core condition, as it is an ailment that requires attention at various levels of the city's health network. The research revealed various barriers of access in primary health care becoming more accentuated at other levels of care resulting in delays in timely care and consequently prolonging the suffering of the population. Structural problems such as a shortage of medical professionals in primary care, insufficient access to specialized consultations and exams, together with the inherent dynamics of the health services, are real obstacles that the user faces in the quest for continuous and comprehensive care in the Unified Health System (SUS). In addition to broadening and enhancing the availability of services, especially complementary exams, it is necessary to ensure communication between the departments of the SUS, in order to consolidate an articulated network, thereby improving health care.

'If you feel that nobody wants you you'll withdraw into your own': Gypsies/Travellers, networks and healthcare utilisation.

PubMed

Smith, David; Ruston, Annmarie

2013-11-01

Gypsies and Travellers are the unhealthiest group in British society, suffering from higher levels of physical and mental illness, lower life expectancy and with low levels of healthcare utilisation. They also continue to experience the highest level of prejudice and discrimination in society. While studies indicate that social networks play an important role in shaping health beliefs and the response to symptoms, evidence on the influence of networks on health is unclear and contradictory. This article draws on social network theory and research into the relation between discrimination and health to critically examine how networks mediate between collective experiences of racism and health-related behavior. Qualitative interviews with 39 adult Gypsies and Travellers were conducted in the South-East of England to explore the wider structural and institutional context and the influence those contexts play in shaping health beliefs and decisions whether to access formal health services. The findings indicate that the influence networks play in shaping health behaviour is dependent on the particular social context of the group and its status in relation to wider social structures, making generalization problematic. © 2013 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social networks and implementation of evidence-based practices in public youth-serving systems: a mixed-methods study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The present study examines the structure and operation of social networks of information and advice and their role in making decisions as to whether to adopt new evidence-based practices (EBPs) among agency directors and other program professionals in 12 California counties participating in a large randomized controlled trial. Methods Interviews were conducted with 38 directors, assistant directors, and program managers of county probation, mental health, and child welfare departments. Grounded-theory analytic methods were used to identify themes related to EBP adoption and network influences. A web-based survey collected additional quantitative information on members of information and advice networks of study participants. A mixed-methods approach to data analysis was used to create a sociometric data set (n = 176) for examination of associations between advice seeking and network structure. Results Systems leaders develop and maintain networks of information and advice based on roles, responsibility, geography, and friendship ties. Networks expose leaders to information about EBPs and opportunities to adopt EBPs; they also influence decisions to adopt EBPs. Individuals in counties at the same stage of implementation accounted for 83% of all network ties. Networks in counties that decided not to implement a specific EBP had no extra-county ties. Implementation of EBPs at the two-year follow-up was associated with the size of county, urban versus rural counties, and in-degree centrality. Collaboration was viewed as critical to implementing EBPs, especially in small, rural counties where agencies have limited resources on their own. Conclusions Successful implementation of EBPs requires consideration and utilization of existing social networks of high-status systems leaders that often cut across service organizations and their geographic jurisdictions. Trial Registration NCT00880126 PMID:21958674

Korean immigrants don't buy health insurance: The influences of culture on self-employed Korean immigrants focusing on structure and functions of social networks.

PubMed

Oh, Hyunsung; Jeong, Chung Hyeon

2017-10-01

Culture has been pinpointed as a culprit of disparities in health insurance coverage between Korean immigrants and other ethnic groups. This study explored specific mechanisms by which culture influences a decision to buy health insurance among self-employed Korean immigrants living in ethnic enclaves by focusing on the structure and functions of social networks. Between March and June 2015, we recruited 24 Korean immigrant adults (aged 18 or older) who identified as self-employed and being uninsured for substantial periods before 2014 in Southern California. Interviews were conducted in Korean, and Korean transcripts were translated into English by two bilingual interpreters. Using constant comparative analysis, we explored why participants didn't purchase health insurance after migrating to the United States and how their social networks influenced their decisions whether to purchase health insurance. Results indicate Korean immigrants sought health information from dense and homogeneous social networks whose members are mostly Korean immigrants embedded in similar social contexts. Social learning was frequently observed when people sought health care while uninsured. However, respondents often noted social ties do not provide helpful information about benefits, costs, and ways to use health insurance. "Koreans don't buy health insurance" was a dominant social norm reported by most respondents. Findings indicate that social learning and normative influence occur inside social networks and these mechanisms seemingly prevent purchasing of health insurance. In addition to the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more targeted approaches that consider the structure and functions of social networks could improve the public health of Korean immigrants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

OOMM--Object-Oriented Matrix Modelling: an instrument for the integration of the Brasilia Regional Health Information System.

PubMed

Cammarota, M; Huppes, V; Gaia, S; Degoulet, P

1998-01-01

The development of Health Information Systems is widely determined by the establishment of the underlying information models. An Object-Oriented Matrix Model (OOMM) is described which target is to facilitate the integration of the overall health system. The model is based on information modules named micro-databases that are structured in a three-dimensional network: planning, health structures and information systems. The modelling tool has been developed as a layer on top of a relational database system. A visual browser facilitates the development and maintenance of the information model. The modelling approach has been applied to the Brasilia University Hospital since 1991. The extension of the modelling approach to the Brasilia regional health system is considered.

One-step estimation of networked population size: Respondent-driven capture-recapture with anonymity.

PubMed

Khan, Bilal; Lee, Hsuan-Wei; Fellows, Ian; Dombrowski, Kirk

2018-01-01

Size estimation is particularly important for populations whose members experience disproportionate health issues or pose elevated health risks to the ambient social structures in which they are embedded. Efforts to derive size estimates are often frustrated when the population is hidden or hard-to-reach in ways that preclude conventional survey strategies, as is the case when social stigma is associated with group membership or when group members are involved in illegal activities. This paper extends prior research on the problem of network population size estimation, building on established survey/sampling methodologies commonly used with hard-to-reach groups. Three novel one-step, network-based population size estimators are presented, for use in the context of uniform random sampling, respondent-driven sampling, and when networks exhibit significant clustering effects. We give provably sufficient conditions for the consistency of these estimators in large configuration networks. Simulation experiments across a wide range of synthetic network topologies validate the performance of the estimators, which also perform well on a real-world location-based social networking data set with significant clustering. Finally, the proposed schemes are extended to allow them to be used in settings where participant anonymity is required. Systematic experiments show favorable tradeoffs between anonymity guarantees and estimator performance. Taken together, we demonstrate that reasonable population size estimates are derived from anonymous respondent driven samples of 250-750 individuals, within ambient populations of 5,000-40,000. The method thus represents a novel and cost-effective means for health planners and those agencies concerned with health and disease surveillance to estimate the size of hidden populations. We discuss limitations and future work in the concluding section.

Reconciling Epidemiology and Social Justice in the Public Health Discourse Around the Sexual Networks of Black Men Who Have Sex With Men

PubMed Central

Smith, Justin C.; Brown, Andre L.; Malebranche, David J.

2016-01-01

Several studies have implicated the sexual networks of Black men who have sex with men (MSM) as facilitating disproportionally high rates of new HIV infections within this community. Although structural disparities place these networks at heightened risk for infection, HIV prevention science continues to describe networks as the cause for HIV disparities, rather than an effect of structures that pattern infection. We explore the historical relationship between public health and Black MSM, arguing that the current articulation of Black MSM networks is too often incomplete and counterproductive. Public health can offer a counternarrative that reconciles epidemiology with the social justice that informs our discipline, and that is required for an effective response to the epidemic among Black MSM. PMID:26890175

Adding value to figures: a web-based European public health information system.

PubMed

van der Wilk, Eveline A; Verschuuren, Marieke

2010-01-01

In 2008 a prototype, web-based system was launched which provided information for different user groups interested in European public health topics. The EUPHIX system contained scientifically sound data, with presentations as well as textual information. The information was structured according to the European Community Health Indicators (ECHI) shortlist. The information included different types of data presentations (tables, interactive graphs and maps), explanatory texts and overviews of the data sources and the literature used. The content was produced by a network of European experts according to a structured, peer-reviewed editorial process. Thus EUPHIX provided an easily accessible, comprehensive, state-of-the-art information source. To ensure that it will continue, financial support will be needed. Co-ownership by the European Commission and the Member States seems an appropriate solution.

Reducing readmissions to detoxification: an interorganizational network perspective.

PubMed

Spear, Suzanne E

2014-04-01

The high cost of detoxification (detox) services and health risks associated with continued substance abuse make readmission to detox an important indicator of poor performance for substance use disorder treatment systems. This study examined the extent to which the structure of local networks available to detox programs affects patients' odds of readmission to detox within 1 year. Administrative data from 32 counties in California in 2008-2009 were used to map network ties between programs based on patient transfers. Social network analysis was employed to measure structural features of detox program networks. Contextual predictors included efficiency (proportion of ties within a network that are non-redundant) and out-degree (number of outgoing ties to other programs). A binary mixed model was used to predict the odds of readmission among detox patients in residential (non-hospital) facilities (N=18,278). After adjusting for patient-level covariates and continuity of service from detox to outpatient or residential treatment, network efficiency was associated with lower odds of readmission. The impact of network structure on detox readmissions suggests that the interorganizational context in which detox programs operate may be important for improving continuity of service within substance use disorder treatment systems. Implications for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reducing Readmissions to Detoxification: An Interorganizational Network Perspective

PubMed Central

Spear, Suzanne E.

2014-01-01

Background The high cost of detoxification (detox) services and health risks associated with continued substance abuse make readmission to detox an important indicator of poor performance for substance use disorder treatment systems. This study examined the extent to which the structure of local networks available to detox programs affects patients’ odds of readmission to detox within 1 year. Methods Administrative data from 32 counties in California in 2008–2009 were used to map network ties between programs based on patient transfers. Social network analysis was employed to measure structural features of detox program networks. Contextual predictors included efficiency (proportion of ties within a network that are non-redundant) and out-degree (number of outgoing ties to other programs). A binary mixed model was used to predict the odds of readmission among detox patients in residential (non-hospital) facilities (N =18,278). Results After adjusting for patient-level covariates and continuity of service from detox to outpatient or residential treatment, network efficiency was associated with lower odds of readmission. Conclusion The impact of network structure on detox readmissions suggests that the interorganizational context in which detox programs operate may be important for improving continuity of service within substance use disorder treatment systems. Implications for future research are discussed. PMID:24529966

[Linking: relationships between health professionals in the informal health networks].

PubMed

Sarradon-Eck, A; Vega, A; Faure, M; Humbert-Gaudart, A; Lustman, M

2008-07-01

During the last years, the french health system has been developing formal health networks. So, it was necessary to study informal health networks as networks. More precisely, we studied the nature of relationships between various stakeholders around general practionners wich are commonly considering as the stakeholder of the health system private sector. Fieldwork (ethnography based on direct observations and interviews) was conducted between October 2002 and april 2004, in the South-East of France. Ten monographs of general practioner's offices were achieved in a rural area; then, we achieved fieldwork of the informal health networks identified. There is a cultural frame wich is common to all private professionals. This frame includes a triple ideal (teamwork built up the hospital model, independance, and an relational approach with patients). This frame does not square with the real practices. In fact, regulation mechanisms preserve the balance of relashionships between professionnal groups, by restricting/promoting exchanges and complex alliance strategies. These mecanisms include: (1) a few professionnal's rule as disponibility (to the patients and to the professionnals), as communication about patient, as patient's reference, as obligation to communicate between professionals; (2) some constraints such as territory superposition and competition with other professional groups; (3) some needs for: rileiving (of emotions and worries connected to work), sharing (decisions, responsabilities), of delegation (medical treatment, practices), protection against social and legal risk through the creation of trust relationships. These trust relationships are based on several logics (affinity, solidarity, similarity). The study shows the major place of the patient who is often the main organizer of his network, and even though he makes an important structuring work between medical staff, and an information transfer (on his diagnosis, on his treatment, and < on > professionals). The patient's role of is underestimated. The results show that in studied informal networks, professionnals do not have a transversal view of the patient's care management. This is due to the lack of knowledge of each health agent about the work of others, to the symbolic compartmentalization between professional groups, and because the difficulties encountered (i.e. burden work).

Data driven innovations in structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosales, M. J.; Liyanapathirana, R.

2017-05-01

At present, substantial investments are being allocated to civil infrastructures also considered as valuable assets at a national or global scale. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is an indispensable tool required to ensure the performance and safety of these structures based on measured response parameters. The research to date on damage assessment has tended to focus on the utilization of wireless sensor networks (WSN) as it proves to be the best alternative over the traditional visual inspections and tethered or wired counterparts. Over the last decade, the structural health and behaviour of innumerable infrastructure has been measured and evaluated owing to several successful ventures of implementing these sensor networks. Various monitoring systems have the capability to rapidly transmit, measure, and store large capacities of data. The amount of data collected from these networks have eventually been unmanageable which paved the way to other relevant issues such as data quality, relevance, re-use, and decision support. There is an increasing need to integrate new technologies in order to automate the evaluation processes as well as to enhance the objectivity of data assessment routines. This paper aims to identify feasible methodologies towards the application of time-series analysis techniques to judiciously exploit the vast amount of readily available as well as the upcoming data resources. It continues the momentum of a greater effort to collect and archive SHM approaches that will serve as data-driven innovations for the assessment of damage through efficient algorithms and data analytics.

A prediction model for cognitive performance in health ageing using diffusion tensor imaging with graph theory.

PubMed

Yun, Ruijuan; Lin, Chung-Chih; Wu, Shuicai; Huang, Chu-Chung; Lin, Ching-Po; Chao, Yi-Ping

2013-01-01

In this study, we employed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to construct brain structural network and then derive the connection matrices from 96 healthy elderly subjects. The correlation analysis between these topological properties of network based on graph theory and the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) index were processed to extract the significant network characteristics. These characteristics were then integrated to estimate the models by various machine-learning algorithms to predict user's cognitive performance. From the results, linear regression model and Gaussian processes model showed presented better abilities with lower mean absolute errors of 5.8120 and 6.25 to predict the cognitive performance respectively. Moreover, these extracted topological properties of brain structural network derived from DTI also could be regarded as the bio-signatures for further evaluation of brain degeneration in healthy aged and early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Autonomous smart sensor network for full-scale structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, Jennifer A.; Mechitov, Kirill A.; Spencer, B. F., Jr.; Agha, Gul A.

2010-04-01

The demands of aging infrastructure require effective methods for structural monitoring and maintenance. Wireless smart sensor networks offer the ability to enhance structural health monitoring (SHM) practices through the utilization of onboard computation to achieve distributed data management. Such an approach is scalable to the large number of sensor nodes required for high-fidelity modal analysis and damage detection. While smart sensor technology is not new, the number of full-scale SHM applications has been limited. This slow progress is due, in part, to the complex network management issues that arise when moving from a laboratory setting to a full-scale monitoring implementation. This paper presents flexible network management software that enables continuous and autonomous operation of wireless smart sensor networks for full-scale SHM applications. The software components combine sleep/wake cycling for enhanced power management with threshold detection for triggering network wide tasks, such as synchronized sensing or decentralized modal analysis, during periods of critical structural response.

Test-bed for the remote health monitoring system for bridge structures using FBG sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chin-Hyung; Park, Ki-Tae; Joo, Bong-Chul; Hwang, Yoon-Koog

2009-05-01

This paper reports on test-bed for the long-term health monitoring system for bridge structures employing fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, which is remotely accessible via the web, to provide real-time quantitative information on a bridge's response to live loading and environmental changes, and fast prediction of the structure's integrity. The sensors are attached on several locations of the structure and connected to a data acquisition system permanently installed onsite. The system can be accessed through remote communication using an optical cable network, through which the evaluation of the bridge behavior under live loading can be allowed at place far away from the field. Live structural data are transmitted continuously to the server computer at the central office. The server computer is connected securely to the internet, where data can be retrieved, processed and stored for the remote web-based health monitoring. Test-bed revealed that the remote health monitoring technology will enable practical, cost-effective, and reliable condition assessment and maintenance of bridge structures.

Toward a sustainable European Network for Health Technology Assessment. The EUnetHTA project.

PubMed

Kristensen, F B; Chamova, J; Hansen, N W

2006-03-01

EUnetHTA is a recently initiated EU network aiming at connecting national HTA agencies, research institutions, and health ministries to enable an effective exchange of information and to lend support to health policy decisions by the Member States. The article briefly discusses the policy background, the specific objectives, and the project structure of the network.

Practical recommendations for strengthening national and regional laboratory networks in Africa in the Global Health Security era.

PubMed

Best, Michele; Sakande, Jean

2016-01-01

The role of national health laboratories in support of public health response has expanded beyond laboratory testing to include a number of other core functions such as emergency response, training and outreach, communications, laboratory-based surveillance and data management. These functions can only be accomplished by an efficient and resilient national laboratory network that includes public health, reference, clinical and other laboratories. It is a primary responsibility of the national health laboratory in the Ministry of Health to develop and maintain the national laboratory network in the country. In this article, we present practical recommendations based on 17 years of network development experience for the development of effective national laboratory networks. These recommendations and examples of current laboratory networks, are provided to facilitate laboratory network development in other states. The development of resilient, integrated laboratory networks will enhance each state's public health system and is critical to the development of a robust national laboratory response network to meet global health security threats.

Practical recommendations for strengthening national and regional laboratory networks in Africa in the Global Health Security era

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

The role of national health laboratories in support of public health response has expanded beyond laboratory testing to include a number of other core functions such as emergency response, training and outreach, communications, laboratory-based surveillance and data management. These functions can only be accomplished by an efficient and resilient national laboratory network that includes public health, reference, clinical and other laboratories. It is a primary responsibility of the national health laboratory in the Ministry of Health to develop and maintain the national laboratory network in the country. In this article, we present practical recommendations based on 17 years of network development experience for the development of effective national laboratory networks. These recommendations and examples of current laboratory networks, are provided to facilitate laboratory network development in other states. The development of resilient, integrated laboratory networks will enhance each state’s public health system and is critical to the development of a robust national laboratory response network to meet global health security threats. PMID:28879137

Internal evaluation of the European network for health technology assessment project.

PubMed

Håheim, Lise Lund; Imaz, Iñaki; Loud, Marlène Läubli; Gasparetto, Teresa; González-Enriquez, Jesús; Dahlgren, Helena; Trofimovs, Igor; Berti, Elena; Mørland, Berit

2009-12-01

The internal evaluation studied the development of the European network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) Project in achieving the general objective of establishing an effective and a sustainable network of health technology assessment (HTA) in Europe. The Work Package 3 group was dedicated to this task and performed the work. Information on activities during the project was collected from three sources. First, three yearly cross-sectional studies surveyed the participants' opinions. Responses were by individuals or by institutions. The last round included surveys to the Steering Committee, the Stakeholder Forum, and the Secretariat. Second, the Work Package Lead Partners were interviewed bi-annually, five times in total, to update the information on the Project's progress. Third, additional information was sought in available documents. The organizational structure remained stable. The Project succeeded in developing tools aimed at providing common methodology with intent to establish a standard of conducting and reporting HTA and to facilitate greater collaboration among agencies. The participants/agencies expressed their belief in a network and in maintaining local/national autonomy. The Work Package Leaders expressed a strong belief in the solid base of the Project for a future network on which to build, but were aware of the need for funding and governmental support. Participants and Work Package Leaders have expressed support for a future network that will improve national and international collaboration in HTA based on the experience from the EUnetHTA project.

Topological distortion and reorganized modular structure of gut microbial co-occurrence networks in inflammatory bowel disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldassano, Steven N.; Bassett, Danielle S.

2016-05-01

The gut microbiome plays a key role in human health, and alterations of the normal gut flora are associated with a variety of distinct disease states. Yet, the natural dependencies between microbes in healthy and diseased individuals remain far from understood. Here we use a network-based approach to characterize microbial co-occurrence in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and healthy (non-IBD control) individuals. We find that microbial networks in patients with IBD differ in both global structure and local connectivity patterns. While a “core” microbiome is preserved, network topology of other densely interconnected microbe modules is distorted, with potent inflammation-mediating organisms assuming roles as integrative and highly connected inter-modular hubs. We show that while both networks display a rich-club organization, in which a small set of microbes commonly co-occur, the healthy network is more easily disrupted by elimination of a small number of key species. Further investigation of network alterations in disease might offer mechanistic insights into the specific pathogens responsible for microbiome-mediated inflammation in IBD.

Applications of a nanocomposite-inspired in-situ broadband ultrasonic sensor to acousto-ultrasonics-based passive and active structural health monitoring.

PubMed

Liu, Menglong; Zeng, Zhihui; Xu, Hao; Liao, Yaozhong; Zhou, Limin; Zhang, Zhong; Su, Zhongqing

2017-07-01

A novel nanocomposite-inspired in-situ broadband ultrasonic sensor previously developed, with carbon black as the nanofiller and polyvinylidene fluoride as the matrix, was networked for acousto-ultrasonic wave-based passive and active structural health monitoring (SHM). Being lightweight and small, this kind of sensor was proven to be capable of perceiving strain perturbation in virtue of the tunneling effect in the formed nanofiller conductive network when acousto-ultrasonic waves traverse the sensor. Proof-of-concept validation was implemented, to examine the sensor performance in responding to acousto-ultrasonic waves in a broad frequency regime: from acoustic emission (AE) of lower frequencies to guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs) of higher frequencies. Results have demonstrated the high fidelity, ultrafast response and high sensitivity of the sensor to acousto-ultrasonic waves up to 400kHz yet with an ultra-low magnitude (of the order of micro-strain). The sensor is proven to possess sensitivity and accuracy comparable with commercial piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers, whereas with greater flexibility in accommodating curved structural surfaces. Application paradigms of using the sensor for damage evaluation have spotlighted the capability of the sensor in compromising "sensing cost" with "sensing effectiveness" for passive AE- or active GUW-based SHM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FE-ANN based modeling of 3D Simple Reinforced Concrete Girders for Objective Structural Health Evaluation : Tech Transfer Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-06-01

The objective of this study was to develop an objective, quantitative method for evaluating damage to bridge girders by using artificial neural networks (ANNs). This evaluation method, which is a supplement to visual inspection, requires only the res...

A hybrid system identification methodology for wireless structural health monitoring systems based on dynamic substructuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dragos, Kosmas; Smarsly, Kay

2016-04-01

System identification has been employed in numerous structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. Traditional system identification methods usually rely on centralized processing of structural response data to extract information on structural parameters. However, in wireless SHM systems the centralized processing of structural response data introduces a significant communication bottleneck. Exploiting the merits of decentralization and on-board processing power of wireless SHM systems, many system identification methods have been successfully implemented in wireless sensor networks. While several system identification approaches for wireless SHM systems have been proposed, little attention has been paid to obtaining information on the physical parameters (e.g. stiffness, damping) of the monitored structure. This paper presents a hybrid system identification methodology suitable for wireless sensor networks based on the principles of component mode synthesis (dynamic substructuring). A numerical model of the monitored structure is embedded into the wireless sensor nodes in a distributed manner, i.e. the entire model is segmented into sub-models, each embedded into one sensor node corresponding to the substructure the sensor node is assigned to. The parameters of each sub-model are estimated by extracting local mode shapes and by applying the equations of the Craig-Bampton method on dynamic substructuring. The proposed methodology is validated in a laboratory test conducted on a four-story frame structure to demonstrate the ability of the methodology to yield accurate estimates of stiffness parameters. Finally, the test results are discussed and an outlook on future research directions is provided.

Improvement in maternal health literacy among pregnant women who did not complete compulsory education: policy implications for community care services.

PubMed

Ohnishi, Mayumi; Nakamura, Keiko; Takano, Takehito

2005-05-01

This paper examined factors that influence the improvement in maternal health literacy among pregnant women in Paraguay, including those who did not complete compulsory education but participated in a community-based antenatal care program. Structured interviews were conducted to evaluate the pregnant women's maternal health literacy during their first, second, and third visits to the program in the Caazapa Region. The associations between individual maternal health knowledge scores and its gains, healthcare personnel capabilities, available health facility equipment, community social network, and living environment were analyzed by multiple regression analysis. The mean maternal health knowledge score from 124 women who completed three-consecutive assessments increased between the first and third interviews. Higher capabilities of healthcare personnel and better living environment were significantly related to gains in the maternal health knowledge score (p<0.01). Wider application of a community-based antenatal care program to meet the needs of those who are functionally illiterate in the standard language of the country, training for community healthcare personnel to improve capabilities, and resources for social network in the community would contribute to the improvement in maternal health literacy.

A network approach to policy framing: A case study of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan.

PubMed

Browne, Jennifer; de Leeuw, Evelyne; Gleeson, Deborah; Adams, Karen; Atkinson, Petah; Hayes, Rick

2017-01-01

Aboriginal health policy in Australia represents a unique policy subsystem comprising a diverse network of Aboriginal-specific and "mainstream" organisations, often with competing interests. This paper describes the network structure of organisations attempting to influence national Aboriginal health policy and examines how the different subgroups within the network approached the policy discourse. Public submissions made as part of a policy development process for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan were analysed using a novel combination of network analysis and qualitative framing analysis. Other organisational actors in the network in each submission were identified, and relationships between them determined; these were used to generate a network map depicting the ties between actors. A qualitative framing analysis was undertaken, using inductive coding of the policy discourses in the submissions. The frames were overlaid with the network map to identify the relationship between the structure of the network and the way in which organisations framed Aboriginal health problems. Aboriginal organisations were central to the network and strongly connected with each other. The network consisted of several densely connected subgroups, whose central nodes were closely connected to one another. Each subgroup deployed a particular policy frame, with a frame of "system dysfunction" also adopted by all but one subgroup. Analysis of submissions revealed that many of the stakeholders in Aboriginal health policy actors are connected to one another. These connections help to drive the policy discourse. The combination of network and framing analysis illuminates competing interests within a network, and can assist advocacy organisations to identify which network members are most influential. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Benefiting from networks by occupying central positions: an empirical study of the Taiwan health care industry.

PubMed

Peng, Tzu-Ju Ann; Lo, Fang-Yi; Lin, Chin-Shien; Yu, Chwo-Ming Joseph

2006-01-01

At issue is whether network resources imply some resources available to all members in networks or available only to those occupying structurally central positions in networks. In this article, two conceptual models, the additive and interaction models of the firm, are empirically tested regarding the impact of hospital resources, network resources, and centrality on hospital performance in the Taiwan health care industry. The results demonstrate that: (1) in the additive model, hospital resources and centrality independently affect performance, whereas network resources do not; and (2) no evidence supports the interaction effect of centrality and resources on performance. Based on our findings in Taiwanese practices, the extent to which the resources are acquired externally from networks, we suggest that while adopting interorganizational strategies, hospitals should clearly identify those important resources that reside in-house and those transferred from network partners. How hospitals access resources from central positions is more important than what network resources can hospitals acquire from networks. Hospitals should improve performance by exploiting its in-house resources rather than obtaining network resources externally. In addition, hospitals should not only invest in hospital resources for better performance but should also move to central positions in networks to benefit from collaborations.

Mental Health and Social Networks After Disaster.

PubMed

Bryant, Richard A; Gallagher, H Colin; Gibbs, Lisa; Pattison, Philippa; MacDougall, Colin; Harms, Louise; Block, Karen; Baker, Elyse; Sinnott, Vikki; Ireton, Greg; Richardson, John; Forbes, David; Lusher, Dean

2017-03-01

Although disasters are a major cause of mental health problems and typically affect large numbers of people and communities, little is known about how social structures affect mental health after a disaster. The authors assessed the extent to which mental health outcomes after disaster are associated with social network structures. In a community-based cohort study of survivors of a major bushfire disaster, participants (N=558) were assessed for probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and probable depression. Social networks were assessed by asking participants to nominate people with whom they felt personally close. These nominations were used to construct a social network map that showed each participant's ties to other participants they nominated and also to other participants who nominated them. This map was then analyzed for prevailing patterns of mental health outcomes. Depression risk was higher for participants who reported fewer social connections, were connected to other depressed people, or were connected to people who had left their community. PTSD risk was higher if fewer people reported being connected with the participant, if those who felt close to the participant had higher levels of property loss, or if the participant was linked to others who were themselves not interconnected. Interestingly, being connected to other people who in turn were reciprocally close to each other was associated with a lower risk of PTSD. These findings provide the first evidence of disorder-specific patterns in relation to one's social connections after disaster. Depression appears to co-occur in linked individuals, whereas PTSD risk is increased with social fragmentation. These patterns underscore the need to adopt a sociocentric perspective of postdisaster mental health in order to better understand the potential for societal interventions in the wake of disaster.

Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are promising laboratories for conducting dissemination and implementation research.

PubMed

Heintzman, John; Gold, Rachel; Krist, Alexander; Crosson, Jay; Likumahuwa, Sonja; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2014-01-01

Dissemination and implementation science addresses the application of research findings in varied health care settings. Despite the potential benefit of dissemination and implementation work to primary care, ideal laboratories for this science have been elusive. Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) have a long history of conducting research in community clinical settings, demonstrating an approach that could be used to execute multiple research projects over time in broad and varied settings. PBRNs also are uniquely structured and increasingly involved in pragmatic trials, a research design central to dissemination and implementation science. We argue that PBRNs and dissemination and implementation scientists are ideally suited to work together and that the collaboration of these 2 groups will yield great value for the future of primary care and the delivery of evidence-based health care. © Copyright 2014 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

A Systematic Review of Collaboration and Network Research in the Public Affairs Literature: Implications for Public Health Practice and Research

PubMed Central

Shoup, Jo Ann; Miller, Sara

2012-01-01

Objectives. We explored and analyzed how findings from public affairs research can inform public health research and practice, specifically in the area of interorganizational collaboration, one of the most promising practice-based approaches in the public health field. Methods. We conducted a systematic review of the public affairs literature by following a grounded theory approach. We coded 151 articles for demographics and empirical findings (n = 258). Results. Three primary findings stand out in the public affairs literature: network structure affects governance, management strategies exist for administrators, and collaboration can be linked to outcomes. These findings are linked to priorities in public health practice. Conclusions. Overall, we found that public affairs has a long and rich history of research in collaborations that offers unique organizational theory and management tools to public health practitioners. PMID:22021311

Getting "Plugged in": A Network Analysis of Health-Information Seeking among "Stay-At-Home Moms."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tardy, Rebecca W.; Hale, Claudia L.

1998-01-01

Examines health-oriented conversations in informal, interpersonal networks. Investigates the network structure, nature of relationships, contents of interactions, and impact of support manifested in a "stay-at-home" mothers' toddlers' play group. Identifies members' roles, and characteristics of opinion leaders, and includes anecdotal…

The application of a network approach to Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL): introducing a new method for assessing HRQoL in healthy adults and cancer patients.

PubMed

Kossakowski, Jolanda J; Epskamp, Sacha; Kieffer, Jacobien M; van Borkulo, Claudia D; Rhemtulla, Mijke; Borsboom, Denny

2016-04-01

Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) research has typically adopted either a formative approach, in which HRQoL is the common effect of its observables, or a reflective approach--defining HRQoL as a latent variable that determines observable characteristics of HRQoL. Both approaches, however, do not take into account the complex organization of these characteristics. The objective of this study was to introduce a new approach for analyzing HRQoL data, namely a network model (NM). An NM, as opposed to traditional research strategies, accounts for interactions among observables and offers a complementary analytic approach. We applied the NM to samples of Dutch cancer patients (N = 485) and Dutch healthy adults (N = 1742) who completed the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Networks were constructed for both samples separately and for a combined sample with diagnostic status added as an extra variable. We assessed the network structures and compared the structures of the two separate samples on the item and domain levels. The relative importance of individual items in the network structures was determined using centrality analyses. We found that the global structure of the SF-36 is dominant in all networks, supporting the validity of questionnaire's subscales. Furthermore, results suggest that the network structure of both samples was highly similar. Centrality analyses revealed that maintaining a daily routine despite one's physical health predicts HRQoL levels best. We concluded that the NM provides a fruitful alternative to classical approaches used in the psychometric analysis of HRQoL data.

Big data and high-performance analytics in structural health monitoring for bridge management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alampalli, Sharada; Alampalli, Sandeep; Ettouney, Mohammed

2016-04-01

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) can be a vital tool for effective bridge management. Combining large data sets from multiple sources to create a data-driven decision-making framework is crucial for the success of SHM. This paper presents a big data analytics framework that combines multiple data sets correlated with functional relatedness to convert data into actionable information that empowers risk-based decision-making. The integrated data environment incorporates near real-time streams of semi-structured data from remote sensors, historical visual inspection data, and observations from structural analysis models to monitor, assess, and manage risks associated with the aging bridge inventories. Accelerated processing of dataset is made possible by four technologies: cloud computing, relational database processing, support from NOSQL database, and in-memory analytics. The framework is being validated on a railroad corridor that can be subjected to multiple hazards. The framework enables to compute reliability indices for critical bridge components and individual bridge spans. In addition, framework includes a risk-based decision-making process that enumerate costs and consequences of poor bridge performance at span- and network-levels when rail networks are exposed to natural hazard events such as floods and earthquakes. Big data and high-performance analytics enable insights to assist bridge owners to address problems faster.

Development of structural health monitoring and early warning system for reinforced concrete system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iranata, Data, E-mail: iranata-data@yahoo.com, E-mail: data@ce.its.ac.id; Wahyuni, Endah; Murtiadi, Suryawan

Many buildings have been damaged due to earthquakes that occurred recently in Indonesia. The main cause of the damage is the large deformation of the building structural component cannot accommodate properly. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the Structural Health Monitoring System (SHMS) to measure precisely the deformation of the building structural component in the real time conditions. This paper presents the development of SHMS for reinforced concrete structural system. This monitoring system is based on deformation component such as strain of reinforcement bar, concrete strain, and displacement of reinforced concrete component. Since the deformation component has exceeded the limitmore » value, the warning message can be sent to the building occupies. This warning message has also can be performed as early warning system of the reinforced concrete structural system. The warning message can also be sent via Short Message Service (SMS) through the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. Hence, the SHMS should be integrated with internet modem to connect with GSM network. Additionally, the SHMS program is verified with experimental study of simply supported reinforced concrete beam. Verification results show that the SHMS has good agreement with experimental results.« less

Social Networks in Improvement of Health Care

PubMed Central

Masic, Izet; Sivic, Suad; Toromanovic, Selim; Borojevic, Tea; Pandza, Haris

2012-01-01

Social network is a social structure made of individuals or organizations associated with one or more types of interdependence (friendship, common interests, work, knowledge, prestige, etc.) which are the “nodes” of the network. Networks can be organized to exchange information, knowledge or financial assistance under the various interest groups in universities, workplaces and associations of citizens. Today the most popular and widely used networks are based on application of the Internet as the main ICT. Depending on the method of connection, their field of activity and expertise of those who participate in certain networks, the network can be classified into the following groups: a) Social Networks with personal physical connectivity (the citizens’ associations, transplant networks, etc.), b) Global social internet network (Facebook, Twitter, Skype), c) specific health internet social network (forums, Health Care Forums, Healthcare Industry Forum), d) The health community internet network of non professionals (DailyStrength, CaringBridge, CarePages, MyFamilyHealth), e) Scientific social internet network (BiomedExperts, ResearchGate, iMedExchange), f) Social internet network which supported professionals (HealthBoards, Spas and Hope Association of Disabled and diabetic Enurgi), g) Scientific medical internet network databases in the system of scientific and technical information (CC, Pubmed/Medline, Excerpta Medica/EMBASE, ISI Web Knowledge, EBSCO, Index Copernicus, Social Science Index, etc.). The information in the network are exchanged in real time and in a way that has until recently been impossible in real life of people in the community. Networks allow tens of thousands of specific groups of people performing a series of social, professional and educational activities in the place of living and housing, place of work or other locations where individuals are. Network provides access to information related to education, health, nutrition, drugs, procedures, etc., which gives a special emphasis on public health aspects of information, especially in the field of medicine and health care. The authors of this paper discuss the role and practical importance of social networks in improving the health and solving of health problems without the physical entrance into the health care system. Social networks have their advantages and disadvantages, benefits and costs, especially when it comes to information which within the network set unprofessional people from unreliable sources, without an adequate selection. The ethical aspect of the norms in this segment is still not adequately regulated, so any sanctions for the unauthorized and malicious use of social networks in private and other purposes in order to obtain personal gain at the expense of individuals or groups (sick or healthy, owners of certain businesses and companies, health organizations and pharmaceutical manufacturers, etc.), for which there is still no global or European codes and standards of conduct. Cyber crime is now one of the mostly present types of crime in modern times, as evidenced by numerous scandals that are happening both globally and locally. PMID:23922516

An intelligent signal processing and pattern recognition technique for defect identification using an active sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Zhongqing; Ye, Lin

2004-08-01

The practical utilization of elastic waves, e.g. Rayleigh-Lamb waves, in high-performance structural health monitoring techniques is somewhat impeded due to the complicated wave dispersion phenomena, the existence of multiple wave modes, the high susceptibility to diverse interferences, the bulky sampled data and the difficulty in signal interpretation. An intelligent signal processing and pattern recognition (ISPPR) approach using the wavelet transform and artificial neural network algorithms was developed; this was actualized in a signal processing package (SPP). The ISPPR technique comprehensively functions as signal filtration, data compression, characteristic extraction, information mapping and pattern recognition, capable of extracting essential yet concise features from acquired raw wave signals and further assisting in structural health evaluation. For validation, the SPP was applied to the prediction of crack growth in an alloy structural beam and construction of a damage parameter database for defect identification in CF/EP composite structures. It was clearly apparent that the elastic wave propagation-based damage assessment could be dramatically streamlined by introduction of the ISPPR technique.

An Interactive, Mobile-Based Tool for Personal Social Network Data Collection and Visualization Among a Geographically Isolated and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Population: Early-Stage Feasibility Study With Qualitative User Feedback.

PubMed

Eddens, Katherine S; Fagan, Jesse M; Collins, Tom

2017-06-22

Personal social networks have a profound impact on our health, yet collecting personal network data for use in health communication, behavior change, or translation and dissemination interventions has proved challenging. Recent advances in social network data collection software have reduced the burden of network studies on researchers and respondents alike, yet little testing has occurred to discover whether these methods are: (1) acceptable to a variety of target populations, including those who may have limited experience with technology or limited literacy; and (2) practical in the field, specifically in areas that are geographically and technologically disconnected, such as rural Appalachian Kentucky. We explored the early-stage feasibility (Acceptability, Demand, Implementation, and Practicality) of using innovative, interactive, tablet-based network data collection and visualization software (OpenEddi) in field collection of personal network data in Appalachian Kentucky. A total of 168 rural Appalachian women who had previously participated in a study on the use of a self-collected vaginal swab (SCVS) for human papillomavirus testing were recruited by community-based nurse interviewers between September 2013 and August 2014. Participants completed egocentric network surveys via OpenEddi, which captured social and communication network influences on participation in, and recruitment to, the SCVS study. After study completion, we conducted a qualitative group interview with four nurse interviewers and two participants in the network study. Using this qualitative data, and quantitative data from the network study, we applied guidelines from Bowen et al to assess feasibility in four areas of early-stage development of OpenEddi: Acceptability, Demand, Implementation, and Practicality. Basic descriptive network statistics (size, edges, density) were analyzed using RStudio. OpenEddi was perceived as fun, novel, and superior to other data collection methods or tools. Respondents enjoyed the social network survey component, and visualizing social networks produced thoughtful responses from participants about leveraging or changing network content and structure for specific health-promoting purposes. Areas for improved literacy and functionality of the tool were identified. However, technical issues led to substantial (50%) data loss, limiting the success of its implementation from a researcher's perspective, and hindering practicality in the field. OpenEddi is a promising data collection tool for use in geographically isolated and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Future development will mitigate technical problems, improve usability and literacy, and test new methods of data collection. These changes will support goals for use of this tool in the delivery of network-based health communication and social support interventions to socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. ©Katherine S Eddens, Jesse M Fagan, Tom Collins. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 22.06.2017.

An Interactive, Mobile-Based Tool for Personal Social Network Data Collection and Visualization Among a Geographically Isolated and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Population: Early-Stage Feasibility Study With Qualitative User Feedback

PubMed Central

Fagan, Jesse M; Collins, Tom

2017-01-01

Background Personal social networks have a profound impact on our health, yet collecting personal network data for use in health communication, behavior change, or translation and dissemination interventions has proved challenging. Recent advances in social network data collection software have reduced the burden of network studies on researchers and respondents alike, yet little testing has occurred to discover whether these methods are: (1) acceptable to a variety of target populations, including those who may have limited experience with technology or limited literacy; and (2) practical in the field, specifically in areas that are geographically and technologically disconnected, such as rural Appalachian Kentucky. Objective We explored the early-stage feasibility (Acceptability, Demand, Implementation, and Practicality) of using innovative, interactive, tablet-based network data collection and visualization software (OpenEddi) in field collection of personal network data in Appalachian Kentucky. Methods A total of 168 rural Appalachian women who had previously participated in a study on the use of a self-collected vaginal swab (SCVS) for human papillomavirus testing were recruited by community-based nurse interviewers between September 2013 and August 2014. Participants completed egocentric network surveys via OpenEddi, which captured social and communication network influences on participation in, and recruitment to, the SCVS study. After study completion, we conducted a qualitative group interview with four nurse interviewers and two participants in the network study. Using this qualitative data, and quantitative data from the network study, we applied guidelines from Bowen et al to assess feasibility in four areas of early-stage development of OpenEddi: Acceptability, Demand, Implementation, and Practicality. Basic descriptive network statistics (size, edges, density) were analyzed using RStudio. Results OpenEddi was perceived as fun, novel, and superior to other data collection methods or tools. Respondents enjoyed the social network survey component, and visualizing social networks produced thoughtful responses from participants about leveraging or changing network content and structure for specific health-promoting purposes. Areas for improved literacy and functionality of the tool were identified. However, technical issues led to substantial (50%) data loss, limiting the success of its implementation from a researcher’s perspective, and hindering practicality in the field. Conclusions OpenEddi is a promising data collection tool for use in geographically isolated and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Future development will mitigate technical problems, improve usability and literacy, and test new methods of data collection. These changes will support goals for use of this tool in the delivery of network-based health communication and social support interventions to socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. PMID:28642217

Implications of Network Structure on Public Health Collaboratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Retrum, Jessica H.; Chapman, Carrie L.; Varda, Danielle M.

2013-01-01

Interorganizational collaboration is an essential function of public health agencies. These partnerships form social networks that involve diverse types of partners and varying levels of interaction. Such collaborations are widely accepted and encouraged, yet very little comparative research exists on how public health partnerships develop and…

Citizen sensors for SHM: use of accelerometer data from smartphones.

PubMed

Feng, Maria; Fukuda, Yoshio; Mizuta, Masato; Ozer, Ekin

2015-01-29

Ubiquitous smartphones have created a significant opportunity to form a low-cost wireless Citizen Sensor network and produce big data for monitoring structural integrity and safety under operational and extreme loads. Such data are particularly useful for rapid assessment of structural damage in a large urban setting after a major event such as an earthquake. This study explores the utilization of smartphone accelerometers for measuring structural vibration, from which structural health and post-event damage can be diagnosed. Widely available smartphones are tested under sinusoidal wave excitations with frequencies in the range relevant to civil engineering structures. Large-scale seismic shaking table tests, observing input ground motion and response of a structural model, are carried out to evaluate the accuracy of smartphone accelerometers under operational, white-noise and earthquake excitations of different intensity. Finally, the smartphone accelerometers are tested on a dynamically loaded bridge. The extensive experiments show satisfactory agreements between the reference and smartphone sensor measurements in both time and frequency domains, demonstrating the capability of the smartphone sensors to measure structural responses ranging from low-amplitude ambient vibration to high-amplitude seismic response. Encouraged by the results of this study, the authors are developing a citizen-engaging and data-analytics crowdsourcing platform towards a smartphone-based Citizen Sensor network for structural health monitoring and post-event damage assessment applications.

Neighborhoods and Adolescent Health-Risk Behavior: An Ecological Network Approach1

PubMed Central

Browning, Christopher R.; Soller, Brian; Jackson, Aubrey L.

2014-01-01

This study integrates insights from social network analysis, activity space perspectives, and theories of urban and spatial processes to present an innovative approach to neighborhood effects on health-risk behavior among youth. We suggest spatial patterns of neighborhood residents’ non-home routine activities may be conceptualized as ecological, or “eco”-networks, which are two-mode networks that indirectly link residents through socio-spatial overlap in routine activities. We further argue structural configurations of eco-networks are consequential for youth’s behavioral health. In this study we focus on a key structural feature of eco-networks—the neighborhood-level extent to which households share two or more activity locations, or eco-network reinforcement—and its association with two dimensions of health-risk behavior, substance use and delinquency/sexual activity. Using geographic data on non-home routine activity locations among respondents from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS), we constructed neighborhood-specific eco-networks by connecting sampled households to “activity clusters,” which are sets of spatially-proximate activity locations. We then measured eco-network reinforcement and examined its association with adolescent dimensions of health risk behavior employing a sample of 830 youth ages 12-17 nested in 65 census tracts. We also examined whether neighborhood-level social processes (collective efficacy and intergenerational closure) mediate the association between eco-network reinforcement and the outcomes considered. Results indicated eco-network reinforcement exhibits robust negative associations with both substance use and delinquency/sexual activity scales. Eco-network reinforcement effects were not explained by potential mediating variables. In addition to introducing a novel theoretical and empirical approach to neighborhood effects on youth, our findings highlight the importance of eco-network reinforcement for adolescent behavioral health. PMID:25011958

Probabilistic Assessment of High-Throughput Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Kim, Robin E.; Mechitov, Kirill; Sim, Sung-Han; Spencer, Billie F.; Song, Junho

2016-01-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) using wireless smart sensors (WSS) has the potential to provide rich information on the state of a structure. However, because of their distributed nature, maintaining highly robust and reliable networks can be challenging. Assessing WSS network communication quality before and after finalizing a deployment is critical to achieve a successful WSS network for SHM purposes. Early studies on WSS network reliability mostly used temporal signal indicators, composed of a smaller number of packets, to assess the network reliability. However, because the WSS networks for SHM purpose often require high data throughput, i.e., a larger number of packets are delivered within the communication, such an approach is not sufficient. Instead, in this study, a model that can assess, probabilistically, the long-term performance of the network is proposed. The proposed model is based on readily-available measured data sets that represent communication quality during high-throughput data transfer. Then, an empirical limit-state function is determined, which is further used to estimate the probability of network communication failure. Monte Carlo simulation is adopted in this paper and applied to a small and a full-bridge wireless networks. By performing the proposed analysis in complex sensor networks, an optimized sensor topology can be achieved. PMID:27258270

Cultures of engagement: The organizational foundations of advancing health in immigrant and low-income communities of color.

PubMed

Bloemraad, Irene; Terriquez, Veronica

2016-09-01

A rich civic infrastructure of community-based organizations (CBOs) can help generate, diffuse and maintain a culture of engagement and health that benefits marginalized populations most at risk for illness, disability, and poor health. Attention to CBOs advances "meso-level" frameworks for understanding health cultures and outcomes by going beyond attention to social networks and social identities. We focus on three mechanisms: CBOs can (1) empower individuals by developing civic capacity and personal efficacy; (2) foster solidarity by building networks, social identities and a shared commitment to collective well-being; and (3) mobilize people to have a voice in health-related policies and programming, thereby affecting community well-being. We draw on theory and research in sociology, political science and psychology, and we illustrate the utility of a CBO approach by examining survey and semi-structured interview data from participants in youth civic groups in 13 low-income, predominantly immigrant communities in California. Interview data illustrate the ways in which CBOs enhance members' civic capacities, provide a sense of empowerment and efficacy to engage in healthy behaviors, develop solidarity among diverse participants, and elaborate networks among those committed to community well-being. We also discuss CBO-led campaigns in which youth mobilized for change in policies and practices of local institutions to illustrate possible community-wide health consequences of CBO engagement. CBOs can thus generate individual-level well-being effects, and reduce structural barriers to good health through changes in the broader environment. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of 11 local health department organizational networks.

PubMed

Merrill, Jacqueline; Keeling, Jonathan W; Carley, Kathleen M

2010-01-01

Although the nation's local health departments (LHDs) share a common mission, variability in administrative structures is a barrier to identifying common, optimal management strategies. There is a gap in understanding what unifying features LHDs share as organizations that could be leveraged systematically for achieving high performance. To explore sources of commonality and variability in a range of LHDs by comparing intraorganizational networks. We used organizational network analysis to document relationships between employees, tasks, knowledge, and resources within LHDs, which may exist regardless of formal administrative structure. A national sample of 11 LHDs from seven states that differed in size, geographic location, and governance. Relational network data were collected via an on-line survey of all employees in 11 LHDs. A total of 1062 out of 1239 employees responded (84% response rate). Network measurements were compared using coefficient of variation. Measurements were correlated with scores from the National Public Health Performance Assessment and with LHD demographics. Rankings of tasks, knowledge, and resources were correlated across pairs of LHDs. We found that 11 LHDs exhibited compound organizational structures in which centralized hierarchies were coupled with distributed networks at the point of service. Local health departments were distinguished from random networks by a pattern of high centralization and clustering. Network measurements were positively associated with performance for 3 of 10 essential services (r > 0.65). Patterns in the measurements suggest how LHDs adapt to the population served. Shared network patterns across LHDs suggest where common organizational management strategies are feasible. This evidence supports national efforts to promote uniform standards for service delivery to diverse populations.

No longer simply a Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) health improvement networks.

PubMed

Williams, Robert L; Rhyne, Robert L

2011-01-01

While primary care Practice-based Research Networks are best known for their original, research purpose, evidence accumulating over the last several years is demonstrating broader values of these collaborations. Studies have demonstrated their role in quality improvement and practice change, in continuing professional education, in clinician retention in medically underserved areas, and in facilitating transition of primary care organization. A role in informing and facilitating health policy development is also suggested. Taking into account this more robust potential, we propose a new title, the Health Improvement Network, and a new vision for Practice-based Research Networks.

Power structure among the actors of financial support to the poor to access health services: Social network analysis approach.

PubMed

Etemadi, Manal; Gorji, Hasan Abolghasem; Kangarani, Hannaneh Mohammadi; Ashtarian, Kioomars

2017-12-01

The extent of universal health coverage in terms of financial protection is worrisome in Iran. There are challenges in health policies to guarantee financial accessibility to health services, especially for poor people. Various institutions offer support to ensure that the poor have financial access to health services. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship network among the institutions active in this field. This study is a policy document analysis. It evaluates the country's legal documents in the field of financial support to the poor for healthcare after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The researchers looked for the documents on the related websites and referred to the related organizations. The social network analysis approach was chosen for the analysis of the documents. Block-modelling and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) was used to determine the network structures. The UCINET software was employed to analyse the data. Most the main actors of this network are chosen from the government budget. There is no legal communication and cooperation among some of the actors because of their improper position in the network. Seven blocks have been clustered by CONCOR in terms of the actor's degree of similarity. The social distance among the actors of the seven blocks is very short. Power distribution in the field of financial support to the poor has a fragmented structure; however, it is mainly run by a dominant block consisting of The Supreme Council of Welfare and Social Security, Health Insurance Organization, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The financial support for the poor network involves multiple actors. This variety has created a series of confusions in terms of the type, level, and scope of responsibilities among the actors. The weak presence legislative and regulatory institutions and also non-governmental institutions are the main weak points of this network. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sandwich node architecture for agile wireless sensor networks for real-time structural health monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zi; Pakzad, Shamim; Cheng, Liang

2012-04-01

In recent years, wireless sensor network (WSN), as a powerful tool, has been widely applied to structural health monitoring (SHM) due to its low cost of deployment. Several commercial hardware platforms of wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been developed and used for structural monitoring applications [1,2]. A typical design of a node includes a sensor board and a mote connected to it. Sensing units, analog filters and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are integrated on the sensor board and the mote consists of a microcontroller and a wireless transceiver. Generally, there are a set of sensor boards compatible with the same model of mote and the selection of the sensor board depends on the specific applications. A WSN system based on this node lacks the capability of interrupting its scheduled task to start a higher priority task. This shortcoming is rooted in the hardware architecture of the node. The proposed sandwich-node architecture is designed to remedy the shortcomings of the existing one for task preemption. A sandwich node is composed of a sensor board and two motes. The first mote is dedicated to managing the sensor board and processing acquired data. The second mote controls the first mote via commands. A prototype has been implemented using Imote2 and verified by an emulation in which one mote is triggered by a remote base station and then preempts the running task at the other mote for handling an emergency event.

Changes in Social Capital and Networks: A Study of Community-Based Environmental Management Through a School-Centered Research Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, Teresa; Leahy, Jessica

2012-02-01

Social network analysis (SNA) is a social science research tool that has not been applied to educational programs. This analysis is critical to documenting the changes in social capital and networks that result from community based K-12 educational collaborations. We review SNA and show an application of this technique in a school-centered, community based environmental monitoring research (CBEMR) program. This CBEMR employs K-12 students, state and local government employees, environmental organization representatives, local businesses, colleges, and community volunteers. As citizen scientists and researchers, collaborators create a database of local groundwater quality to use as a baseline for long-term environmental health management and public education. Past studies have evaluated the reliability of data generated by students acting as scientists, but there have been few studies relating to power dynamics, social capital, and resilience in school-centered CBEMR programs. We use qualitative and quantitative data gathered from a science education program conducted in five states in the northeastern United States. SPSS and NVivo data were derived from semi-structured interviews with thirty-nine participants before and after their participation in the CBEMR. Pajek software was used to determine participant centralities and power brokers within networks. Results indicate that there were statistically significant increases in social capital and resilience in social networks after participation in the school-centered CBEMR program leading to an increased community involvement in environmental health management. Limiting factors to the CBMER were based on the educator/administration relationship.

Childrens' health, community networks, and the NII: making the connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deutsch, Larry; Bronzino, Joseph D.; Farmer, Samuel J.

1996-02-01

To provide quality health care, clinicians need to be well informed. For health care to be cost effective and efficient, redundant services must be eliminated. Urban centers and rural areas need regional health information networks to ensure that primary health care is delivered with good continuity and coordination among providers. This paper describes the development of a city-wide computer-based pediatric health care network to improve decision-making and follow-through, and to provide aggregate data for public health purposes. The design criteria and process for this regional system are presented, addressing issues of network architecture, establishment of a uniform data base, and confidentiality.

Social network types among older Korean adults: Associations with subjective health.

PubMed

Sohn, Sung Yun; Joo, Won-Tak; Kim, Woo Jung; Kim, Se Joo; Youm, Yoosik; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Park, Yeong-Ran; Lee, Eun

2017-01-01

With population aging now a global phenomenon, the health of older adults is becoming an increasingly important issue. Because the Korean population is aging at an unprecedented rate, preparing for public health problems associated with old age is particularly salient in this country. As the physical and mental health of older adults is related to their social relationships, investigating the social networks of older adults and their relationship to health status is important for establishing public health policies. The aims of this study were to identify social network types among older adults in South Korea and to examine the relationship of these social network types with self-rated health and depression. Data from the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project were analyzed. Model-based clustering using finite normal mixture modeling was conducted to identify the social network types based on ten criterion variables of social relationships and activities: marital status, number of children, number of close relatives, number of friends, frequency of attendance at religious services, attendance at organized group meetings, in-degree centrality, out-degree centrality, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to examine associations between the identified social network types and self-rated health and depression. The model-based clustering analysis revealed that social networks clustered into five types: diverse, family, congregant, congregant-restricted, and restricted. Diverse or family social network types were significantly associated with more favorable subjective mental health, whereas the restricted network type was significantly associated with poorer ratings of mental and physical health. In addition, our analysis identified unique social network types related to religious activities. In summary, we developed a comprehensive social network typology for older Korean adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Network Analysis Perspective to Implementation: The Example of Health Links to Promote Coordinated Care.

PubMed

Yousefi Nooraie, Reza; Khan, Sobia; Gutberg, Jennifer; Baker, G Ross

2018-01-01

Although implementation models broadly recognize the importance of social relationships, our knowledge about applying social network analysis (SNA) to formative, process, and outcome evaluations of health system interventions is limited. We explored applications of adopting an SNA lens to inform implementation planning, engagement and execution, and evaluation. We used Health Links, a province-wide program in Canada aiming to improve care coordination among multiple providers of high-needs patients, as an example of a health system intervention. At the planning phase, an SNA can depict the structure, network influencers, and composition of clusters at various levels. It can inform the engagement and execution by identifying potential targets (e.g., opinion leaders) and by revealing structural gaps and clusters. It can also be used to assess the outcomes of the intervention, such as its success in increasing network connectivity; changing the position of certain actors; and bridging across specialties, organizations, and sectors. We provided an overview of how an SNA lens can shed light on the complexity of implementation along the entire implementation pathway, by revealing the relational barriers and facilitators, the application of network-informed and network-altering interventions, and testing hypotheses on network consequences of the implementation.

Real-time vibration-based structural damage detection using one-dimensional convolutional neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdeljaber, Osama; Avci, Onur; Kiranyaz, Serkan; Gabbouj, Moncef; Inman, Daniel J.

2017-02-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) and vibration-based structural damage detection have been a continuous interest for civil, mechanical and aerospace engineers over the decades. Early and meticulous damage detection has always been one of the principal objectives of SHM applications. The performance of a classical damage detection system predominantly depends on the choice of the features and the classifier. While the fixed and hand-crafted features may either be a sub-optimal choice for a particular structure or fail to achieve the same level of performance on another structure, they usually require a large computation power which may hinder their usage for real-time structural damage detection. This paper presents a novel, fast and accurate structural damage detection system using 1D Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) that has an inherent adaptive design to fuse both feature extraction and classification blocks into a single and compact learning body. The proposed method performs vibration-based damage detection and localization of the damage in real-time. The advantage of this approach is its ability to extract optimal damage-sensitive features automatically from the raw acceleration signals. Large-scale experiments conducted on a grandstand simulator revealed an outstanding performance and verified the computational efficiency of the proposed real-time damage detection method.

The network of Shanghai Stroke Service System (4S): A public health-care web-based database using automatic extraction of electronic medical records.

PubMed

Dong, Yi; Fang, Kun; Wang, Xin; Chen, Shengdi; Liu, Xueyuan; Zhao, Yuwu; Guan, Yangtai; Cai, Dingfang; Li, Gang; Liu, Jianmin; Liu, Jianren; Zhuang, Jianhua; Wang, Panshi; Chen, Xin; Shen, Haipeng; Wang, David Z; Xian, Ying; Feng, Wuwei; Campbell, Bruce Cv; Parsons, Mark; Dong, Qiang

2018-07-01

Background Several stroke outcome and quality control projects have demonstrated the success in stroke care quality improvement through structured process. However, Chinese health-care systems are challenged with its overwhelming numbers of patients, limited resources, and large regional disparities. Aim To improve quality of stroke care to address regional disparities through process improvement. Method and design The Shanghai Stroke Service System (4S) is established as a regional network for stroke care quality improvement in the Shanghai metropolitan area. The 4S registry uses a web-based database that automatically extracts data from structured electronic medical records. Site-specific education and training program will be designed and administrated according to their baseline characteristics. Both acute reperfusion therapies including thrombectomy and thrombolysis in the acute phase and subsequent care were measured and monitored with feedback. Primary outcome is to evaluate the differences in quality metrics between baseline characteristics (including rate of thrombolysis in acute stroke and key performance indicators in secondary prevention) and post-intervention. Conclusions The 4S system is a regional stroke network that monitors the ongoing stroke care quality in Shanghai. This project will provide the opportunity to evaluate the spectrum of acute stroke care and design quality improvement processes for better stroke care. A regional stroke network model for quality improvement will be explored and might be expanded to other large cities in China. Clinical Trial Registration-URL http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT02735226.

Service collaboration and hospital cost performance: direct and moderating effects.

PubMed

Proenca, E Jose; Rosko, Michael D; Dismuke, Clara E

2005-12-01

Growing reliance on service provision through systems and networks creates the need to better understand the nature of the relationship between service collaboration and hospital performance and the conditions that affect this relationship. We examine 1) the effects of service provision through health systems and health networks on hospital cost performance and 2) the moderating effects of market conditions and service differentiation on the collaboration-cost relationship. We used moderated regression analysis to test the direct and moderating effects. Data on 1368 private hospitals came from the 1998 AHA Annual Survey, Medicare Cost Reports, and Solucient. Service collaboration was measured as the proportion of hospital services provided at the system level and at the network level. Market conditions were measured by the levels of managed care penetration and competition in the hospital's market. The proportion of hospital services provided at the system level had a negative relationship with hospital cost. The relationship was curvilinear for network use. Degree of managed care penetration moderated the relationship between network-based collaboration and hospital cost. The benefits of service collaboration through systems and networks, as measured by reduced cost, depend on degree of collaboration rather than mere membership. In loosely structured collaborations such as networks, costs reduce initially but increase later as the extent of collaboration increases. The effect of network-based collaboration is also tempered by managed care penetration. These effects are not seen in more tightly integrated forms such as systems.

Deformable complex network for refining low-resolution X-ray structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Chong; Wang, Qinghua; Ma, Jianpeng, E-mail: jpma@bcm.edu

2015-10-27

A new refinement algorithm called the deformable complex network that combines a novel angular network-based restraint with a deformable elastic network model in the target function has been developed to aid in structural refinement in macromolecular X-ray crystallography. In macromolecular X-ray crystallography, building more accurate atomic models based on lower resolution experimental diffraction data remains a great challenge. Previous studies have used a deformable elastic network (DEN) model to aid in low-resolution structural refinement. In this study, the development of a new refinement algorithm called the deformable complex network (DCN) is reported that combines a novel angular network-based restraint withmore » the DEN model in the target function. Testing of DCN on a wide range of low-resolution structures demonstrated that it constantly leads to significantly improved structural models as judged by multiple refinement criteria, thus representing a new effective refinement tool for low-resolution structural determination.« less

The Urban Context: A Place to Eliminate Health Disparities and Build Organizational Capacity

PubMed Central

GILBERT, KEON L.; QUINN, SANDRA CROUSE; FORD, ANGELA F.; THOMAS, STEPHEN B.

2011-01-01

This study seeks to examine the process of building the capacity to address health disparities in several urban African American neighborhoods. An inter-organizational network consisting of a research university, community members, community organizations, media partners, and foundations was formed to develop a community-based intervention designed to provide health promotion and disease prevention strategies for type 2 diabetes and hypertension. In-depth qualitative interviews (n = 18) with foundation executives and project directors, civic organization leadership, community leaders, county epidemiologist, and university partners were conducted. Our study contextualizes a process to build a public health partnership using cultural, community, organizational, and societal factors necessary to address health disparities. Results showed 5 important factors to build organizational capacity: leadership, institutional commitment, trust, credibility, and inter-organizational networks. These factors reflected other important organizational and community capacity indicators such as: community context, organizational policies, practices and structures, and the establishment of new commitments and partnerships important to comprehensively address urban health disparities. Understanding these factors to address African American health disparities will provide lessons learned for health educators, researchers, practitioners, foundations, and communities interested in building and sustaining capacity efforts through the design, implementation, and maintenance of a community-based health promotion intervention. PMID:21271434

Using Pathfinder networks to discover alignment between expert and consumer conceptual knowledge from online vaccine content.

PubMed

Amith, Muhammad; Cunningham, Rachel; Savas, Lara S; Boom, Julie; Schvaneveldt, Roger; Tao, Cui; Cohen, Trevor

2017-10-01

This study demonstrates the use of distributed vector representations and Pathfinder Network Scaling (PFNETS) to represent online vaccine content created by health experts and by laypeople. By analyzing a target audience's conceptualization of a topic, domain experts can develop targeted interventions to improve the basic health knowledge of consumers. The underlying assumption is that the content created by different groups reflects the mental organization of their knowledge. Applying automated text analysis to this content may elucidate differences between the knowledge structures of laypeople (heath consumers) and professionals (health experts). This paper utilizes vaccine information generated by laypeople and health experts to investigate the utility of this approach. We used an established technique from cognitive psychology, Pathfinder Network Scaling to infer the structure of the associational networks between concepts learned from online content using methods of distributional semantics. In doing so, we extend the original application of PFNETS to infer knowledge structures from individual participants, to infer the prevailing knowledge structures within communities of content authors. The resulting graphs reveal opportunities for public health and vaccination education experts to improve communication and intervention efforts directed towards health consumers. Our efforts demonstrate the feasibility of using an automated procedure to examine the manifestation of conceptual models within large bodies of free text, revealing evidence of conflicting understanding of vaccine concepts among health consumers as compared with health experts. Additionally, this study provides insight into the differences between consumer and expert abstraction of domain knowledge, revealing vaccine-related knowledge gaps that suggest opportunities to improve provider-patient communication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A user exposure based approach for non-structural road network vulnerability analysis

PubMed Central

Jin, Lei; Wang, Haizhong; Yu, Le; Liu, Lin

2017-01-01

Aiming at the dense urban road network vulnerability without structural negative consequences, this paper proposes a novel non-structural road network vulnerability analysis framework. Three aspects of the framework are mainly described: (i) the rationality of non-structural road network vulnerability, (ii) the metrics for negative consequences accounting for variant road conditions, and (iii) the introduction of a new vulnerability index based on user exposure. Based on the proposed methodology, a case study in the Sioux Falls network which was usually threatened by regular heavy snow during wintertime is detailedly discussed. The vulnerability ranking of links of Sioux Falls network with respect to heavy snow scenario is identified. As a result of non-structural consequences accompanied by conceivable degeneration of network, there are significant increases in generalized travel time costs which are measurements for “emotionally hurt” of topological road network. PMID:29176832

Buddhist social networks and health in old age: A study in central Thailand.

PubMed

Sasiwongsaroj, Kwanchit; Wada, Taizo; Okumiya, Kiyohito; Imai, Hissei; Ishimoto, Yasuko; Sakamoto, Ryota; Fujisawa, Michiko; Kimura, Yumi; Chen, Wen-ling; Fukutomi, Eriko; Matsubayashi, Kozo

2015-11-01

Religious social networks are well known for their capacity to improve individual health, yet the effects of friendship networks within the Buddhist context remain largely unknown. The present study aimed to compare health status and social support in community-dwelling older adults according to their level of Buddhist social network (BSN) involvement, and to examine the association between BSN involvement and functional health among older adults. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 427 Buddhist community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Data were collected from home-based personal interviews using a structured questionnaire. Health status was defined according to the measures of basic and advanced activities of daily living (ADL), the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale and subjective quality of life. Perceived social support was assessed across the four dimensions of tangible, belonging, emotional and information support. Multiple logistic regression was used for analysis. Older adults with BSN involvement reported better functional, mental and social health status, and perceived greater social support than those without BSN involvement. In addition, BSN involvement was positively associated with independence in basic and advanced ADL. After adjusting for age, sex, education, income, morbidity and depressive symptoms, BSN showed a strong association with advanced ADL and a weak association with basic ADL. The results show that involvement in BSN could contribute positively to functional health, particularly with regard to advanced ADL. Addressing the need for involvement in these networks by older adults might help delay functional decline and save on healthcare costs. © 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Parsing Social Network Survey Data from Hidden Populations Using Stochastic Context-Free Grammars

PubMed Central

Poon, Art F. Y.; Brouwer, Kimberly C.; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Firestone-Cruz, Michelle; Lozada, Remedios M.; Kosakovsky Pond, Sergei L.; Heckathorn, Douglas D.; Frost, Simon D. W.

2009-01-01

Background Human populations are structured by social networks, in which individuals tend to form relationships based on shared attributes. Certain attributes that are ambiguous, stigmatized or illegal can create a ÔhiddenÕ population, so-called because its members are difficult to identify. Many hidden populations are also at an elevated risk of exposure to infectious diseases. Consequently, public health agencies are presently adopting modern survey techniques that traverse social networks in hidden populations by soliciting individuals to recruit their peers, e.g., respondent-driven sampling (RDS). The concomitant accumulation of network-based epidemiological data, however, is rapidly outpacing the development of computational methods for analysis. Moreover, current analytical models rely on unrealistic assumptions, e.g., that the traversal of social networks can be modeled by a Markov chain rather than a branching process. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we develop a new methodology based on stochastic context-free grammars (SCFGs), which are well-suited to modeling tree-like structure of the RDS recruitment process. We apply this methodology to an RDS case study of injection drug users (IDUs) in Tijuana, México, a hidden population at high risk of blood-borne and sexually-transmitted infections (i.e., HIV, hepatitis C virus, syphilis). Survey data were encoded as text strings that were parsed using our custom implementation of the inside-outside algorithm in a publicly-available software package (HyPhy), which uses either expectation maximization or direct optimization methods and permits constraints on model parameters for hypothesis testing. We identified significant latent variability in the recruitment process that violates assumptions of Markov chain-based methods for RDS analysis: firstly, IDUs tended to emulate the recruitment behavior of their own recruiter; and secondly, the recruitment of like peers (homophily) was dependent on the number of recruits. Conclusions SCFGs provide a rich probabilistic language that can articulate complex latent structure in survey data derived from the traversal of social networks. Such structure that has no representation in Markov chain-based models can interfere with the estimation of the composition of hidden populations if left unaccounted for, raising critical implications for the prevention and control of infectious disease epidemics. PMID:19738904

Research and knowledge in Ontario tobacco control networks.

PubMed

Bickford, Julia J; Kothari, Anita R

2008-01-01

This study sought to better understand the role of research knowledge in Ontario tobacco control networks by asking: 1) How is research managed; 2) How is research evaluated; and 3) How is research utilized? This is a secondary analysis of a qualitative study based on individual semistructured interviews with 29 participants between January and May 2006. These participants were purposefully sampled from across four Ministries in the provincial government (n = 7), non-government (n = 15), and public health organizations (n = 7). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded and analyzed using QSR N7 qualitative software. This study received ethics approval from The University of Western Ontario Health Research Ethics Board. There exists a dissonance between the preference for peer-reviewed, unbiased, non-partisan knowledge to support claims and the need for fast, "real-time" information on which to base tobacco-related policy decisions. Second, there is a great deal of tacit knowledge held by experts within the Ontario tobacco control community. The networks among government, non-government, and public health organizations are the structures through which tacit knowledge is exchanged. These networks are dynamic, fluid and shifting. There exists a gap in the production and utilization of research knowledge for tobacco control policy. Tacit knowledge held by experts in Ontario tobacco control networks is an integral means of managing and evaluating research knowledge. Finally, this study builds on Weiss's concept of tactical model of evidence use by highlighting the utilization of research to enhance one's credibility.

The Impact of Online Social Networks on Health and Health Systems: A Scoping Review and Case Studies.

PubMed

Griffiths, Frances; Dobermann, Tim; Cave, Jonathan A K; Thorogood, Margaret; Johnson, Samantha; Salamatian, Kavé; Gomez Olive, Francis X; Goudge, Jane

2015-12-01

Interaction through online social networks potentially results in the contestation of prevailing ideas about health and health care, and to mass protest where health is put at risk or health care provision is wanting. Through a review of the academic literature and case studies of four social networking health sites (PatientsLikeMe, Mumsnet, Treatment Action Campaign, and My Pro Ana), we establish the extent to which this phenomenon is documented, seek evidence of the prevalence and character of health-related networks, and explore their structure, function, participants, and impact, seeking to understand how they came into being and how they sustain themselves. Results indicate mass protest is not arising from these established health-related networking platforms. There is evidence of changes in policy following campaigning activity prompted by experiences shared through social networking such as improved National Health Service care for miscarriage (a Mumsnet campaign). Platform owners and managers have considerable power to shape these campaigns. Social networking is also influencing health policy indirectly through increasing awareness and so demand for health care. Transient social networking about health on platforms such as Twitter were not included as case studies but may be where the most radical or destabilizing influence on health care policy might arise.

Population-based contracting (population health): part II.

PubMed

Jacofsky, D J

2017-11-01

Modern healthcare contracting is shifting the responsibility for improving quality, enhancing community health and controlling the total cost of care for patient populations from payers to providers. Population-based contracting involves capitated risk taken across an entire population, such that any included services within the contract are paid for by the risk-bearing entity throughout the term of the agreement. Under such contracts, a risk-bearing entity, which may be a provider group, a hospital or another payer, administers the contract and assumes risk for contractually defined services. These contracts can be structured in various ways, from professional fee capitation to full global per member per month diagnosis-based risk. The entity contracting with the payer must have downstream network contracts to provide the care and facilities that it has agreed to provide. Population health is a very powerful model to reduce waste and costs. It requires a deep understanding of the nuances of such contracting and the appropriate infrastructure to manage both networks and risk. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1431-4. ©2017 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Developing laboratory networks: a practical guide and application.

PubMed

Kirk, Carol J; Shult, Peter A

2010-01-01

The role of the public health laboratory (PHL) in support of public health response has expanded beyond testing to include a number of other core functions, such as emergency response, training and outreach, communications, laboratory-based surveillance, and laboratory data management. These functions can only be accomplished by a network that includes public health and other agency laboratories and clinical laboratories. It is a primary responsibility of the PHL to develop and maintain such a network. In this article, we present practical recommendations-based on 17 years of network development experience-for the development of statewide laboratory networks. These recommendations, and examples of current laboratory networks, are provided to facilitate laboratory network development in other states. The development of laboratory networks will enhance each state's public health system and is critical to the development of a robust national Laboratory Response Network.

A wirelessly programmable actuation and sensing system for structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, James; Büyüköztürk, Oral

2016-04-01

Wireless sensor networks promise to deliver low cost, low power and massively distributed systems for structural health monitoring. A key component of these systems, particularly when sampling rates are high, is the capability to process data within the network. Although progress has been made towards this vision, it remains a difficult task to develop and program 'smart' wireless sensing applications. In this paper we present a system which allows data acquisition and computational tasks to be specified in Python, a high level programming language, and executed within the sensor network. Key features of this system include the ability to execute custom application code without firmware updates, to run multiple users' requests concurrently and to conserve power through adjustable sleep settings. Specific examples of sensor node tasks are given to demonstrate the features of this system in the context of structural health monitoring. The system comprises of individual firmware for nodes in the wireless sensor network, and a gateway server and web application through which users can remotely submit their requests.

Co-authorship network analysis in health research: method and potential use.

PubMed

Fonseca, Bruna de Paula Fonseca E; Sampaio, Ricardo Barros; Fonseca, Marcus Vinicius de Araújo; Zicker, Fabio

2016-04-30

Scientific collaboration networks are a hallmark of contemporary academic research. Researchers are no longer independent players, but members of teams that bring together complementary skills and multidisciplinary approaches around common goals. Social network analysis and co-authorship networks are increasingly used as powerful tools to assess collaboration trends and to identify leading scientists and organizations. The analysis reveals the social structure of the networks by identifying actors and their connections. This article reviews the method and potential applications of co-authorship network analysis in health. The basic steps for conducting co-authorship studies in health research are described and common network metrics are presented. The application of the method is exemplified by an overview of the global research network for Chikungunya virus vaccines.

Using social knowledge networking technology to enable meaningful use of electronic health record technology in hospitals and health systems.

PubMed

Rangachari, Pavani

2014-12-01

Despite the federal policy momentum towards "meaningful use" of Electronic Health Records, the healthcare organizational literature remains replete with reports of unintended adverse consequences of implementing Electronic Health Records, including: increased work for clinicians, unfavorable workflow changes, and unexpected changes in communication patterns & practices. In addition to being costly and unsafe, these unintended adverse consequences may pose a formidable barrier to "meaningful use" of Electronic Health Records. Correspondingly, it is essential for hospital administrators to understand and detect the causes of unintended adverse consequences, to ensure successful implementation of Electronic Health Records. The longstanding Technology-in-Practice framework emphasizes the role of human agency in enacting structures of technology use or "technologies-in-practice." Given a set of unintended adverse consequences from health information technology implementation, this framework could help trace them back to specific actions (types of technology-in-practice) and institutional conditions (social structures). On the other hand, the more recent Knowledge-in-Practice framework helps understand how information and communication technologies ( e.g. , social knowledge networking systems) could be implemented alongside existing technology systems, to create new social structures, generate new knowledge-in-practice, and transform technology-in-practice. Therefore, integrating the two literature streams could serve the dual purpose of understanding and overcoming unintended adverse consequences of Electronic Health Record implementation. This paper seeks to: (1) review the theoretical literatures on technology use & implementation, and identify a framework for understanding & overcoming unintended adverse consequences of implementing Electronic Health Records; (2) outline a broad project proposal to test the applicability of the framework in enabling "meaningful use" of Electronic Health Records in a healthcare context; and (3) identify strategies for successful implementation of Electronic Health Records in hospitals & health systems, based on the literature review and application.

The social network of international health aid.

PubMed

Han, Lu; Koenig-Archibugi, Mathias; Opsahl, Tore

2018-06-01

International development assistance for health generates an emergent social network in which policy makers in recipient countries are connected to numerous bilateral and multilateral aid agencies and to other aid recipients. Ties in this global network are channels for the transmission of knowledge, norms and influence in addition to material resources, and policy makers in centrally situated governments receive information faster and are exposed to a more diverse range of sources and perspectives. Since diversity of perspectives improves problem-solving capacity, the structural position of aid-receiving governments in the health aid network can affect the health outcomes that those governments are able to attain. We apply a recently developed Social Network Analysis measure to health aid data for 1990-2010 to investigate the relationship between country centrality in the health aid network and improvements in child health. A generalized method of moments (GMM) analysis indicates that, controlling for the volume of health aid and other factors, higher centrality in the health aid network is associated with better child survival rates in a sample of 110 low and middle income countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facilitative Components of Collaborative Learning: A Review of Nine Health Research Networks.

PubMed

Leroy, Lisa; Rittner, Jessica Levin; Johnson, Karin E; Gerteis, Jessie; Miller, Therese

2017-02-01

Collaborative research networks are increasingly used as an effective mechanism for accelerating knowledge transfer into policy and practice. This paper explored the characteristics and collaborative learning approaches of nine health research networks. Semi-structured interviews with representatives from eight diverse US health services research networks conducted between November 2012 and January 2013 and program evaluation data from a ninth. The qualitative analysis assessed each network's purpose, duration, funding sources, governance structure, methods used to foster collaboration, and barriers and facilitators to collaborative learning. The authors reviewed detailed notes from the interviews to distill salient themes. Face-to-face meetings, intentional facilitation and communication, shared vision, trust among members and willingness to work together were key facilitators of collaborative learning. Competing priorities for members, limited funding and lack of long-term support and geographic dispersion were the main barriers to coordination and collaboration across research network members. The findings illustrate the importance of collaborative learning in research networks and the challenges to evaluating the success of research network functionality. Conducting readiness assessments and developing process and outcome evaluation metrics will advance the design and show the impact of collaborative research networks. Copyright © 2017 Longwoods Publishing.

Oral health related quality of life in pregnant and post partum women in two social network domains; predominantly home-based and work-based networks.

PubMed

Lamarca, Gabriela A; Leal, Maria do C; Leao, Anna T T; Sheiham, Aubrey; Vettore, Mario V

2012-01-13

Individuals connected to supportive social networks have better general and oral health quality of life. The objective of this study was to assess whether there were differences in oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) between women connected to either predominantly home-based and work-based social networks. A follow-up prevalence study was conducted on 1403 pregnant and post-partum women (mean age of 25.2 ± 6.3 years) living in two cities in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Women were participants in an established cohort followed from pregnancy (baseline) to post-partum period (follow-up). All participants were allocated to two groups; 1. work-based social network group--employed women with paid work, and, 2. home-based social network group--women with no paid work, housewives or unemployed women. Measures of social support and social network were used as well as questions on sociodemographic characteristics and OHRQoL and health related behaviors. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to obtain OR of relationships between occupational contexts, affectionate support and positive social interaction on the one hand, and oral health quality of life, using the Oral Health Impacts Profile (OHIP) measure, adjusted for age, ethnicity, family income, schooling, marital status and social class. There was a modifying effect of positive social interaction on the odds of occupational context on OHRQoL. The odds of having a poorer OHIP score, ≥ 4, was significantly higher for women with home-based social networks and moderate levels of positive social interactions [OR 1.64 (95% CI: 1.08-2.48)], and for women with home-based social networks and low levels of positive social interactions [OR 2.15 (95% CI: 1.40-3.30)] compared with women with work-based social networks and high levels of positive social interactions. Black ethnicity was associated with OHIP scores ≥ 4 [OR 1.73 (95% CI: 1.23-2.42)]. Pregnant and post-partum Brazilian women in paid employment outside the home and having social supports had better OHRQoL than those with home-based social networks.

Oral health related quality of life in pregnant and post partum women in two social network domains; predominantly home-based and work-based networks

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Individuals connected to supportive social networks have better general and oral health quality of life. The objective of this study was to assess whether there were differences in oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) between women connected to either predominantly home-based and work-based social networks. Methods A follow-up prevalence study was conducted on 1403 pregnant and post-partum women (mean age of 25.2 ± 6.3 years) living in two cities in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Women were participants in an established cohort followed from pregnancy (baseline) to post-partum period (follow-up). All participants were allocated to two groups; 1. work-based social network group - employed women with paid work, and, 2. home-based social network group - women with no paid work, housewives or unemployed women. Measures of social support and social network were used as well as questions on sociodemographic characteristics and OHRQoL and health related behaviors. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to obtain OR of relationships between occupational contexts, affectionate support and positive social interaction on the one hand, and oral health quality of life, using the Oral Health Impacts Profile (OHIP) measure, adjusted for age, ethnicity, family income, schooling, marital status and social class. Results There was a modifying effect of positive social interaction on the odds of occupational context on OHRQoL. The odds of having a poorer OHIP score, ≥4, was significantly higher for women with home-based social networks and moderate levels of positive social interactions [OR 1.64 (95% CI: 1.08-2.48)], and for women with home-based social networks and low levels of positive social interactions [OR 2.15 (95% CI: 1.40-3.30)] compared with women with work-based social networks and high levels of positive social interactions. Black ethnicity was associated with OHIP scores ≥4 [OR 1.73 (95% CI: 1.23-2.42)]. Conclusions Pregnant and post-partum Brazilian women in paid employment outside the home and having social supports had better OHRQoL than those with home-based social networks. PMID:22244015

Position-Specific HIV Risk in a Large Network of Homeless Youths

PubMed Central

Barman-Adhikari, Anamika; Milburn, Norweeta G.; Monro, William

2012-01-01

Objectives. We examined interconnections among runaway and homeless youths (RHYs) and how aggregated network structure position was associated with HIV risk in this population. Methods. We collected individual and social network data from 136 RHYs. On the basis of these data, we generated a sociomatrix, accomplished network visualization with a “spring embedder,” and examined k-cores. We used multivariate logistic regression models to assess associations between peripheral and nonperipheral network position and recent unprotected sexual intercourse. Results. Small numbers of nominations at the individual level aggregated into a large social network with a visible core, periphery, and small clusters. Female youths were more likely to be in the core, as were youths who had been homeless for 2 years or more. Youths at the periphery were less likely to report unprotected intercourse and had been homeless for a shorter duration. Conclusions. HIV risk was a function of risk-taking youths' connections with one another and was associated with position in the overall network structure. Social network–based prevention programs, young women's housing and health programs, and housing-first programs for peripheral youths could be effective strategies for preventing HIV among this population. PMID:22095350

Utilization of wireless structural health monitoring as decision making tools for a condition and reliability-based assessment of railroad bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanigan, Katherine A.; Johnson, Nephi R.; Hou, Rui; Ettouney, Mohammed; Lynch, Jerome P.

2017-04-01

The ability to quantitatively assess the condition of railroad bridges facilitates objective evaluation of their robustness in the face of hazard events. Of particular importance is the need to assess the condition of railroad bridges in networks that are exposed to multiple hazards. Data collected from structural health monitoring (SHM) can be used to better maintain a structure by prompting preventative (rather than reactive) maintenance strategies and supplying quantitative information to aid in recovery. To that end, a wireless monitoring system is validated and installed on the Harahan Bridge which is a hundred-year-old long-span railroad truss bridge that crosses the Mississippi River near Memphis, TN. This bridge is exposed to multiple hazards including scour, vehicle/barge impact, seismic activity, and aging. The instrumented sensing system targets non-redundant structural components and areas of the truss and floor system that bridge managers are most concerned about based on previous inspections and structural analysis. This paper details the monitoring system and the analytical method for the assessment of bridge condition based on automated data-driven analyses. Two primary objectives of monitoring the system performance are discussed: 1) monitoring fatigue accumulation in critical tensile truss elements; and 2) monitoring the reliability index values associated with sub-system limit states of these members. Moreover, since the reliability index is a scalar indicator of the safety of components, quantifiable condition assessment can be used as an objective metric so that bridge owners can make informed damage mitigation strategies and optimize resource management on single bridge or network levels.

A Data-Driven Response Virtual Sensor Technique with Partial Vibration Measurements Using Convolutional Neural Network.

PubMed

Sun, Shan-Bin; He, Yuan-Yuan; Zhou, Si-Da; Yue, Zhen-Jiang

2017-12-12

Measurement of dynamic responses plays an important role in structural health monitoring, damage detection and other fields of research. However, in aerospace engineering, the physical sensors are limited in the operational conditions of spacecraft, due to the severe environment in outer space. This paper proposes a virtual sensor model with partial vibration measurements using a convolutional neural network. The transmissibility function is employed as prior knowledge. A four-layer neural network with two convolutional layers, one fully connected layer, and an output layer is proposed as the predicting model. Numerical examples of two different structural dynamic systems demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach. The excellence of the novel technique is further indicated using a simply supported beam experiment comparing to a modal-model-based virtual sensor, which uses modal parameters, such as mode shapes, for estimating the responses of the faulty sensors. The results show that the presented data-driven response virtual sensor technique can predict structural response with high accuracy.

A Data-Driven Response Virtual Sensor Technique with Partial Vibration Measurements Using Convolutional Neural Network

PubMed Central

Sun, Shan-Bin; He, Yuan-Yuan; Zhou, Si-Da; Yue, Zhen-Jiang

2017-01-01

Measurement of dynamic responses plays an important role in structural health monitoring, damage detection and other fields of research. However, in aerospace engineering, the physical sensors are limited in the operational conditions of spacecraft, due to the severe environment in outer space. This paper proposes a virtual sensor model with partial vibration measurements using a convolutional neural network. The transmissibility function is employed as prior knowledge. A four-layer neural network with two convolutional layers, one fully connected layer, and an output layer is proposed as the predicting model. Numerical examples of two different structural dynamic systems demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach. The excellence of the novel technique is further indicated using a simply supported beam experiment comparing to a modal-model-based virtual sensor, which uses modal parameters, such as mode shapes, for estimating the responses of the faulty sensors. The results show that the presented data-driven response virtual sensor technique can predict structural response with high accuracy. PMID:29231868

Inferring a District-Based Hierarchical Structure of Social Contacts from Census Data

PubMed Central

Yu, Zhiwen; Liu, Jiming; Zhu, Xianjun

2015-01-01

Researchers have recently paid attention to social contact patterns among individuals due to their useful applications in such areas as epidemic evaluation and control, public health decisions, chronic disease research and social network research. Although some studies have estimated social contact patterns from social networks and surveys, few have considered how to infer the hierarchical structure of social contacts directly from census data. In this paper, we focus on inferring an individual’s social contact patterns from detailed census data, and generate various types of social contact patterns such as hierarchical-district-structure-based, cross-district and age-district-based patterns. We evaluate newly generated contact patterns derived from detailed 2011 Hong Kong census data by incorporating them into a model and simulation of the 2009 Hong Kong H1N1 epidemic. We then compare the newly generated social contact patterns with the mixing patterns that are often used in the literature, and draw the following conclusions. First, the generation of social contact patterns based on a hierarchical district structure allows for simulations at different district levels. Second, the newly generated social contact patterns reflect individuals social contacts. Third, the newly generated social contact patterns improve the accuracy of the SEIR-based epidemic model. PMID:25679787

Partnership disengagement from primary community care networks (PCCNs): A qualitative study for a national demonstration project

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The Primary Community Care Network (PCCN) Demonstration Project, launched by the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) in 2003, is still in progress. Partnership structures in PCCNs represent both contractual clinic-to-clinic and clinic-to-hospital member relationships of organizational aspects. The partnership structures are the formal relationships between individuals and the total network. Their organizational design aims to ensure effective communication, coordination, and integration across the total network. Previous studies have focused largely on how contractual integration among the partnerships works and on its effects. Few studies, however, have tried to understand partnership disengagement in PCCNs. This study explores why some partnerships in PCCNs disengage. Methods This study used a qualitative methodology with semi-structured questions for in-depth interviews. The semi-structured questions were pre-designed to explore the factors driving partnership disengagement. Thirty-seven clinic members who had withdrawn from their PCCNs were identified from the 2003-2005 Taiwan Primary Community Care Network Lists. Results Organization/participant factors (extra working time spend and facility competency), network factors (partner collaboration), and community factors (health policy design incompatibility, patient-physician relationship, and effectiveness) are reasons for clinic physicians to withdraw or change their partnerships within the PCCNs. Conclusions To strengthen partnership relationships, several suggestions are made, including to establish clinic and hospital member relationships, and to reduce administrative work. In addition, both educating the public about the concept of family doctors and ensuring well-organized national health policies could help health care providers improve the integration processes. PMID:20359369

Implementation of Integrated Service Networks under the Quebec Mental Health Reform: Facilitators and Barriers associated with Different Territorial Profiles.

PubMed

Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Vallée, Catherine; Aubé, Denise; Farand, Lambert

2017-03-10

This study evaluates implementation of the Quebec Mental Health Reform (2005-2015), which promoted the development of integrated service networks, in 11 local service networks organized into four territorial groups according to socio-demographic characteristics and mental health services offered. Data were collected from documents concerning networks; structured questionnaires completed by 90 managers and by 16 respondent-psychiatrists; and semi-structured interviews with 102 network stakeholders. Factors associated with implementation and integration were organized according to: 1) reform characteristics; 2) implementation context; 3) organizational characteristics; and 4) integration strategies. While local networks were in a process of development and expansion, none were fully integrated at the time of the study. Facilitators and barriers to implementation and integration were primarily associated with organizational characteristics. Integration was best achieved in larger networks including a general hospital with a psychiatric department, followed by networks with a psychiatric hospital. Formalized integration strategies such as service agreements, liaison officers, and joint training reduced some barriers to implementation in networks experiencing less favourable conditions. Strategies for the implementation of healthcare reform and integrated service networks should include sustained support and training in best-practices, adequate performance indicators and resources, formalized integration strategies to improve network coordination and suitable initiatives to promote staff retention.

Dynamic fiber Bragg gratings based health monitoring system of composite aerospace structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panopoulou, A.; Loutas, T.; Roulias, D.; Fransen, S.; Kostopoulos, V.

2011-09-01

The main purpose of the current work is to develop a new system for structural health monitoring of composite aerospace structures based on real-time dynamic measurements, in order to identify the structural state condition. Long-gauge Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) optical sensors were used for monitoring the dynamic response of the composite structure. The algorithm that was developed for structural damage detection utilizes the collected dynamic response data, analyzes them in various ways and through an artificial neural network identifies the damage state and its location. Damage was simulated by slightly varying locally the mass of the structure (by adding a known mass) at different zones of the structure. Lumped masses in different locations upon the structure alter the eigen-frequencies in a way similar to actual damage. The structural dynamic behaviour has been numerically simulated and experimentally verified by means of modal testing on two different composite aerospace structures. Advanced digital signal processing techniques, e.g. the wavelet transform (WT), were used for the analysis of the dynamic response for feature extraction. WT's capability of separating the different frequency components in the time domain without loosing frequency information makes it a versatile tool for demanding signal processing applications. The use of WT is also suggested by the no-stationary nature of dynamic response signals and the opportunity of evaluating the temporal evolution of their frequency contents. Feature extraction is the first step of the procedure. The extracted features are effective indices of damage size and location. The classification step comprises of a feed-forward back propagation network, whose output determines the simulated damage location. Finally, dedicated training and validation activities were carried out by means of numerical simulations and experimental procedures. Experimental validation was performed initially on a flat stiffened panel, representing a section of a typical aeronautical structure, manufactured and tested in the lab and, as a second step, on a scaled up space oriented structure, which is a composite honeycomb plate, used as a deployment base for antenna arrays. An integrated FBG sensor network, based on the advantage of multiplexing, was mounted on both structures and different excitation positions and boundary conditions were used. The analysis of operational dynamic responses was employed to identify both the damage and its position. The system that was designed and tested initially on the thin composite panel, was successfully validated on the larger honeycomb structure. Numerical simulation of both structures was used as a support tool at all the steps of the work providing among others the location of the optical sensors used. The proposed work will be the base for the whole system qualification and validation on an antenna reflector in future work.

75 FR 30842 - Statutorily Mandated Single Source Award Program Name: National Indian Health Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-02

... health care advocacy to IHS and HHS based on Tribal input through a broad based consumer network. The.... To assure that health care advocacy is based on Tribal input through a broad-based consumer network... maintenance. B. Organizational Capabilities and Qualifications (30 Points) (1) Describe the organizational...

Associate degree nursing in a community-based health center network: lessons in collaboration.

PubMed

Connolly, Charlene; Wilson, Diane; Missett, Regina; Dooley, Wanda C; Avent, Pamela A; Wright, Ronda

2004-02-01

This exemplar highlights the ability of community experiences to enhance nursing students' understanding of the principles of community-based care: advocating self-care; focusing on prevention, family, culture, and community; providing continuity of care; and collaborating. An innovative teaching-practice model (i.e., a nurse-managed "network" of clinics), incorporating service-learning, was created. The Network's purposes are to provide practice sites in community-based primary care settings for student clinical rotations, increasing the awareness of the civic and social responsibility to provide quality health care for disadvantaged populations; and to reduce health disparities by increasing access to free primary health care, including health promotion and disease prevention, for disadvantaged individuals. Network clients receive free health care, referrals, and guidance to effectively obtain additional health care resources for themselves and their families. The Network is a national pioneer in modeling the delivery of primary care services through a faculty-student practice plan, with leadership emanating from a community college.

Rural health network development: public policy issues and state initiatives.

PubMed

Casey, M M; Wellever, A; Moscovice, I

1997-02-01

Rural health networks are a potential way for rural health care systems to improve access to care, reduce costs, and enhance quality of care. Networks provide a means for rural providers to contract with managed care organizations, develop their own managed care entities, share resources, and structure practice opportunities to support recruitment and retention of rural physicians and other health care professionals. The results of early network development initiatives indicate a need for state officials and others interested in encouraging network development to agree on common rural health network definitions, to identify clearly the goals of network development programs, and to document and analyze program outcomes. Future network development efforts need to be much more comprehensive if they are to have a significant impact on rural health care. This article analyzes public policy issues related to integrated rural health network development, discusses current efforts to encourage network development in rural areas, and suggests actions that states may take if they desire to support rural health network development. These actions include adopting a formal rural health network definition, providing networks with alternatives to certain regulatory requirements, and providing incentives such as matching grants, loans, or technical assistance. Without public sector support for networks, managed care options may continue to be unavailable in many less densely populated rural areas of the country, and locally controlled rural health networks are unlikely to develop as an alternative to the dominant pattern of managed care expansion by large urban entities. Implementation of Medicare reform legislation could provide significant incentives for the development of rural health networks, depending on the reimbursement provisions, financial solvency standards, and antitrust exemptions for provider-sponsored networks in the final legislation and federal regulations.

Characterizing Social Networks and Communication Channels in a Web-Based Peer Support Intervention.

PubMed

Owen, Jason E; Curran, Michaela; Bantum, Erin O'Carroll; Hanneman, Robert

2016-06-01

Web and mobile (mHealth) interventions have promise for improving health outcomes, but engagement and attrition may be reducing effect sizes. Because social networks can improve engagement, which is a key mechanism of action, understanding the structure and potential impact of social networks could be key to improving mHealth effects. This study (a) evaluates social network characteristics of four distinct communication channels (discussion board, chat, e-mail, and blog) in a large social networking intervention, (b) predicts membership in online communities, and (c) evaluates whether community membership impacts engagement. Participants were 299 cancer survivors with significant distress using the 12-week health-space.net intervention. Social networking attributes (e.g., density and clustering) were identified separately for each type of network communication (i.e., discussion board, blog, web mail, and chat). Each channel demonstrated high levels of clustering, and being a community member in one communication channel was associated with being in the same community in each of the other channels (φ = 0.56-0.89, ps < 0.05). Predictors of community membership differed across communication channels, suggesting that each channel reached distinct types of users. Finally, membership in a discussion board, chat, or blog community was strongly associated with time spent engaging with coping skills exercises (Ds = 1.08-1.84, ps < 0.001) and total time of intervention (Ds = 1.13-1.80, ps < 0.001). mHealth interventions that offer multiple channels for communication allow participants to expand the number of individuals with whom they are communicating, create opportunities for communicating with different individuals in distinct channels, and likely enhance overall engagement.

Characterizing Social Networks and Communication Channels in a Web-Based Peer Support Intervention

PubMed Central

Curran, Michaela; Bantum, Erin O'Carroll; Hanneman, Robert

2016-01-01

Abstract Web and mobile (mHealth) interventions have promise for improving health outcomes, but engagement and attrition may be reducing effect sizes. Because social networks can improve engagement, which is a key mechanism of action, understanding the structure and potential impact of social networks could be key to improving mHealth effects. This study (a) evaluates social network characteristics of four distinct communication channels (discussion board, chat, e-mail, and blog) in a large social networking intervention, (b) predicts membership in online communities, and (c) evaluates whether community membership impacts engagement. Participants were 299 cancer survivors with significant distress using the 12-week health-space.net intervention. Social networking attributes (e.g., density and clustering) were identified separately for each type of network communication (i.e., discussion board, blog, web mail, and chat). Each channel demonstrated high levels of clustering, and being a community member in one communication channel was associated with being in the same community in each of the other channels (φ = 0.56–0.89, ps < 0.05). Predictors of community membership differed across communication channels, suggesting that each channel reached distinct types of users. Finally, membership in a discussion board, chat, or blog community was strongly associated with time spent engaging with coping skills exercises (Ds = 1.08–1.84, ps < 0.001) and total time of intervention (Ds = 1.13–1.80, ps < 0.001). mHealth interventions that offer multiple channels for communication allow participants to expand the number of individuals with whom they are communicating, create opportunities for communicating with different individuals in distinct channels, and likely enhance overall engagement. PMID:27327066

The Impact of Online Social Networks on Health and Health Systems: A Scoping Review and Case Studies

PubMed Central

Griffiths, Frances; Dobermann, Tim; Cave, Jonathan A. K.; Thorogood, Margaret; Johnson, Samantha; Salamatian, Kavé; Gomez Olive, Francis X.; Goudge, Jane

2015-01-01

Interaction through online social networks potentially results in the contestation of prevailing ideas about health and health care, and to mass protest where health is put at risk or health care provision is wanting. Through a review of the academic literature and case studies of four social networking health sites (PatientsLikeMe, Mumsnet, Treatment Action Campaign, and My Pro Ana), we establish the extent to which this phenomenon is documented, seek evidence of the prevalence and character of health‐related networks, and explore their structure, function, participants, and impact, seeking to understand how they came into being and how they sustain themselves. Results indicate mass protest is not arising from these established health‐related networking platforms. There is evidence of changes in policy following campaigning activity prompted by experiences shared through social networking such as improved National Health Service care for miscarriage (a Mumsnet campaign). Platform owners and managers have considerable power to shape these campaigns. Social networking is also influencing health policy indirectly through increasing awareness and so demand for health care. Transient social networking about health on platforms such as Twitter were not included as case studies but may be where the most radical or destabilizing influence on health care policy might arise. PMID:27134699

A Comparative Study of 11 Local Health Department Organizational Networks

PubMed Central

Merrill, Jacqueline; Keeling, Jonathan W.; Carley, Kathleen M.

2013-01-01

Context Although the nation’s local health departments (LHDs) share a common mission, variability in administrative structures is a barrier to identifying common, optimal management strategies. There is a gap in understanding what unifying features LHDs share as organizations that could be leveraged systematically for achieving high performance. Objective To explore sources of commonality and variability in a range of LHDs by comparing intraorganizational networks. Intervention We used organizational network analysis to document relationships between employees, tasks, knowledge, and resources within LHDs, which may exist regardless of formal administrative structure. Setting A national sample of 11 LHDs from seven states that differed in size, geographic location, and governance. Participants Relational network data were collected via an on-line survey of all employees in 11 LHDs. A total of 1 062 out of 1 239 employees responded (84% response rate). Outcome Measures Network measurements were compared using coefficient of variation. Measurements were correlated with scores from the National Public Health Performance Assessment and with LHD demographics. Rankings of tasks, knowledge, and resources were correlated across pairs of LHDs. Results We found that 11 LHDs exhibited compound organizational structures in which centralized hierarchies were coupled with distributed networks at the point of service. Local health departments were distinguished from random networks by a pattern of high centralization and clustering. Network measurements were positively associated with performance for 3 of 10 essential services (r > 0.65). Patterns in the measurements suggest how LHDs adapt to the population served. Conclusions Shared network patterns across LHDs suggest where common organizational management strategies are feasible. This evidence supports national efforts to promote uniform standards for service delivery to diverse populations. PMID:20445462

Development and validation of a survey to measure features of clinical networks.

PubMed

Brown, Bernadette Bea; Haines, Mary; Middleton, Sandy; Paul, Christine; D'Este, Catherine; Klineberg, Emily; Elliott, Elizabeth

2016-09-30

Networks of clinical experts are increasingly being implemented as a strategy to improve health care processes and outcomes and achieve change in the health system. Few are ever formally evaluated and, when this is done, not all networks are equally successful in their efforts. There is a need to formatively assess the strategic and operational management and leadership of networks to identify where functioning could be improved to maximise impact. This paper outlines the development and psychometric evaluation of an Internet survey to measure features of clinical networks and provides descriptive results from a sample of members of 19 diverse clinical networks responsible for evidence-based quality improvement across a large geographical region. Instrument development was based on: a review of published and grey literature; a qualitative study of clinical network members; a program logic framework; and consultation with stakeholders. The resulting domain structure was validated for a sample of 592 clinical network members using confirmatory factor analysis. Scale reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. A summary score was calculated for each domain and aggregate level means and ranges are reported. The instrument was shown to have good construct validity across seven domains as demonstrated by a high level of internal consistency, and all Cronbach's α coefficients were equal to or above 0.75. In the survey sample of network members there was strong reported commitment and belief in network-led quality improvement initiatives, which were perceived to have improved quality of care (72.8 %) and patient outcomes (63.2 %). Network managers were perceived to be effective leaders and clinical co-chairs were perceived as champions for change. Perceived external support had the lowest summary score across the seven domains. This survey, which has good construct validity and internal reliability, provides a valid instrument to use in future research related to clinical networks. The survey will be of use to health service managers to identify strengths and areas where networks can be improved to increase effectiveness and impact on quality of care and patient outcomes. Equally, the survey could be adapted for use in the assessment of other types of networks.

Community Seismic Network (CSN)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clayton, R. W.; Heaton, T. H.; Kohler, M. D.; Chandy, M.; Krause, A.

2010-12-01

In collaboration with computer science and earthquake engineering, we are developing a dense network of low-cost accelerometers that send their data via the Internet to a cloud-based center. The goal is to make block-by-block measurements of ground shaking in urban areas, which will provide emergency response information in the case of large earthquakes, and an unprecedented high-frequency seismic array to study structure and the earthquake process with moderate shaking. When deployed in high-rise buildings they can be used to monitor the state of health of the structure. The sensors are capable of a resolution of approximately 80 micro-g, connect via USB ports to desktop computers, and cost about $100 each. The network will adapt to its environment by using network-wide machine learning to adjust the picking sensitivity. We are also looking into using other motion sensing devices such as cell phones. For a pilot project, we plan to deploy more than 1000 sensors in the greater Pasadena area. The system is easily adaptable to other seismically vulnerable urban areas.

Description of a method to support public health information management: organizational network analysis

PubMed Central

Merrill, Jacqueline; Bakken, Suzanne; Rockoff, Maxine; Gebbie, Kristine; Carley, Kathleen

2007-01-01

In this case study we describe a method that has potential to provide systematic support for public health information management. Public health agencies depend on specialized information that travels throughout an organization via communication networks among employees. Interactions that occur within these networks are poorly understood and are generally unmanaged. We applied organizational network analysis, a method for studying communication networks, to assess the method’s utility to support decision making for public health managers, and to determine what links existed between information use and agency processes. Data on communication links among a health department’s staff was obtained via survey with a 93% response rate, and analyzed using Organizational Risk Analyzer (ORA) software. The findings described the structure of information flow in the department’s communication networks. The analysis succeeded in providing insights into organizational processes which informed public health managers’ strategies to address problems and to take advantage of network strengths. PMID:17098480

Social Network Analysis as a Methodological Approach to Explore Health Systems: A Case Study Exploring Support among Senior Managers/Executives in a Hospital Network.

PubMed

De Brún, Aoife; McAuliffe, Eilish

2018-03-13

Health systems research recognizes the complexity of healthcare, and the interacting and interdependent nature of components of a health system. To better understand such systems, innovative methods are required to depict and analyze their structures. This paper describes social network analysis as a methodology to depict, diagnose, and evaluate health systems and networks therein. Social network analysis is a set of techniques to map, measure, and analyze social relationships between people, teams, and organizations. Through use of a case study exploring support relationships among senior managers in a newly established hospital group, this paper illustrates some of the commonly used network- and node-level metrics in social network analysis, and demonstrates the value of these maps and metrics to understand systems. Network analysis offers a valuable approach to health systems and services researchers as it offers a means to depict activity relevant to network questions of interest, to identify opinion leaders, influencers, clusters in the network, and those individuals serving as bridgers across clusters. The strengths and limitations inherent in the method are discussed, and the applications of social network analysis in health services research are explored.

Reexamining organizational configurations: an update, validation, and expansion of the taxonomy of health networks and systems.

PubMed

Dubbs, Nicole L; Bazzoli, Gloria J; Shortell, Stephen M; Kralovec, Peter D

2004-02-01

To (a) assess how the original cluster categories of hospital-led health networks and systems have changed over time; (b) identify any new patterns of cluster configurations; and (c) demonstrate how additional data can be used to refine and enhance the taxonomy measures. DATA SOURCES; 1994 and 1998 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey of Hospitals. As in the original taxonomy, separate cluster solutions are identified for health networks and health systems by applying three strategic/structural dimensions (differentiation, integration, and centralization) to three components of the health service/product continuum (hospital services, physician arrangements, and provider-based insurance activities). Factor, cluster, and discriminant analyses are used to analyze the 1998 data. Descriptive and comparative methods are used to analyze the updated 1998 taxonomy relative to the original 1994 version. The 1998 cluster categories are similar to the original taxonomy, however, they reveal some new organizational configurations. For the health networks, centralization of product/service lines is occurring more selectively than in the past. For the health systems, participation has grown in and dispersed across a more diverse set of decentralized organizational forms. For both networks and systems, the definition of centralization has changed over time. In its updated form, the taxonomy continues to provide policymakers and practitioners with a descriptive and contextual framework against which to assess organizational programs and policies. There is a need to continue to revisit the taxonomy from time to time because of the persistent evolution of the U.S. health care industry and the consequent shifting of organizational configurations in this arena. There is also value in continuing to move the taxonomy in the direction of refinement/expansion as new opportunities become available.

Ensembles of novelty detection classifiers for structural health monitoring using guided waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dib, Gerges; Karpenko, Oleksii; Koricho, Ermias; Khomenko, Anton; Haq, Mahmoodul; Udpa, Lalita

2018-01-01

Guided wave structural health monitoring uses sparse sensor networks embedded in sophisticated structures for defect detection and characterization. The biggest challenge of those sensor networks is developing robust techniques for reliable damage detection under changing environmental and operating conditions (EOC). To address this challenge, we develop a novelty classifier for damage detection based on one class support vector machines. We identify appropriate features for damage detection and introduce a feature aggregation method which quadratically increases the number of available training observations. We adopt a two-level voting scheme by using an ensemble of classifiers and predictions. Each classifier is trained on a different segment of the guided wave signal, and each classifier makes an ensemble of predictions based on a single observation. Using this approach, the classifier can be trained using a small number of baseline signals. We study the performance using Monte-Carlo simulations of an analytical model and data from impact damage experiments on a glass fiber composite plate. We also demonstrate the classifier performance using two types of baseline signals: fixed and rolling baseline training set. The former requires prior knowledge of baseline signals from all EOC, while the latter does not and leverages the fact that EOC vary slowly over time and can be modeled as a Gaussian process.

Novel MEMS-based thermometer with low power consumption for health-monitoring network application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Ikehara, T.; Lu, J.; Kobayashi, T.; Ichiki, M.; Itoh, T.; Maeda, R.

2007-12-01

We proposed one novel MEMS-based thermometer with low power-consumption for animal/human health-monitoring network application. The novel MEMS-based thermometer was consisted of triple-beam bimorph arrays so that it could work in a continuous temperature range. Neither continuous electric supply nor A/D converter interface is required by the novel thermometer owing to the well-known deflection of bimaterials cantilever upon temperature changes. The triple-beam structure also facilitated the novel thermometer with excellent fabrication feasibility by conventional microfabrication technology. The parameters of the triple-beam bimorph arrays were determined by finite element analysis with ANSYS program. Low stress Au and Mo metal films were used as top and bottom layer, respectively. The deflection of the triple-beam bimorphs were measured on a home-made heating stage by a confocal scanning laser microscopy. The novel bimorphs had temperature responses similar to traditional single-beam bimorphs. Initial bend of the prepared triple-beam bimorphs were dominantly determined by their side beams. The sensitivity of the novel thermometer was as high as 0.1°C. Experimental results showed that the novel thermometer is attractive for network sensing applications where the power capacity is limited.

Networking among young global health researchers through an intensive training approach: a mixed methods exploratory study.

PubMed

Lenters, Lindsey M; Cole, Donald C; Godoy-Ruiz, Paula

2014-01-25

Networks are increasingly regarded as essential in health research aimed at influencing practice and policies. Less research has focused on the role networking can play in researchers' careers and its broader impacts on capacity strengthening in health research. We used the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR) annual Summer Institute for New Global Health Researchers (SIs) as an opportunity to explore networking among new global health researchers. A mixed-methods exploratory study was conducted among SI alumni and facilitators who had participated in at least one SI between 2004 and 2010. Alumni and facilitators completed an online short questionnaire, and a subset participated in an in-depth interview. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data was triangulated with quantitative results and CCGHR reports on SIs. Synthesis occurred through the development of a process model relevant to networking through the SIs. Through networking at the SIs, participants experienced decreased isolation and strengthened working relationships. Participants accessed new knowledge, opportunities, and resources through networking during the SI. Post-SI, participants reported ongoing contact and collaboration, although most participants desired more opportunities for interaction. They made suggestions for structural supports to networking among new global health researchers. Networking at the SI contributed positively to opportunities for individuals, and contributed to the formation of a network of global health researchers. Intentional inclusion of networking in health research capacity strengthening initiatives, with supportive resources and infrastructure could create dynamic, sustainable networks accessible to global health researchers around the world.

Jail Mental Health Resourcing: A Conceptual and Empirical Study of Social Determinants.

PubMed

Helms, Ronald; Gutierrez, Ricky S; Reeves-Gutierrez, Debra

2016-07-01

U.S. county jails hold large populations of mentally ill inmates but have rarely been researched quantitatively to assess their collective capacity for providing mental health treatment. This research uses ordinal logit and a partial parallel slopes model and a large sample of U.S. counties to assess conceptualized links between local institutional and structural indicators and jail mental health resourcing. Strong church networks and high rates of adult education completion are associated with enhanced jail mental health resourcing. Urbanized areas and areas with deep economic ties to manufacturing appear supportive of a strong jail mental health system. Conversely, conservative political environments and areas with strong medical and mental health networks based in the community are correlated with reduced jail mental health resourcing. Evidence from this research adds to a growing understanding of the need for enhanced community mental health service and diagnostic capabilities in our nation's jails, noting the characteristics and correlates of model program jurisdictions and jurisdictions where program enhancements are most likely in order. © The Author(s) 2015.

Hypothesis generation using network structures on community health center cancer-screening performance.

PubMed

Carney, Timothy Jay; Morgan, Geoffrey P; Jones, Josette; McDaniel, Anna M; Weaver, Michael T; Weiner, Bryan; Haggstrom, David A

2015-10-01

Nationally sponsored cancer-care quality-improvement efforts have been deployed in community health centers to increase breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer-screening rates among vulnerable populations. Despite several immediate and short-term gains, screening rates remain below national benchmark objectives. Overall improvement has been both difficult to sustain over time in some organizational settings and/or challenging to diffuse to other settings as repeatable best practices. Reasons for this include facility-level changes, which typically occur in dynamic organizational environments that are complex, adaptive, and unpredictable. This study seeks to understand the factors that shape community health center facility-level cancer-screening performance over time. This study applies a computational-modeling approach, combining principles of health-services research, health informatics, network theory, and systems science. To investigate the roles of knowledge acquisition, retention, and sharing within the setting of the community health center and to examine their effects on the relationship between clinical decision support capabilities and improvement in cancer-screening rate improvement, we employed Construct-TM to create simulated community health centers using previously collected point-in-time survey data. Construct-TM is a multi-agent model of network evolution. Because social, knowledge, and belief networks co-evolve, groups and organizations are treated as complex systems to capture the variability of human and organizational factors. In Construct-TM, individuals and groups interact by communicating, learning, and making decisions in a continuous cycle. Data from the survey was used to differentiate high-performing simulated community health centers from low-performing ones based on computer-based decision support usage and self-reported cancer-screening improvement. This virtual experiment revealed that patterns of overall network symmetry, agent cohesion, and connectedness varied by community health center performance level. Visual assessment of both the agent-to-agent knowledge sharing network and agent-to-resource knowledge use network diagrams demonstrated that community health centers labeled as high performers typically showed higher levels of collaboration and cohesiveness among agent classes, faster knowledge-absorption rates, and fewer agents that were unconnected to key knowledge resources. Conclusions and research implications: Using the point-in-time survey data outlining community health center cancer-screening practices, our computational model successfully distinguished between high and low performers. Results indicated that high-performance environments displayed distinctive network characteristics in patterns of interaction among agents, as well as in the access and utilization of key knowledge resources. Our study demonstrated how non-network-specific data obtained from a point-in-time survey can be employed to forecast community health center performance over time, thereby enhancing the sustainability of long-term strategic-improvement efforts. Our results revealed a strategic profile for community health center cancer-screening improvement via simulation over a projected 10-year period. The use of computational modeling allows additional inferential knowledge to be drawn from existing data when examining organizational performance in increasingly complex environments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Virtual Mouse Brain: A Computational Neuroinformatics Platform to Study Whole Mouse Brain Dynamics.

PubMed

Melozzi, Francesca; Woodman, Marmaduke M; Jirsa, Viktor K; Bernard, Christophe

2017-01-01

Connectome-based modeling of large-scale brain network dynamics enables causal in silico interrogation of the brain's structure-function relationship, necessitating the close integration of diverse neuroinformatics fields. Here we extend the open-source simulation software The Virtual Brain (TVB) to whole mouse brain network modeling based on individual diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI)-based or tracer-based detailed mouse connectomes. We provide practical examples on how to use The Virtual Mouse Brain (TVMB) to simulate brain activity, such as seizure propagation and the switching behavior of the resting state dynamics in health and disease. TVMB enables theoretically driven experimental planning and ways to test predictions in the numerous strains of mice available to study brain function in normal and pathological conditions.

The use of social networking to improve the quality of interprofessional education.

PubMed

Pittenger, Amy L

2013-10-14

To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using an online social networking platform for interprofessional education. Three groups of 6 students were formed with 1 student in each group from medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and public health. Each group followed a different collaborative educational model with a unique pedagogical structure. Students in all groups interacted via an online social networking platform for a minimum of 15 weeks and met in person once at the end of the 15-week experience for a focus group session. The students were tasked with developing a collaborative recommendation for using social networking in interprofessional education programs. Most of the students who reported in a post-experience survey that their expectations were not met were in the minimally structured group. Almost all students in the facilitated and highly structured groups indicated that this experience positively impacted their knowledge of other health professions. Most students stated that interacting within a social networking space for 15 weeks with other members of the university's health professions programs was a positive and effective interprofessional education experience. Social networking is feasible and can be used effectively within an overall strategy for interprofessional education, but design and placement within a core content course is critical to success.

The Use of Social Networking to Improve the Quality of Interprofessional Education

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Objective. To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using an online social networking platform for interprofessional education. Design. Three groups of 6 students were formed with 1 student in each group from medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and public health. Each group followed a different collaborative educational model with a unique pedagogical structure. Students in all groups interacted via an online social networking platform for a minimum of 15 weeks and met in person once at the end of the 15-week experience for a focus group session. The students were tasked with developing a collaborative recommendation for using social networking in interprofessional education programs. Assessment. Most of the students who reported in a post-experience survey that their expectations were not met were in the minimally structured group. Almost all students in the facilitated and highly structured groups indicated that this experience positively impacted their knowledge of other health professions. Most students stated that interacting within a social networking space for 15 weeks with other members of the university’s health professions programs was a positive and effective interprofessional education experience. Conclusion. Social networking is feasible and can be used effectively within an overall strategy for interprofessional education, but design and placement within a core content course is critical to success. PMID:24159215

The prevention research centers' managing epilepsy well network.

PubMed

DiIorio, Colleen K; Bamps, Yvan A; Edwards, Ariele L; Escoffery, Cam; Thompson, Nancy J; Begley, Charles E; Shegog, Ross; Clark, Noreen M; Selwa, Linda; Stoll, Shelley C; Fraser, Robert T; Ciechanowski, Paul; Johnson, Erica K; Kobau, Rosemarie; Price, Patricia H

2010-11-01

The Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network was created in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Prevention Research Centers and Epilepsy Program to promote epilepsy self-management research and to improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy. MEW Network membership comprises four collaborating centers (Emory University, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Michigan, and University of Washington), representatives from CDC, affiliate members, and community stakeholders. This article describes the MEW Network's background, mission statement, research agenda, and structure. Exploratory and intervention studies conducted by individual collaborating centers are described, as are Network collaborative projects, including a multisite depression prevention intervention and the development of a standard measure of epilepsy self-management. Communication strategies and examples of research translation programs are discussed. The conclusion outlines the Network's role in the future development and dissemination of evidence-based epilepsy self-management programs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural health monitoring system for bridges based on skin-like sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loupos, Konstantinos; Damigos, Yannis; Amditis, Angelos; Gerhard, Reimund; Rychkov, Dmitry; Wirges, Werner; Schulze, Manuel; Lenas, Sotiris-Angelos; Chatziandreoglou, Christos; Malliou, Christina M.; Tsaoussidis, Vassilis; Brady, Ken; Frankenstein, Bernd

2017-09-01

Structural health monitoring activities are of primal importance for managing transport infrastructure, however most SHM methodologies are based on point-based sensors that have limitations in terms of their spatial positioning requirements, cost of development and measurement range. This paper describes the progress on the SENSKIN EC project whose objective is to develop a dielectric-elastomer and micro-electronics-based sensor, formed from a large highly extensible capacitance sensing membrane supported by advanced microelectronic circuitry, for monitoring transport infrastructure bridges. Such a sensor could provide spatial measurements of strain in excess of 10%. The actual sensor along with the data acquisition module, the communication module and power electronics are all integrated into a compact unit, the SENSKIN device, which is energy-efficient, requires simple signal processing and it is easy to install over various surface types. In terms of communication, SENSKIN devices interact with each other to form the SENSKIN system; a fully distributed and autonomous wireless sensor network that is able to self-monitor. SENSKIN system utilizes Delay-/Disruption-Tolerant Networking technologies to ensure that the strain measurements will be received by the base station even under extreme conditions where normal communications are disrupted. This paper describes the architecture of the SENSKIN system and the development and testing of the first SENSKIN prototype sensor, the data acquisition system, and the communication system.

Citizen Sensors for SHM: Use of Accelerometer Data from Smartphones

PubMed Central

Feng, Maria; Fukuda, Yoshio; Mizuta, Masato; Ozer, Ekin

2015-01-01

Ubiquitous smartphones have created a significant opportunity to form a low-cost wireless Citizen Sensor network and produce big data for monitoring structural integrity and safety under operational and extreme loads. Such data are particularly useful for rapid assessment of structural damage in a large urban setting after a major event such as an earthquake. This study explores the utilization of smartphone accelerometers for measuring structural vibration, from which structural health and post-event damage can be diagnosed. Widely available smartphones are tested under sinusoidal wave excitations with frequencies in the range relevant to civil engineering structures. Large-scale seismic shaking table tests, observing input ground motion and response of a structural model, are carried out to evaluate the accuracy of smartphone accelerometers under operational, white-noise and earthquake excitations of different intensity. Finally, the smartphone accelerometers are tested on a dynamically loaded bridge. The extensive experiments show satisfactory agreements between the reference and smartphone sensor measurements in both time and frequency domains, demonstrating the capability of the smartphone sensors to measure structural responses ranging from low-amplitude ambient vibration to high-amplitude seismic response. Encouraged by the results of this study, the authors are developing a citizen-engaging and data-analytics crowdsourcing platform towards a smartphone-based Citizen Sensor network for structural health monitoring and post-event damage assessment applications. PMID:25643056

From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium.

PubMed

Berkman, L F; Glass, T; Brissette, I; Seeman, T E

2000-09-01

It is widely recognized that social relationships and affiliation have powerful effects on physical and mental health. When investigators write about the impact of social relationships on health, many terms are used loosely and interchangeably including social networks, social ties and social integration. The aim of this paper is to clarify these terms using a single framework. We discuss: (1) theoretical orientations from diverse disciplines which we believe are fundamental to advancing research in this area; (2) a set of definitions accompanied by major assessment tools; and (3) an overarching model which integrates multilevel phenomena. Theoretical orientations that we draw upon were developed by Durkheim whose work on social integration and suicide are seminal and John Bowlby, a psychiatrist who developed attachment theory in relation to child development and contemporary social network theorists. We present a conceptual model of how social networks impact health. We envision a cascading causal process beginning with the macro-social to psychobiological processes that are dynamically linked together to form the processes by which social integration effects health. We start by embedding social networks in a larger social and cultural context in which upstream forces are seen to condition network structure. Serious consideration of the larger macro-social context in which networks form and are sustained has been lacking in all but a small number of studies and is almost completely absent in studies of social network influences on health. We then move downstream to understand the influences network structure and function have on social and interpersonal behavior. We argue that networks operate at the behavioral level through four primary pathways: (1) provision of social support; (2) social influence; (3) on social engagement and attachment; and (4) access to resources and material goods.

Knowledge sharing and organizational learning in the context of hospital infection prevention.

PubMed

Rangachari, Pavani

2010-01-01

Recently, hospitals that have been successful in preventing infections have labeled their improvement approaches as either the Toyota Production System (TPS) approach or the Positive Deviance (PD) approach. PD has been distinguished from TPS as being a bottom-up approach to improvement, as against top-down. Facilities that have employed both approaches have suggested that PD may be more effective than TPS for infection prevention. This article integrates organizational learning, institutional, and knowledge network theories to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the structure and evolution of effective knowledge-sharing networks in health care organizations, that is, networks most conducive to learning and improvement. Contrary to arguments put forth by hospital success stories, the framework suggests that networks rich in brokerage and hierarchy (ie, top-down, "TPS-like" structures) may be more effective for learning and improvement in health care organizations, compared with a networks rich in density (ie, bottom-up, "PD-like" structures). The theoretical framework and ensuing analysis help identify several gaps in the literature related to organization learning and improvement in the infection prevention context. This, in turn, helps put forth recommendations for health management research and practice.

Implementation of a High-Speed FPGA and DSP Based FFT Processor for Improving Strain Demodulation Performance in a Fiber-Optic-Based Sensing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farley, Douglas L.

2005-01-01

NASA's Aviation Safety and Security Program is pursuing research in on-board Structural Health Management (SHM) technologies for purposes of reducing or eliminating aircraft accidents due to system and component failures. Under this program, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is developing a strain-based structural health-monitoring concept that incorporates a fiber optic-based measuring system for acquiring strain values. This fiber optic-based measuring system provides for the distribution of thousands of strain sensors embedded in a network of fiber optic cables. The resolution of strain value at each discrete sensor point requires a computationally demanding data reduction software process that, when hosted on a conventional processor, is not suitable for near real-time measurement. This report describes the development and integration of an alternative computing environment using dedicated computing hardware for performing the data reduction. Performance comparison between the existing and the hardware-based system is presented.

Mental health and social networks in early adolescence: a dynamic study of objectively-measured social interaction behaviors.

PubMed

Pachucki, Mark C; Ozer, Emily J; Barrat, Alain; Cattuto, Ciro

2015-01-01

How are social interaction dynamics associated with mental health during early stages of adolescence? The goal of this study is to objectively measure social interactions and evaluate the roles that multiple aspects of the social environment--such as physical activity and food choice--may jointly play in shaping the structure of children's relationships and their mental health. The data in this study are drawn from a longitudinal network-behavior study conducted in 2012 at a private K-8 school in an urban setting in California. We recruited a highly complete network sample of sixth-graders (n = 40, 91% of grade, mean age = 12.3), and examined how two measures of distressed mental health (self-esteem and depressive symptoms) are positionally distributed in an early adolescent interaction network. We ascertained how distressed mental health shapes the structure of relationships over a three-month period, adjusting for relevant dimensions of the social environment. Cross-sectional analyses of interaction networks revealed that self-esteem and depressive symptoms are differentially stratified by gender. Specifically, girls with more depressive symptoms have interactions consistent with social inhibition, while boys' interactions suggest robustness to depressive symptoms. Girls higher in self-esteem tended towards greater sociability. Longitudinal network behavior models indicate that gender similarity and perceived popularity are influential in the formation of social ties. Greater school connectedness predicts the development of self-esteem, though social ties contribute to more self-esteem improvement among students who identify as European-American. Cross-sectional evidence shows associations between distressed mental health and students' network peers. However, there is no evidence that connected students' mental health status becomes more similar in their over time because of their network interactions. These findings suggest that mental health during early adolescence may be less subject to mechanisms of social influence than network research in even slightly older adolescents currently indicates. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Social network composition of vascular patients and its associations with health behavior and clinical risk factors.

PubMed

Heijmans, Naomi; van Lieshout, Jan; Wensing, Michel

2017-01-01

This study aimed to explore linkages of patients' social network composition with health behaviors and clinical risk factors. This observational study was embedded in a project aimed at improving cardiovascular risk management (CRVM) in primary care. 657 vascular patients (227 with cardiovascular disease, 380 at high vascular risk), mean age 72.4 (SD 9.4) years, were recruited as were individuals patients considered important for dealing with their disease, so called alters (n = 487). Network composition was measured with structured patient questionnaires. Both patients and alters completed questionnaires to measure health behavior (habits for physical activity, diet, and smoking). Clinical risk factors (systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol level, and body mass index) were extracted from patients' medical records. Six logistic regression analyses, using generalized estimating equations, were used to test three hypothesized effects of network composition (having alters with healthful behaviors, without depression, and with specialized knowledge) on six outcomes, adjusted for demographic, personal and psychological characteristics. Having alters with overall healthful behavior was related to healthful patient diet (OR 2.14, 95%CI: 1.52-3.02). Having non-smoking alters in networks was related to reduced odds for patient smoking (OR 0.17, 95%CI: 0.05-0.60). No effects of presence of non-depressed alters were found. Presence of alters with specialized knowledge on CVRM was inversely related to healthful diet habits of patients (OR 0.47, 95%CI 0.24-0.89). No significant associations between social network composition and clinical risk factors were found. Diet and smoking, but not physical exercise and clinical risk factors, were associated with social network composition of patients with vascular conditions. In this study of vascular patients, controlling for both personal and psychological factors, fewer network influences were found compared to previous research. Further research is needed to examine network structure characteristics as well as the role of psychological factors to enhance understanding health behavior of patients involved in CVRM.

Followers are not enough: a multifaceted approach to community detection in online social networks.

PubMed

Darmon, David; Omodei, Elisa; Garland, Joshua

2015-01-01

In online social media networks, individuals often have hundreds or even thousands of connections, which link these users not only to friends, associates, and colleagues, but also to news outlets, celebrities, and organizations. In these complex social networks, a 'community' as studied in the social network literature, can have very different meaning depending on the property of the network under study. Taking into account the multifaceted nature of these networks, we claim that community detection in online social networks should also be multifaceted in order to capture all of the different and valuable viewpoints of 'community.' In this paper we focus on three types of communities beyond follower-based structural communities: activity-based, topic-based, and interaction-based. We analyze a Twitter dataset using three different weightings of the structural network meant to highlight these three community types, and then infer the communities associated with these weightings. We show that interesting insights can be obtained about the complex community structure present in social networks by studying when and how these four community types give rise to similar as well as completely distinct community structure.

Development of a real-time bridge structural monitoring and warning system: a case study in Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khemapech, I.; Sansrimahachai, W.; Toachoodee, M.

2017-04-01

Regarded as one of the physical aspects under societal and civil development and evolution, engineering structure is required to support growth of the nation. It also impacts life quality and safety of the civilian. Despite of its own weight (dead load) and live load, structural members are also significantly affected by disaster and environment. Proper inspection and detection are thus crucial both during regular and unsafe events. An Enhanced Structural Health Monitoring System Using Stream Processing and Artificial Neural Network Techniques (SPANNeT) has been developed and is described in this paper. SPANNeT applies wireless sensor network, real-time data stream processing and artificial neural network based upon the measured bending strains. Major contributions include an effective, accurate and energy-aware data communication and damage detection of the engineering structure. Strain thresholds have been defined according to computer simulation results and the AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) LRFD (Load and Resistance Factor Design) Bridge Design specifications for launching several warning levels. SPANNeT has been tested and evaluated by means of computer-based simulation and on-site levels. According to the measurements, the observed maximum values are 25 to 30 microstrains during normal operation. The given protocol provided at least 90% of data communication reliability. SPANNeT is capable of real-time data report, monitoring and warning efficiently conforming to the predefined thresholds which can be adjusted regarding user's requirements and structural engineering characteristics.

Information Fusion in Ad hoc Wireless Sensor Networks for Aircraft Health Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fragoulis, Nikos; Tsagaris, Vassilis; Anastassopoulos, Vassilis

In this paper the use of an ad hoc wireless sensor network for implementing a structural health monitoring system is discussed. The network is consisted of sensors deployed throughout the aircraft. These sensors being in the form of a microelectronic chip and consisted of sensing, data processing and communicating components could be easily embedded in any mechanical aircraft component. The established sensor network, due to its ad hoc nature is easily scalable, allowing adding or removing any number of sensors. The position of the sensor nodes need not necessarily to be engineered or predetermined, giving this way the ability to be deployed in inaccessible points. Information collected from various sensors of different modalities throughout the aircraft is then fused in order to provide a more comprehensive image of the aircraft structural health. Sensor level fusion along with decision quality information is used, in order to enhance detection performance.

Distributed Data Networks That Support Public Health Information Needs.

PubMed

Tabano, David C; Cole, Elizabeth; Holve, Erin; Davidson, Arthur J

Data networks, consisting of pooled electronic health data assets from health care providers serving different patient populations, promote data sharing, population and disease monitoring, and methods to assess interventions. Better understanding of data networks, and their capacity to support public health objectives, will help foster partnerships, expand resources, and grow learning health systems. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 key informants across the United States, identified as network stakeholders based on their respective experience in advancing health information technology and network functionality. Key informants were asked about their experience with and infrastructure used to develop data networks, including each network's utility to identify and characterize populations, usage, and sustainability. Among 11 identified data networks representing hundreds of thousands of patients, key informants described aggregated health care clinical data contributing to population health measures. Key informant interview responses were thematically grouped to illustrate how networks support public health, including (1) infrastructure and information sharing; (2) population health measures; and (3) network sustainability. Collaboration between clinical data networks and public health entities presents an opportunity to leverage infrastructure investments to support public health. Data networks can provide resources to enhance population health information and infrastructure.

Methods for inferring health-related social networks among coworkers from online communication patterns.

PubMed

Matthews, Luke J; DeWan, Peter; Rula, Elizabeth Y

2013-01-01

Studies of social networks, mapped using self-reported contacts, have demonstrated the strong influence of social connections on the propensity for individuals to adopt or maintain healthy behaviors and on their likelihood to adopt health risks such as obesity. Social network analysis may prove useful for businesses and organizations that wish to improve the health of their populations by identifying key network positions. Health traits have been shown to correlate across friendship ties, but evaluating network effects in large coworker populations presents the challenge of obtaining sufficiently comprehensive network data. The purpose of this study was to evaluate methods for using online communication data to generate comprehensive network maps that reproduce the health-associated properties of an offline social network. In this study, we examined three techniques for inferring social relationships from email traffic data in an employee population using thresholds based on: (1) the absolute number of emails exchanged, (2) logistic regression probability of an offline relationship, and (3) the highest ranked email exchange partners. As a model of the offline social network in the same population, a network map was created using social ties reported in a survey instrument. The email networks were evaluated based on the proportion of survey ties captured, comparisons of common network metrics, and autocorrelation of body mass index (BMI) across social ties. Results demonstrated that logistic regression predicted the greatest proportion of offline social ties, thresholding on number of emails exchanged produced the best match to offline network metrics, and ranked email partners demonstrated the strongest autocorrelation of BMI. Since each method had unique strengths, researchers should choose a method based on the aspects of offline behavior of interest. Ranked email partners may be particularly useful for purposes related to health traits in a social network.

Methods for Inferring Health-Related Social Networks among Coworkers from Online Communication Patterns

PubMed Central

Matthews, Luke J.; DeWan, Peter; Rula, Elizabeth Y.

2013-01-01

Studies of social networks, mapped using self-reported contacts, have demonstrated the strong influence of social connections on the propensity for individuals to adopt or maintain healthy behaviors and on their likelihood to adopt health risks such as obesity. Social network analysis may prove useful for businesses and organizations that wish to improve the health of their populations by identifying key network positions. Health traits have been shown to correlate across friendship ties, but evaluating network effects in large coworker populations presents the challenge of obtaining sufficiently comprehensive network data. The purpose of this study was to evaluate methods for using online communication data to generate comprehensive network maps that reproduce the health-associated properties of an offline social network. In this study, we examined three techniques for inferring social relationships from email traffic data in an employee population using thresholds based on: (1) the absolute number of emails exchanged, (2) logistic regression probability of an offline relationship, and (3) the highest ranked email exchange partners. As a model of the offline social network in the same population, a network map was created using social ties reported in a survey instrument. The email networks were evaluated based on the proportion of survey ties captured, comparisons of common network metrics, and autocorrelation of body mass index (BMI) across social ties. Results demonstrated that logistic regression predicted the greatest proportion of offline social ties, thresholding on number of emails exchanged produced the best match to offline network metrics, and ranked email partners demonstrated the strongest autocorrelation of BMI. Since each method had unique strengths, researchers should choose a method based on the aspects of offline behavior of interest. Ranked email partners may be particularly useful for purposes related to health traits in a social network. PMID:23418436

Facilitative Components of Collaborative Learning: A Review of Nine Health Research Networks

PubMed Central

Rittner, Jessica Levin; Johnson, Karin E.; Gerteis, Jessie; Miller, Therese

2017-01-01

Objective: Collaborative research networks are increasingly used as an effective mechanism for accelerating knowledge transfer into policy and practice. This paper explored the characteristics and collaborative learning approaches of nine health research networks. Data sources/study setting: Semi-structured interviews with representatives from eight diverse US health services research networks conducted between November 2012 and January 2013 and program evaluation data from a ninth. Study design: The qualitative analysis assessed each network's purpose, duration, funding sources, governance structure, methods used to foster collaboration, and barriers and facilitators to collaborative learning. Data collection: The authors reviewed detailed notes from the interviews to distill salient themes. Principal findings: Face-to-face meetings, intentional facilitation and communication, shared vision, trust among members and willingness to work together were key facilitators of collaborative learning. Competing priorities for members, limited funding and lack of long-term support and geographic dispersion were the main barriers to coordination and collaboration across research network members. Conclusion: The findings illustrate the importance of collaborative learning in research networks and the challenges to evaluating the success of research network functionality. Conducting readiness assessments and developing process and outcome evaluation metrics will advance the design and show the impact of collaborative research networks. PMID:28277202

Social network fragmentation and community health.

PubMed

Chami, Goylette F; Ahnert, Sebastian E; Kabatereine, Narcis B; Tukahebwa, Edridah M

2017-09-05

Community health interventions often seek to intentionally destroy paths between individuals to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Immunizing individuals through direct vaccination or the provision of health education prevents pathogen transmission and the propagation of misinformation concerning medical treatments. However, it remains an open question whether network-based strategies should be used in place of conventional field approaches to target individuals for medical treatment in low-income countries. We collected complete friendship and health advice networks in 17 rural villages of Mayuge District, Uganda. Here we show that acquaintance algorithms, i.e., selecting neighbors of randomly selected nodes, were systematically more efficient in fragmenting all networks than targeting well-established community roles, i.e., health workers, village government members, and schoolteachers. Additionally, community roles were not good proxy indicators of physical proximity to other households or connections to many sick people. We also show that acquaintance algorithms were effective in offsetting potential noncompliance with deworming treatments for 16,357 individuals during mass drug administration (MDA). Health advice networks were destroyed more easily than friendship networks. Only an average of 32% of nodes were removed from health advice networks to reduce the percentage of nodes at risk for refusing treatment in MDA to below 25%. Treatment compliance of at least 75% is needed in MDA to control human morbidity attributable to parasitic worms and progress toward elimination. Our findings point toward the potential use of network-based approaches as an alternative to role-based strategies for targeting individuals in rural health interventions.

Controlling nosocomial infection based on structure of hospital social networks.

PubMed

Ueno, Taro; Masuda, Naoki

2008-10-07

Nosocomial infection (i.e. infection in healthcare facilities) raises a serious public health problem, as implied by the existence of pathogens characteristic to healthcare facilities such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and hospital-mediated outbreaks of influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome. For general communities, epidemic modeling based on social networks is being recognized as a useful tool. However, disease propagation may occur in a healthcare facility in a manner different from that in a urban community setting due to different network architecture. We simulate stochastic susceptible-infected-recovered dynamics on social networks, which are based on observations in a hospital in Tokyo, to explore effective containment strategies against nosocomial infection. The observed social networks in the hospital have hierarchical and modular structure in which dense substructure such as departments, wards, and rooms, are globally but only loosely connected, and do not reveal extremely right-skewed distributions of the number of contacts per individual. We show that healthcare workers, particularly medical doctors, are main vectors (i.e. transmitters) of diseases on these networks. Intervention methods that restrict interaction between medical doctors and their visits to different wards shrink the final epidemic size more than intervention methods that directly protect patients, such as isolating patients in single rooms. By the same token, vaccinating doctors with priority rather than patients or nurses is more effective. Finally, vaccinating individuals with large betweenness centrality (frequency of mediating connection between pairs of individuals along the shortest paths) is superior to vaccinating ones with large connectedness to others or randomly chosen individuals, which was suggested by previous model studies.

Sharing for Health: A Study of Chinese Adolescents' Experiences and Perspectives on Using Social Network Sites to Share Health Information.

PubMed

Zhang, Ni; Teti, Michele; Stanfield, Kellie; Campo, Shelly

2017-07-01

This exploratory qualitative study examines Chinese adolescents' health information sharing habits on social network sites. Ten focus group meetings with 76 adolescents, ages 12 to 17 years, were conducted at community-based organizations in Chicago's Chinatown. The research team transcribed the recording and analyzed the transcripts using ATLAS.ti. Chinese adolescents are using different social network sites for various topics of health information including food, physical activity, and so on. Adolescents would share useful and/or interesting health information. Many adolescents raised credibility concerns regarding health information and suggested evaluating the information based on self-experience or intuition, word-of-mouth, or information online. The findings shed lights on future intervention using social network sites to promote health among Chinese adolescents in the United States. Future interventions should provide adolescents with interesting and culturally sensitive health information and educate them to critically evaluate health information on social network sites.

A network function-based definition of communities in complex networks.

PubMed

Chauhan, Sanjeev; Girvan, Michelle; Ott, Edward

2012-09-01

We consider an alternate definition of community structure that is functionally motivated. We define network community structure based on the function the network system is intended to perform. In particular, as a specific example of this approach, we consider communities whose function is enhanced by the ability to synchronize and/or by resilience to node failures. Previous work has shown that, in many cases, the largest eigenvalue of the network's adjacency matrix controls the onset of both synchronization and percolation processes. Thus, for networks whose functional performance is dependent on these processes, we propose a method that divides a given network into communities based on maximizing a function of the largest eigenvalues of the adjacency matrices of the resulting communities. We also explore the differences between the partitions obtained by our method and the modularity approach (which is based solely on consideration of network structure). We do this for several different classes of networks. We find that, in many cases, modularity-based partitions do almost as well as our function-based method in finding functional communities, even though modularity does not specifically incorporate consideration of function.

Taxonomies of networks from community structure

PubMed Central

Reid, Stephen; Porter, Mason A.; Mucha, Peter J.; Fricker, Mark D.; Jones, Nick S.

2014-01-01

The study of networks has become a substantial interdisciplinary endeavor that encompasses myriad disciplines in the natural, social, and information sciences. Here we introduce a framework for constructing taxonomies of networks based on their structural similarities. These networks can arise from any of numerous sources: they can be empirical or synthetic, they can arise from multiple realizations of a single process (either empirical or synthetic), they can represent entirely different systems in different disciplines, etc. Because mesoscopic properties of networks are hypothesized to be important for network function, we base our comparisons on summaries of network community structures. Although we use a specific method for uncovering network communities, much of the introduced framework is independent of that choice. After introducing the framework, we apply it to construct a taxonomy for 746 networks and demonstrate that our approach usefully identifies similar networks. We also construct taxonomies within individual categories of networks, and we thereby expose nontrivial structure. For example, we create taxonomies for similarity networks constructed from both political voting data and financial data. We also construct network taxonomies to compare the social structures of 100 Facebook networks and the growth structures produced by different types of fungi. PMID:23030977

Taxonomies of networks from community structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onnela, Jukka-Pekka; Fenn, Daniel J.; Reid, Stephen; Porter, Mason A.; Mucha, Peter J.; Fricker, Mark D.; Jones, Nick S.

2012-09-01

The study of networks has become a substantial interdisciplinary endeavor that encompasses myriad disciplines in the natural, social, and information sciences. Here we introduce a framework for constructing taxonomies of networks based on their structural similarities. These networks can arise from any of numerous sources: They can be empirical or synthetic, they can arise from multiple realizations of a single process (either empirical or synthetic), they can represent entirely different systems in different disciplines, etc. Because mesoscopic properties of networks are hypothesized to be important for network function, we base our comparisons on summaries of network community structures. Although we use a specific method for uncovering network communities, much of the introduced framework is independent of that choice. After introducing the framework, we apply it to construct a taxonomy for 746 networks and demonstrate that our approach usefully identifies similar networks. We also construct taxonomies within individual categories of networks, and we thereby expose nontrivial structure. For example, we create taxonomies for similarity networks constructed from both political voting data and financial data. We also construct network taxonomies to compare the social structures of 100 Facebook networks and the growth structures produced by different types of fungi.

”We own the illness”: a qualitative study of networks in two communities with mixed ethnicity in Northern Norway

PubMed Central

Langås-Larsen, Anette; Salamonsen, Anita; Kristoffersen, Agnete Egilsdatter; Hamran, Torunn; Evjen, Bjørg; Stub, Trine

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: When people in Northern Norway get ill, they often use traditional medicine. The global aim of this study was to examine the extended family networks’ function and responsibility in cases of illness in the family, in two Northern Norwegian communities with a population of mixed ethnicity. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews with 13 participants and 4 focus group interviews with total 11 participants were conducted. The text data was transcribed verbatim and analysed based on the criteria for content analysis. Results: The participants grew up in areas where it was common to seek help from traditional healers. They were organized in networks and shared responsibility for the patient and they provided practical help and support for the family. According to the networks, health-care personnel should make room for the entire network to visit the patient in severe and life-threatening situations. Conclusion: Traditional networks are an extra resource for people in these communities. The networks seem to be essential in handling and disseminating hope and manageability on an individual as well as a collective level. Health personnel working in communities with mixed ethnicity should have thorough knowledge of the mixed culture, including the importance of traditional network to the patients. PMID:29466927

Networking among young global health researchers through an intensive training approach: a mixed methods exploratory study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Networks are increasingly regarded as essential in health research aimed at influencing practice and policies. Less research has focused on the role networking can play in researchers’ careers and its broader impacts on capacity strengthening in health research. We used the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR) annual Summer Institute for New Global Health Researchers (SIs) as an opportunity to explore networking among new global health researchers. Methods A mixed-methods exploratory study was conducted among SI alumni and facilitators who had participated in at least one SI between 2004 and 2010. Alumni and facilitators completed an online short questionnaire, and a subset participated in an in-depth interview. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data was triangulated with quantitative results and CCGHR reports on SIs. Synthesis occurred through the development of a process model relevant to networking through the SIs. Results Through networking at the SIs, participants experienced decreased isolation and strengthened working relationships. Participants accessed new knowledge, opportunities, and resources through networking during the SI. Post-SI, participants reported ongoing contact and collaboration, although most participants desired more opportunities for interaction. They made suggestions for structural supports to networking among new global health researchers. Conclusions Networking at the SI contributed positively to opportunities for individuals, and contributed to the formation of a network of global health researchers. Intentional inclusion of networking in health research capacity strengthening initiatives, with supportive resources and infrastructure could create dynamic, sustainable networks accessible to global health researchers around the world. PMID:24460819

The National Public Health Leadership Institute: evaluation of a team-based approach to developing collaborative public health leaders.

PubMed

Umble, Karl; Steffen, David; Porter, Janet; Miller, Delesha; Hummer-McLaughlin, Kelley; Lowman, Amy; Zelt, Susan

2005-04-01

Recent public health literature contains calls for collaborative public health interventions and for leaders capable of guiding them. The National Public Health Leadership Institute aims to develop collaborative leaders and to strengthen networks of leaders who share knowledge and jointly address public health problems. Evaluation results show that completing the institute training increases collaborative leadership and builds knowledge-sharing and problem-solving networks. These practices and networks strengthen interorganizational relationships, coalitions, services, programs, and policies. Intensive team-and project-based learning are key to the program's impact.

The National Public Health Leadership Institute: Evaluation of a Team-Based Approach to Developing Collaborative Public Health Leaders

PubMed Central

Umble, Karl; Steffen, David; Porter, Janet; Miller, Delesha; Hummer-McLaughlin, Kelley; Lowman, Amy; Zelt, Susan

2005-01-01

Recent public health literature contains calls for collaborative public health interventions and for leaders capable of guiding them. The National Public Health Leadership Institute aims to develop collaborative leaders and to strengthen networks of leaders who share knowledge and jointly address public health problems. Evaluation results show that completing the institute training increases collaborative leadership and builds knowledge-sharing and problem-solving networks. These practices and networks strengthen interorganizational relationships, coalitions, services, programs, and policies. Intensive team-and project-based learning are key to the program’s impact. PMID:15798124

Tensor Spectral Clustering for Partitioning Higher-order Network Structures.

PubMed

Benson, Austin R; Gleich, David F; Leskovec, Jure

2015-01-01

Spectral graph theory-based methods represent an important class of tools for studying the structure of networks. Spectral methods are based on a first-order Markov chain derived from a random walk on the graph and thus they cannot take advantage of important higher-order network substructures such as triangles, cycles, and feed-forward loops. Here we propose a Tensor Spectral Clustering (TSC) algorithm that allows for modeling higher-order network structures in a graph partitioning framework. Our TSC algorithm allows the user to specify which higher-order network structures (cycles, feed-forward loops, etc.) should be preserved by the network clustering. Higher-order network structures of interest are represented using a tensor, which we then partition by developing a multilinear spectral method. Our framework can be applied to discovering layered flows in networks as well as graph anomaly detection, which we illustrate on synthetic networks. In directed networks, a higher-order structure of particular interest is the directed 3-cycle, which captures feedback loops in networks. We demonstrate that our TSC algorithm produces large partitions that cut fewer directed 3-cycles than standard spectral clustering algorithms.

Tensor Spectral Clustering for Partitioning Higher-order Network Structures

PubMed Central

Benson, Austin R.; Gleich, David F.; Leskovec, Jure

2016-01-01

Spectral graph theory-based methods represent an important class of tools for studying the structure of networks. Spectral methods are based on a first-order Markov chain derived from a random walk on the graph and thus they cannot take advantage of important higher-order network substructures such as triangles, cycles, and feed-forward loops. Here we propose a Tensor Spectral Clustering (TSC) algorithm that allows for modeling higher-order network structures in a graph partitioning framework. Our TSC algorithm allows the user to specify which higher-order network structures (cycles, feed-forward loops, etc.) should be preserved by the network clustering. Higher-order network structures of interest are represented using a tensor, which we then partition by developing a multilinear spectral method. Our framework can be applied to discovering layered flows in networks as well as graph anomaly detection, which we illustrate on synthetic networks. In directed networks, a higher-order structure of particular interest is the directed 3-cycle, which captures feedback loops in networks. We demonstrate that our TSC algorithm produces large partitions that cut fewer directed 3-cycles than standard spectral clustering algorithms. PMID:27812399

Global Efficiency of Structural Networks Mediates Cognitive Control in Mild Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Berlot, Rok; Metzler-Baddeley, Claudia; Ikram, M. Arfan; Jones, Derek K.; O’Sullivan, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Background: Cognitive control has been linked to both the microstructure of individual tracts and the structure of whole-brain networks, but their relative contributions in health and disease remain unclear. Objective: To determine the contribution of both localized white matter tract damage and disruption of global network architecture to cognitive control, in older age and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients with MCI and 20 age, sex, and intelligence-matched healthy volunteers were investigated with 3 Tesla structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cognitive control and episodic memory were evaluated with established tests. Structural network graphs were constructed from diffusion MRI-based whole-brain tractography. Their global measures were calculated using graph theory. Regression models utilized both global network metrics and microstructure of specific connections, known to be critical for each domain, to predict cognitive scores. Results: Global efficiency and the mean clustering coefficient of networks were reduced in MCI. Cognitive control was associated with global network topology. Episodic memory, in contrast, correlated with individual temporal tracts only. Relationships between cognitive control and network topology were attenuated by addition of single tract measures to regression models, consistent with a partial mediation effect. The mediation effect was stronger in MCI than healthy volunteers, explaining 23-36% of the effect of cingulum microstructure on cognitive control performance. Network clustering was a significant mediator in the relationship between tract microstructure and cognitive control in both groups. Conclusion: The status of critical connections and large-scale network topology are both important for maintenance of cognitive control in MCI. Mediation via large-scale networks is more important in patients with MCI than healthy volunteers. This effect is domain-specific, and true for cognitive control but not for episodic memory. Interventions to improve cognitive control will need to address both dysfunction of local circuitry and global network architecture to be maximally effective. PMID:28018208

Investigation of an expert health monitoring system for aeronautical structures based on pattern recognition and acousto-ultrasonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tibaduiza-Burgos, Diego Alexander; Torres-Arredondo, Miguel Angel

2015-08-01

Aeronautical structures are subjected to damage during their service raising the necessity for periodic inspection and maintenance of their components so that structural integrity and safe operation can be guaranteed. Cost reduction related to minimizing the out-of-service time of the aircraft, together with the advantages offered by real-time and safe-life service monitoring, have led to a boom in the design of inexpensive and structurally integrated transducer networks comprising actuators, sensors, signal processing units and controllers. These kinds of automated systems are normally referred to as smart structures and offer a multitude of new solutions to engineering problems and multi-functional capabilities. It is thus expected that structural health monitoring (SHM) systems will become one of the leading technologies for assessing and assuring the structural integrity of future aircraft. This study is devoted to the development and experimental investigation of an SHM methodology for the detection of damage in real scale complex aeronautical structures. The work focuses on each aspect of the SHM system and highlights the potentialities of the health monitoring technique based on acousto-ultrasonics and data-driven modelling within the concepts of sensor data fusion, feature extraction and pattern recognition. The methodology is experimentally demonstrated on an aircraft skin panel and fuselage panel for which several damage scenarios are analysed. The detection performance in both structures is quantified and presented.

Structural damage detection for in-service highway bridge under operational and environmental variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Chenhao; Li, Jingcheng; Jang, Shinae; Sun, Xiaorong; Christenson, Richard

2015-03-01

Structural health monitoring has drawn significant attention in the past decades with numerous methodologies and applications for civil structural systems. Although many researchers have developed analytical and experimental damage detection algorithms through vibration-based methods, these methods are not widely accepted for practical structural systems because of their sensitivity to uncertain environmental and operational conditions. The primary environmental factor that influences the structural modal properties is temperature. The goal of this article is to analyze the natural frequency-temperature relationships and detect structural damage in the presence of operational and environmental variations using modal-based method. For this purpose, correlations between natural frequency and temperature are analyzed to select proper independent variables and inputs for the multiple linear regression model and neural network model. In order to capture the changes of natural frequency, confidence intervals to detect the damages for both models are generated. A long-term structural health monitoring system was installed on an in-service highway bridge located in Meriden, Connecticut to obtain vibration and environmental data. Experimental testing results show that the variability of measured natural frequencies due to temperature is captured, and the temperature-induced changes in natural frequencies have been considered prior to the establishment of the threshold in the damage warning system. This novel approach is applicable for structural health monitoring system and helpful to assess the performance of the structure for bridge management and maintenance.

Implementation and Outcomes of a Collaborative Multi-Center Network Aimed at Web-Based Cognitive Training - COGWEB Network.

PubMed

Tedim Cruz, Vítor; Pais, Joana; Ruano, Luis; Mateus, Cátia; Colunas, Márcio; Alves, Ivânia; Barreto, Rui; Conde, Eduardo; Sousa, Andreia; Araújo, Isabel; Bento, Virgílio; Coutinho, Paula; Rocha, Nelson

2014-01-01

Cognitive care for the most prevalent neurologic and psychiatric conditions will only improve through the implementation of new sustainable approaches. Innovative cognitive training methodologies and collaborative professional networks are necessary evolutions in the mental health sector. The objective of the study was to describe the implementation process and early outcomes of a nationwide multi-organizational network supported on a Web-based cognitive training system (COGWEB). The setting for network implementation was the Portuguese mental health system and the hospital-, academic-, community-based institutions and professionals providing cognitive training. The network started in August 2012, with 16 centers, and was monitored until September 2013 (inclusions were open). After onsite training, all were allowed to use COGWEB in their clinical or research activities. For supervision and maintenance were implemented newsletters, questionnaires, visits and webinars. The following outcomes were prospectively measured: (1) number, (2) type, (3) time to start, and (4) activity state of centers; age, gender, level of education, and medical diagnosis of patients enrolled. The network included 68 professionals from 41 centers, (33/41) 80% clinical, (8/41) 19% nonclinical. A total of 298 patients received cognitive training; 45.3% (n=135) female, mean age 54.4 years (SD 18.7), mean educational level 9.8 years (SD 4.8). The number enrolled each month increased significantly (r=0.6; P=.031). At 12 months, 205 remained on treatment. The major causes of cognitive impairment were: (1) neurodegenerative (115/298, 38.6%), (2) structural brain lesions (63/298, 21.1%), (3) autoimmune (40/298, 13.4%), (4) schizophrenia (30/298, 10.1%), and (5) others (50/298, 16.8%). The comparison of the patient profiles, promoter versus all other clinical centers, showed significant increases in the diversity of causes and spectrums of ages and education. Over its first year, there was a major increase in the number of new centers and professionals, as well as of the clinical diversity of patients treated. The consolidation of such a national collaborative network represents an innovative step in mental health care evolution. Furthermore, it may contribute to translational processes in the field of cognitive training and reduce disease burden.

Demographic and Indication-Specific Characteristics Have Limited Association With Social Network Engagement: Evidence From 24,954 Members of Four Health Care Support Groups

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background Digital health social networks (DHSNs) are widespread, and the consensus is that they contribute to wellness by offering social support and knowledge sharing. The success of a DHSN is based on the number of participants and their consistent creation of externalities through the generation of new content. To promote network growth, it would be helpful to identify characteristics of superusers or actors who create value by generating positive network externalities. Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of developing predictive models that identify potential superusers in real time. This study examined associations between posting behavior, 4 demographic variables, and 20 indication-specific variables. Methods Data were extracted from the custom structured query language (SQL) databases of 4 digital health behavior change interventions with DHSNs. Of these, 2 were designed to assist in the treatment of addictions (problem drinking and smoking cessation), and 2 for mental health (depressive disorder, panic disorder). To analyze posting behavior, 10 models were developed, and negative binomial regressions were conducted to examine associations between number of posts, and demographic and indication-specific variables. Results The DHSNs varied in number of days active (3658-5210), number of registrants (5049-52,396), number of actors (1085-8452), and number of posts (16,231-521,997). In the sample, all 10 models had low R2 values (.013-.086) with limited statistically significant demographic and indication-specific variables. Conclusions Very few variables were associated with social network engagement. Although some variables were statistically significant, they did not appear to be practically significant. Based on the large number of study participants, variation in DHSN theme, and extensive time-period, we did not find strong evidence that demographic characteristics or indication severity sufficiently explain the variability in number of posts per actor. Researchers should investigate alternative models that identify superusers or other individuals who create social network externalities. PMID:28213340

Information seeking for making evidence-informed decisions: a social network analysis on the staff of a public health department in Canada.

PubMed

Yousefi-Nooraie, Reza; Dobbins, Maureen; Brouwers, Melissa; Wakefield, Patricia

2012-05-16

Social network analysis is an approach to study the interactions and exchange of resources among people. It can help understanding the underlying structural and behavioral complexities that influence the process of capacity building towards evidence-informed decision making. A social network analysis was conducted to understand if and how the staff of a public health department in Ontario turn to peers to get help incorporating research evidence into practice. The staff were invited to respond to an online questionnaire inquiring about information seeking behavior, identification of colleague expertise, and friendship status. Three networks were developed based on the 170 participants. Overall shape, key indices, the most central people and brokers, and their characteristics were identified. The network analysis showed a low density and localized information-seeking network. Inter-personal connections were mainly clustered by organizational divisions; and people tended to limit information-seeking connections to a handful of peers in their division. However, recognition of expertise and friendship networks showed more cross-divisional connections. Members of the office of the Medical Officer of Health were located at the heart of the department, bridging across divisions. A small group of professional consultants and middle managers were the most-central staff in the network, also connecting their divisions to the center of the information-seeking network. In each division, there were some locally central staff, mainly practitioners, who connected their neighboring peers; but they were not necessarily connected to other experts or managers. The methods of social network analysis were useful in providing a systems approach to understand how knowledge might flow in an organization. The findings of this study can be used to identify early adopters of knowledge translation interventions, forming Communities of Practice, and potential internal knowledge brokers.

Multi-frequency complex network from time series for uncovering oil-water flow structure.

PubMed

Gao, Zhong-Ke; Yang, Yu-Xuan; Fang, Peng-Cheng; Jin, Ning-De; Xia, Cheng-Yi; Hu, Li-Dan

2015-02-04

Uncovering complex oil-water flow structure represents a challenge in diverse scientific disciplines. This challenge stimulates us to develop a new distributed conductance sensor for measuring local flow signals at different positions and then propose a novel approach based on multi-frequency complex network to uncover the flow structures from experimental multivariate measurements. In particular, based on the Fast Fourier transform, we demonstrate how to derive multi-frequency complex network from multivariate time series. We construct complex networks at different frequencies and then detect community structures. Our results indicate that the community structures faithfully represent the structural features of oil-water flow patterns. Furthermore, we investigate the network statistic at different frequencies for each derived network and find that the frequency clustering coefficient enables to uncover the evolution of flow patterns and yield deep insights into the formation of flow structures. Current results present a first step towards a network visualization of complex flow patterns from a community structure perspective.

Primary health care teams and the patient perspective: a social network analysis.

PubMed

Cheong, Lynn H M; Armour, Carol L; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia Z

2013-01-01

Multidisciplinary care (MDC) has been proposed as a potential strategy to address the rising challenges of modern health issues. However, it remains unclear as to how patients' health connections may impact on multidisciplinary processes and outcomes. This research aims to gain a deeper understanding of patients' potential role in MDC: i) describe patients' health networks, ii) compare different care groups, iii) gain an understanding of the nature and extent of their interactions, and iv) identify the role of pharmacists within patient networks. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with asthma patients from Sydney, Australia. Participants were recruited from a range of standard asthma health care access points (community group) and a specialized multidisciplinary asthma clinic (clinic group). Quantitative social network analysis provided structural insight into asthma networks while qualitative social network analysis assisted in interpretation of network data. A total of 47 interviews were conducted (26 community group participants and 21 clinic group participants). Although participants' asthma networks consisted of a range of health care professionals (HCPs), these did not reflect or encourage MDC. Not only did participants favor minimal interaction with any HCP, they preferred sole-charge care and were found to strongly rely on lay individuals such as family and friends. While general practitioners and respiratory specialists were participants' principal choice of HCP, community pharmacists were less regarded. Limited opportunities were presented for HCPs to collaborate, particularly pharmacists. As patients' choices of HCPs may strongly influence collaborative processes and outcomes, this research highlights the need to consider patient perspectives in the development of MDC models in primary care. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single-subject structural networks with closed-form rotation invariant matching mprove power in developmental studies of the cortex.

PubMed

Kandel, Benjamin M; Wang, Danny J J; Gee, James C; Avants, Brian B

2014-01-01

Although much attention has recently been focused on single-subject functional networks, using methods such as resting-state functional MRI, methods for constructing single-subject structural networks are in their infancy. Single-subject cortical networks aim to describe the self-similarity across the cortical structure, possibly signifying convergent developmental pathways. Previous methods for constructing single-subject cortical networks have used patch-based correlations and distance metrics based on curvature and thickness. We present here a method for constructing similarity-based cortical structural networks that utilizes a rotation-invariant representation of structure. The resulting graph metrics are closely linked to age and indicate an increasing degree of closeness throughout development in nearly all brain regions, perhaps corresponding to a more regular structure as the brain matures. The derived graph metrics demonstrate a four-fold increase in power for detecting age as compared to cortical thickness. This proof of concept study indicates that the proposed metric may be useful in identifying biologically relevant cortical patterns.

Co-extinction in a host-parasite network: identifying key hosts for network stability.

PubMed

Dallas, Tad; Cornelius, Emily

2015-08-17

Parasites comprise a substantial portion of total biodiversity. Ultimately, this means that host extinction could result in many secondary extinctions of obligate parasites and potentially alter host-parasite network structure. Here, we examined a highly resolved fish-parasite network to determine key hosts responsible for maintaining parasite diversity and network structure (quantified here as nestedness and modularity). We evaluated four possible host extinction orders and compared the resulting co-extinction dynamics to random extinction simulations; including host removal based on estimated extinction risk, parasite species richness and host level contributions to nestedness and modularity. We found that all extinction orders, except the one based on realistic extinction risk, resulted in faster declines in parasite diversity and network structure relative to random biodiversity loss. Further, we determined species-level contributions to network structure were best predicted by parasite species richness and host family. Taken together, we demonstrate that a small proportion of hosts contribute substantially to network structure and that removal of these hosts results in rapid declines in parasite diversity and network structure. As network stability can potentially be inferred through measures of network structure, our findings may provide insight into species traits that confer stability.

Graph distance for complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimada, Yutaka; Hirata, Yoshito; Ikeguchi, Tohru; Aihara, Kazuyuki

2016-10-01

Networks are widely used as a tool for describing diverse real complex systems and have been successfully applied to many fields. The distance between networks is one of the most fundamental concepts for properly classifying real networks, detecting temporal changes in network structures, and effectively predicting their temporal evolution. However, this distance has rarely been discussed in the theory of complex networks. Here, we propose a graph distance between networks based on a Laplacian matrix that reflects the structural and dynamical properties of networked dynamical systems. Our results indicate that the Laplacian-based graph distance effectively quantifies the structural difference between complex networks. We further show that our approach successfully elucidates the temporal properties underlying temporal networks observed in the context of face-to-face human interactions.

[Benefit and Sustainability of Networks for workplace Health Promotion in SME Examined at the SME Networks "Bewegte Unternehmen" and "Vitale Unternehmen"].

PubMed

Müller, Eva; Fischmann, Wolfgang; Kötter, Rudolf; Drexler, Hans; Kiesel, Johannes

2018-05-01

The purpose of the study was to analyze if 2 regional networks of small and medium enterprises (SME) for workplace health promotion are sustainable, and to find out the motivation of the enterprises to join the network. It was also examined if there is a stable culture of cooperation 6 -10 years after the founding of the network. Additionally, the study checked the current work and suggestions for improvement to the network structure, so that in the future, promotion of workplace health can be further improved. 2 regional networks, founded in 2005 and 2009, were studied. Standardized telephone interviews carried out between September 2013 and January 2014 enabled data collection for this cross-sectional study. 42 interviews with 6 open questions were organized with the managers of the companies or the person responsible for workplace health promotion. The results of the study show that 88.1% (n=37) of the network company members profited from the exchange of experiences. 50.0% (n=21) benefited from shared activities and 28.6% (n=12) from making new contacts. 9.5% (n=4) of the respondents expressed concerns about excessive bureaucracy resulting in too much effort for too little benefit and 7.1% (n=3) were also missing comprehensive structural measures. Suggestions for improvement were enhancement of practical work (26.2%, n=11) and the wish for stronger commitment (11.9%, n=5). 90.5% (n=38) considered their expectations as fulfilled and 66.7% (n=28) evaluated the current work as being quite positive. The networks have turned out to be sustainable, proven by the fact that the companies still are members of the networks for 6 and 10 years, respectively and are still satisfied with the network. The study shows that the majority of the members profits from the membership of these regional networks. Networks can help them to implement permanent workplace health promotion. To further improve the work of the network, a systematic and scientific workplace health promotion scheme is recommended. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Implementing efficient and sustainable collaboration between National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups: Report on the 3rd International Technical Meeting, Paris, France, 8-9 December 2014.

PubMed

Perronne, Christian; Adjagba, Alex; Duclos, Philippe; Floret, Daniel; Houweling, Hans; Le Goaster, Corinne; Lévy-Brühl, Daniel; Meyer, François; Senouci, Kamel; Wichmann, Ole

2016-03-08

Many experts on vaccination are convinced that efforts should be made to encourage increased collaboration between National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups on immunization (NITAGs) worldwide. International meetings were held in Berlin, Germany, in 2010 and 2011, to discuss improvement of the methodologies for the development of evidence-based vaccination recommendations, recognizing the need for collaboration and/or sharing of resources in this effort. A third meeting was held in Paris, France, in December 2014, to consider the design of specific practical activities and an organizational structure to enable effective and sustained collaboration. The following conclusions were reached: (i) The proposed collaboration needs a core functional structure and the establishment or strengthening of an international network of NITAGs. (ii) Priority subjects for collaborative work are background information for recommendations, systematic reviews, mathematical models, health economic evaluations and establishment of common frameworks and methodologies for reviewing and grading the evidence. (iii) The programme of collaborative work should begin with participation of a limited number of NITAGs which already have a high level of expertise. The amount of joint work could be increased progressively through practical activities and pragmatic examples. Due to similar priorities and already existing structures, this should be organized at regional or subregional level. For example, in the European Union a project is funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) with the aim to set up a network for improving data, methodology and resource sharing and thereby supporting NITAGs. Such regional networking activities should be carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). (iv) A global steering committee should be set up to promote international exchange between regional networks and to increase the involvement of less experienced NITAGs. NITAGs already collaborate at the global level via the NITAG Resource Centre, a web-based platform developed by the Health Policy and Institutional Development Unit (WHO Collaborating Centre) of the Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP-HPID). It would be appropriate to continue facilitating the coordination of this global network through the AMP-HPID NITAG Resource Centre. (v) While sharing work products and experiences, each NITAG would retain responsibility for its own decision-making and country-specific recommendations. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Structural health monitoring to detect the presence, location and magnitude of structural damage in cadaveric porcine spines.

PubMed

Kawchuk, Gregory Neil; Decker, Colleen; Dolan, Ryan; Carey, Jason

2009-01-19

Structural health monitoring has been used successfully to identify defects in civil infrastructure and aerospace applications. Given that the majority of low back pain is thought to be mechanical in nature, our objective was to determine if structural health monitoring techniques could be employed successfully to identify the presence, location and magnitude of structural alterations within the spine. In six eviscerated cadaveric pigs, bone screws were drilled into the anterior bodies of L1-L5 and tri-axial accelerometers fixed to each spinous process. Vibration was then applied to the L3 spinous and frequency response functions obtained from each sensor axis before and after specific alterations of spinal structure. These alterations were produced at four unique locations and included (1) use of a cable tie to link anterior bone pins together and (2) progressive disc sectioning. Eighty percent of all data were used to train a neural network while the remaining data were used to test the network's ability to distinguish between structural states. The presence, location and magnitude of structural change within the spine was identified correctly in 5030/5040 possible neural network decisions. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of this technique ranged from 0.994 to 1.000. These results indicate that there is sufficient information embedded in frequency response data to identify the presence, location and magnitude of specific structural changes in the spine. If these techniques can be evolved for human use, structural health monitoring may provide a new approach toward understanding the underlying relations between spinal structure and function.

Fatigue evaluation for Tsing Ma Bridge using structural health monitoring data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Hung-tin Tommy; Ko, Jan Ming; Li, Zhao-Xia

2001-08-01

Fatigue assessment for the Tsing Ma Bridge (TMB) are presented based on the British standard BS5400 and the real-time structural health monitoring data under railway loading. TMB, as an essential portion of transport network for the Hong Kong airport, is the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying both highway and railway traffic. The bridge design has been mainly based on BS5400. A structural health monitoring system - Wind and Structural Health Monitoring System (WASHMS) for TMB has been operated since the bridge commissioning in May 1997. In order to assess the fatigue behavior of TMB under railway loading, strain gauges were installed on the bridge deck to measure the strain-time histories as soon as the bridge is loaded by a standard railway loading due to the service of an actual train. The strain-time history data at the critical members are then used to determine the stress spectrum, of which the rainflow method recommended for railway bridges by BS5400 is applied to count cycles of stress range. Miner's law is employed to evaluate fatigue damage and remaining service life of the bridge. The evaluated results of fatigue damage and remaining service life would help us to well understand about the fatigue design of the bridge and status in fatigue accumulation.

Learning to Monitor Machine Health with Convolutional Bi-Directional LSTM Networks

PubMed Central

Zhao, Rui; Yan, Ruqiang; Wang, Jinjiang; Mao, Kezhi

2017-01-01

In modern manufacturing systems and industries, more and more research efforts have been made in developing effective machine health monitoring systems. Among various machine health monitoring approaches, data-driven methods are gaining in popularity due to the development of advanced sensing and data analytic techniques. However, considering the noise, varying length and irregular sampling behind sensory data, this kind of sequential data cannot be fed into classification and regression models directly. Therefore, previous work focuses on feature extraction/fusion methods requiring expensive human labor and high quality expert knowledge. With the development of deep learning methods in the last few years, which redefine representation learning from raw data, a deep neural network structure named Convolutional Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory networks (CBLSTM) has been designed here to address raw sensory data. CBLSTM firstly uses CNN to extract local features that are robust and informative from the sequential input. Then, bi-directional LSTM is introduced to encode temporal information. Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTMs) are able to capture long-term dependencies and model sequential data, and the bi-directional structure enables the capture of past and future contexts. Stacked, fully-connected layers and the linear regression layer are built on top of bi-directional LSTMs to predict the target value. Here, a real-life tool wear test is introduced, and our proposed CBLSTM is able to predict the actual tool wear based on raw sensory data. The experimental results have shown that our model is able to outperform several state-of-the-art baseline methods. PMID:28146106

Learning to Monitor Machine Health with Convolutional Bi-Directional LSTM Networks.

PubMed

Zhao, Rui; Yan, Ruqiang; Wang, Jinjiang; Mao, Kezhi

2017-01-30

In modern manufacturing systems and industries, more and more research efforts have been made in developing effective machine health monitoring systems. Among various machine health monitoring approaches, data-driven methods are gaining in popularity due to the development of advanced sensing and data analytic techniques. However, considering the noise, varying length and irregular sampling behind sensory data, this kind of sequential data cannot be fed into classification and regression models directly. Therefore, previous work focuses on feature extraction/fusion methods requiring expensive human labor and high quality expert knowledge. With the development of deep learning methods in the last few years, which redefine representation learning from raw data, a deep neural network structure named Convolutional Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory networks (CBLSTM) has been designed here to address raw sensory data. CBLSTM firstly uses CNN to extract local features that are robust and informative from the sequential input. Then, bi-directional LSTM is introduced to encode temporal information. Long Short-Term Memory networks(LSTMs) are able to capture long-term dependencies and model sequential data, and the bi-directional structure enables the capture of past and future contexts. Stacked, fully-connected layers and the linear regression layer are built on top of bi-directional LSTMs to predict the target value. Here, a real-life tool wear test is introduced, and our proposed CBLSTM is able to predict the actual tool wear based on raw sensory data. The experimental results have shown that our model is able to outperform several state-of-the-art baseline methods.

Impact detection method for composite winglets based on neural network implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viscardi, Massimo; Arena, Maurizio; Napolitano, Pasquale

2018-03-01

Maintenance tasks and safety aspects represent a strategic role in the managing of the modern aircraft fleets. The demand for reliable techniques for structural health monitoring represent so a key aspect looking forward to new generation aircraft. In particular, the use of more technologically complex materials and manufacturing methods requires anyway more efficient as well as rapid application processes to improve the design strength and service life. Actually, it is necessary to rely on survey instruments, which allow for safeguarding the structural integrity of the aircraft, especially after the wide use of composite structures highly susceptible to non-detected damages as delamination of the ply. In this paper, the authors have investigated the feasibility to implement a neural network-based algorithm to predict the impact event at low frequency, typically due to the bird collision. Relying upon a numerical model, representative of a composite flat panel, the approach has been also experimentally validated. The purpose of the work is therefore the presentation of an innovative application within the Non Destructive Testing field based upon vibration measurements. The aim of the research has been the development of a Non Destructive Test which meets most of the mandatory requirements for effective health monitoring systems while, at the same time, reducing as much as possible the complexity of the data analysis algorithm and the experimental acquisition instrumentation. Future activities will be addressed to test such technique on a more complex aeronautical system.

Rethinking schools of public health: a strategic alliance model.

PubMed

Moloughney, Brent W; Skinner, Harvey A

2006-01-01

Canada is in the midst of rejuvenation of public health organizations, mandates and infrastructure. Major planning exercises are underway regarding public health human resources, where academic institutions have a key role to play. To what extent could schools of public health be part of the solution? Many universities across Canada are considering or in the process of implementing MPH programs (some 17 programs planned and/or underway) and possible schools of public health. However, concerns are raised about critical mass, quality and standards. We encourage innovation and debate about ways to enhance collaborative and structural arrangements for education programs. A school of public health model might emerge from this, but so too might other models. Also, novel types of organizational structure need consideration. One example is a "strategic alliance" model that is broad-based, integrative and adaptive--building on the interdisciplinary focus needed for addressing public health concerns in the 21st century. From our perspective, the central question is: what (new) types of organizational structures and, equally important, collaborative networks will enable Canada to strengthen its public health workforce so that it may better address local and global challenges to public health?

Applying a Health Network approach to translate evidence-informed policy into practice: a review and case study on musculoskeletal health.

PubMed

Briggs, Andrew M; Bragge, Peter; Slater, Helen; Chan, Madelynn; Towler, Simon C B

2012-11-14

While translation of evidence into health policy and practice is recognised as critical to optimising health system performance and health-related outcomes for consumers, mechanisms to effectively achieve these goals are neither well understood, nor widely communicated. Health Networks represent a framework which offers a possible solution to this dilemma, particularly in light of emerging evidence regarding the importance of establishing relationships between stakeholders and identifying clinical leaders to drive evidence integration and translation into policy. This is particularly important for service delivery related to chronic diseases. In Western Australia (WA), disease and population-specific Health Networks are comprised of cross-discipline stakeholders who work collaboratively to develop evidence-informed policies and drive their implementation. Since establishment of the Health Networks in WA, over 50 evidence-informed Models of Care (MoCs) have been produced across 18 condition or population-focused Networks. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the Health Network framework in facilitating the translation of evidence into policy and practice with a particular focus on musculoskeletal health. A review of activities of the WA Musculoskeletal Health Network was undertaken, focussing on outcomes and the processes used to achieve them in the context of: development of policy, procurement of funding, stakeholder engagement, publications, and projects undertaken by the Network which aligned to implementation of MoCs.The Musculoskeletal Health Network has developed four MoCs which reflect Australian National Health Priority Areas. Establishment of community-based services for consumers with musculoskeletal health conditions is a key recommendation from these MoCs. Through mapping barriers and enablers to policy implementation, working groups, led by local clinical leaders and supported by the broader Network and government officers, have undertaken a range of integrated projects, such as the establishment of a community-based, multidisciplinary rheumatology service. The success of these projects has been contingent on developing relationships between key stakeholders across the health system. In WA, Networks have provided a sustainable mechanism to meaningfully engage consumers, carers, clinicians and other stakeholders; provided a forum to exchange ideas, information and evidence; and collaboratively plan and deliver evidence-based and contextually-appropriate health system improvements for consumers.

Applying a Health Network approach to translate evidence-informed policy into practice: A review and case study on musculoskeletal health

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background While translation of evidence into health policy and practice is recognised as critical to optimising health system performance and health-related outcomes for consumers, mechanisms to effectively achieve these goals are neither well understood, nor widely communicated. Health Networks represent a framework which offers a possible solution to this dilemma, particularly in light of emerging evidence regarding the importance of establishing relationships between stakeholders and identifying clinical leaders to drive evidence integration and translation into policy. This is particularly important for service delivery related to chronic diseases. In Western Australia (WA), disease and population-specific Health Networks are comprised of cross-discipline stakeholders who work collaboratively to develop evidence-informed policies and drive their implementation. Since establishment of the Health Networks in WA, over 50 evidence-informed Models of Care (MoCs) have been produced across 18 condition or population-focused Networks. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the Health Network framework in facilitating the translation of evidence into policy and practice with a particular focus on musculoskeletal health. Case presentation A review of activities of the WA Musculoskeletal Health Network was undertaken, focussing on outcomes and the processes used to achieve them in the context of: development of policy, procurement of funding, stakeholder engagement, publications, and projects undertaken by the Network which aligned to implementation of MoCs. The Musculoskeletal Health Network has developed four MoCs which reflect Australian National Health Priority Areas. Establishment of community-based services for consumers with musculoskeletal health conditions is a key recommendation from these MoCs. Through mapping barriers and enablers to policy implementation, working groups, led by local clinical leaders and supported by the broader Network and government officers, have undertaken a range of integrated projects, such as the establishment of a community-based, multidisciplinary rheumatology service. The success of these projects has been contingent on developing relationships between key stakeholders across the health system. Conclusions In WA, Networks have provided a sustainable mechanism to meaningfully engage consumers, carers, clinicians and other stakeholders; provided a forum to exchange ideas, information and evidence; and collaboratively plan and deliver evidence-based and contextually-appropriate health system improvements for consumers. PMID:23151082

A multiple case study of intersectoral public health networks: experiences and benefits of using research.

PubMed

Kothari, Anita; McPherson, Charmaine; Gore, Dana; Cohen, Benita; MacDonald, Marjorie; Sibbald, Shannon L

2016-02-11

Network partnerships between public health and third sector organisations are being used to address the complexities of population level social determinants of health and health equity. An understanding of how these networks use research and knowledge is crucial to effective network design and outcome evaluation. There is, however, a gap in the literature regarding how public health networks use research and knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to report on the qualitative findings from a larger study that explored (1) the experiences of public health networks with using research and knowledge, and (2) the perceived benefits of using research and knowledge. A multiple case study approach framed this study. Focus group data were collected from participants through a purposive sample of four public health networks. Data were analyzed using Framework Analysis and Nvivo software supported data management. Each network had the opportunity to participate in data interpretation. All networks used published research studies and other types of knowledge to accomplish their work, although in each network research and knowledge played different but complementary roles. Neither research nor other types of knowledge were privileged, and an approach that blended varied knowledge types was typically used. Network experiences with research and knowledge produced individual and collective benefits. A novel finding was that research and knowledge were both important in shaping network function. This study shifts the focus in the current literature from public health departments to the community setting where public health collaborates with a broader spectrum of actors to ameliorate health inequities. Both formal research and informal knowledge were found to be important for collaborative public health networks. Examining the benefits of research and knowledge use within public health networks may help us to better understand the relationships among process (the collaborative use of research and knowledge), structure (networks) and outcomes (benefits).

The Pioneering Role of the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project (VSD) to Advance Collaborative Research and Distributed Data Networks

PubMed Central

Fahey, Kevin R.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Large-scale distributed data networks consisting of diverse stakeholders including providers, patients, and payers are changing health research in terms of methods, speed and efficiency. The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) set the stage for expanded involvement of health plans in collaborative research. Expanding Surveillance Capacity and Progress Toward a Learning Health System: From an initial collaboration of four integrated health systems with fewer than 10 million covered lives to 16 diverse health plans with nearly 100 million lives now in the FDA Sentinel, the expanded engagement of health plan researchers has been essential to increase the value and impact of these efforts. The collaborative structure of the VSD established a pathway toward research efforts that successfully engage all stakeholders in a cohesive rather than competitive manner. The scientific expertise and methodology developed through the VSD such as rapid cycle analysis (RCA) to conduct near real-time safety surveillance allowed for the development of the expanded surveillance systems that now exist. Building on Success and Lessons Learned: These networks have learned from and built on the knowledge base and infrastructure created by the VSD investigators. This shared technical knowledge and experience expedited the development of systems like the FDA’s Mini-Sentinel and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)’s PCORnet Conclusion: This narrative reviews the evolution of the VSD, its contribution to other collaborative research networks, longer-term sustainability of this type of distributed research, and how knowledge gained from the earlier efforts can contribute to a continually learning health system. PMID:26793736

Control of magnetic bearing systems via the Chebyshev polynomial-based unified model (CPBUM) neural network.

PubMed

Jeng, J T; Lee, T T

2000-01-01

A Chebyshev polynomial-based unified model (CPBUM) neural network is introduced and applied to control a magnetic bearing systems. First, we show that the CPBUM neural network not only has the same capability of universal approximator, but also has faster learning speed than conventional feedforward/recurrent neural network. It turns out that the CPBUM neural network is more suitable in the design of controller than the conventional feedforward/recurrent neural network. Second, we propose the inverse system method, based on the CPBUM neural networks, to control a magnetic bearing system. The proposed controller has two structures; namely, off-line and on-line learning structures. We derive a new learning algorithm for each proposed structure. The experimental results show that the proposed neural network architecture provides a greater flexibility and better performance in controlling magnetic bearing systems.

A user-centred methodology for designing an online social network to motivate health behaviour change.

PubMed

Kamal, Noreen; Fels, Sidney

2013-01-01

Positive health behaviour is critical to preventing illness and managing chronic conditions. A user-centred methodology was employed to design an online social network to motivate health behaviour change. The methodology was augmented by utilizing the Appeal, Belonging, Commitment (ABC) Framework, which is based on theoretical models for health behaviour change and use of online social networks. The user-centred methodology included four phases: 1) initial user inquiry on health behaviour and use of online social networks; 2) interview feedback on paper prototypes; 2) laboratory study on medium fidelity prototype; and 4) a field study on the high fidelity prototype. The points of inquiry through these phases were based on the ABC Framework. This yielded an online social network system that linked to external third party databases to deploy to users via an interactive website.

Data acquisition, detection and estimation for structural health monitoring.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

This project deals with using a wireless sensor network for structural health monitoring. It includes two objectives: (1) to develop : energy-efficient protocols for sensing and communication that are suitable for battery-powered sensor nodes; (2) to...

Urbanism, Neighborhood Context, and Social Networks.

PubMed

Cornwell, Erin York; Behler, Rachel L

2015-09-01

Theories of urbanism suggest that the urban context erodes individuals' strong social ties with friends and family. Recent research has narrowed focus to the neighborhood context, emphasizing how localized structural disadvantage affects community-level cohesion and social capital. In this paper, we argue that neighborhood context also shapes social ties with friends and family- particularly for community-dwelling seniors. We hypothesize that neighborhood disadvantage, residential instability, and disorder restrict residents' abilities to cultivate close relationships with neighbors and non-neighbor friends and family. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we find that older adults who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods have smaller social networks. Neighborhood disadvantage is also associated with less close network ties and less frequent interaction - but only among men. Furthermore, residents of disordered neighborhoods have smaller networks and weaker ties. We urge scholars to pay greater attention to how neighborhood context contributes to disparities in network-based access to resources.

Urbanism, Neighborhood Context, and Social Networks

PubMed Central

Cornwell, Erin York; Behler, Rachel L.

2017-01-01

Theories of urbanism suggest that the urban context erodes individuals’ strong social ties with friends and family. Recent research has narrowed focus to the neighborhood context, emphasizing how localized structural disadvantage affects community-level cohesion and social capital. In this paper, we argue that neighborhood context also shapes social ties with friends and family– particularly for community-dwelling seniors. We hypothesize that neighborhood disadvantage, residential instability, and disorder restrict residents’ abilities to cultivate close relationships with neighbors and non-neighbor friends and family. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we find that older adults who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods have smaller social networks. Neighborhood disadvantage is also associated with less close network ties and less frequent interaction – but only among men. Furthermore, residents of disordered neighborhoods have smaller networks and weaker ties. We urge scholars to pay greater attention to how neighborhood context contributes to disparities in network-based access to resources. PMID:28819338

Demonstration of UAV deployment and control of mobile wireless sensing networks for modal analysis of structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Hao; Hirose, Mitsuhito; Greenwood, William; Xiao, Yong; Lynch, Jerome; Zekkos, Dimitrios; Kamat, Vineet

2016-04-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can serve as a powerful mobile sensing platform for assessing the health of civil infrastructure systems. To date, the majority of their uses have been dedicated to vision and laser-based spatial imaging using on-board cameras and LiDAR units, respectively. Comparatively less work has focused on integration of other sensing modalities relevant to structural monitoring applications. The overarching goal of this study is to explore the ability for UAVs to deploy a network of wireless sensors on structures for controlled vibration testing. The study develops a UAV platform with an integrated robotic gripper that can be used to install wireless sensors in structures, drop a heavy weight for the introduction of impact loads, and to uninstall wireless sensors for reinstallation elsewhere. A pose estimation algorithm is embedded in the UAV to estimate the location of the UAV during sensor placement and impact load introduction. The Martlet wireless sensor network architecture is integrated with the UAV to provide the UAV a mobile sensing capability. The UAV is programmed to command field deployed Martlets, aggregate and temporarily store data from the wireless sensor network, and to communicate data to a fixed base station on site. This study demonstrates the integrated UAV system using a simply supported beam in the lab with Martlet wireless sensors placed by the UAV and impact load testing performed. The study verifies the feasibility of the integrated UAV-wireless monitoring system architecture with accurate modal characteristics of the beam estimated by modal analysis.

Dynamic-ETL: a hybrid approach for health data extraction, transformation and loading.

PubMed

Ong, Toan C; Kahn, Michael G; Kwan, Bethany M; Yamashita, Traci; Brandt, Elias; Hosokawa, Patrick; Uhrich, Chris; Schilling, Lisa M

2017-09-13

Electronic health records (EHRs) contain detailed clinical data stored in proprietary formats with non-standard codes and structures. Participating in multi-site clinical research networks requires EHR data to be restructured and transformed into a common format and standard terminologies, and optimally linked to other data sources. The expertise and scalable solutions needed to transform data to conform to network requirements are beyond the scope of many health care organizations and there is a need for practical tools that lower the barriers of data contribution to clinical research networks. We designed and implemented a health data transformation and loading approach, which we refer to as Dynamic ETL (Extraction, Transformation and Loading) (D-ETL), that automates part of the process through use of scalable, reusable and customizable code, while retaining manual aspects of the process that requires knowledge of complex coding syntax. This approach provides the flexibility required for the ETL of heterogeneous data, variations in semantic expertise, and transparency of transformation logic that are essential to implement ETL conventions across clinical research sharing networks. Processing workflows are directed by the ETL specifications guideline, developed by ETL designers with extensive knowledge of the structure and semantics of health data (i.e., "health data domain experts") and target common data model. D-ETL was implemented to perform ETL operations that load data from various sources with different database schema structures into the Observational Medical Outcome Partnership (OMOP) common data model. The results showed that ETL rule composition methods and the D-ETL engine offer a scalable solution for health data transformation via automatic query generation to harmonize source datasets. D-ETL supports a flexible and transparent process to transform and load health data into a target data model. This approach offers a solution that lowers technical barriers that prevent data partners from participating in research data networks, and therefore, promotes the advancement of comparative effectiveness research using secondary electronic health data.

Followers Are Not Enough: A Multifaceted Approach to Community Detection in Online Social Networks

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

In online social media networks, individuals often have hundreds or even thousands of connections, which link these users not only to friends, associates, and colleagues, but also to news outlets, celebrities, and organizations. In these complex social networks, a ‘community’ as studied in the social network literature, can have very different meaning depending on the property of the network under study. Taking into account the multifaceted nature of these networks, we claim that community detection in online social networks should also be multifaceted in order to capture all of the different and valuable viewpoints of ‘community.’ In this paper we focus on three types of communities beyond follower-based structural communities: activity-based, topic-based, and interaction-based. We analyze a Twitter dataset using three different weightings of the structural network meant to highlight these three community types, and then infer the communities associated with these weightings. We show that interesting insights can be obtained about the complex community structure present in social networks by studying when and how these four community types give rise to similar as well as completely distinct community structure. PMID:26267868

Defining the global health system and systematically mapping its network of actors.

PubMed

Hoffman, Steven J; Cole, Clarke B

2018-04-17

The global health system has faced significant expansion over the past few decades, including continued increase in both the number and diversity of actors operating within it. However, without a stronger understanding of what the global health system encompasses, coordination of actors and resources to address today's global health challenges will not be possible. This study presents a conceptually sound and operational definition of the global health system. Importantly, this definition can be applied in practice to facilitate analysis of the system. The study tested the analytical helpfulness of this definition through a network mapping exercise, whereby the interconnected nature of websites representing actors in the global health system was studied. Using a systematic methodology and related search functions, 203 global health actors were identified, representing the largest and most transparent list of its kind to date. Identified global health actors were characterized and the structure of their social network revealed intriguing patterns in relationships among actors. These findings provide a foundation for future inquiries into the global health system's structure and dynamics that are critical if we are to better coordinate system activities and ensure successful response to our most pressing global health challenges.

Changes in the Structure of the Microbial Community Associated with Nannochloropsis salina following Treatments with Antibiotics and Bioactive Compounds

PubMed Central

Geng, Haifeng; Tran-Gyamfi, Mary B.; Lane, Todd W.; Sale, Kenneth L.; Yu, Eizadora T.

2016-01-01

Open microalgae cultures host a myriad of bacteria, creating a complex system of interacting species that influence algal growth and health. Many algal microbiota studies have been conducted to determine the relative importance of bacterial taxa to algal culture health and physiological states, but these studies have not characterized the interspecies relationships in the microbial communities. We subjected Nanochroloropsis salina cultures to multiple chemical treatments (antibiotics and quorum sensing compounds) and obtained dense time-series data on changes to the microbial community using 16S gene amplicon metagenomic sequencing (21,029,577 reads for 23 samples) to measure microbial taxa-taxa abundance correlations. Short-term treatment with antibiotics resulted in substantially larger shifts in the microbiota structure compared to changes observed following treatment with signaling compounds and glucose. We also calculated operational taxonomic unit (OTU) associations and generated OTU correlation networks to provide an overview of possible bacterial OTU interactions. This analysis identified five major cohesive modules of microbiota with similar co-abundance profiles across different chemical treatments. The Eigengenes of OTU modules were examined for correlation with different external treatment factors. This correlation-based analysis revealed that culture age (time) and treatment types have primary effects on forming network modules and shaping the community structure. Additional network analysis detected Alteromonadeles and Alphaproteobacteria as having the highest centrality, suggesting these species are “keystone” OTUs in the microbial community. Furthermore, we illustrated that the chemical tropodithietic acid, which is secreted by several species in the Alphaproteobacteria taxon, is able to drastically change the structure of the microbiota within 3 h. Taken together, these results provide valuable insights into the structure of the microbiota associated with N. salina cultures and how these structures change in response to chemical perturbations. PMID:27507966

Advantages of the Dental Practice-Based Research Network Initiative and Its Role in Dental Education

PubMed Central

Curro, Frederick A.; Grill, Ashley C.; Thompson, Van P.; Craig, Ronald G.; Vena, Don; Keenan, Analia V.; Naftolin, Frederick

2012-01-01

Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) provide a novel venue in which providers can increase their knowledge base and improve delivery of care through participation in clinical studies. This article describes some aspects of our experience with a National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research-supported PBRN and discusses the role it can play in dental education. PBRNs create a structured pathway for providers to advance their professional development by participating in the process of collecting data through clinical research. This process allows practitioners to contribute to the goals of evidence-based dentistry by helping to provide a foundation of evidence on which to base clinical decisions as opposed to relying on anecdotal evidence. PBRNs strengthen the professional knowledge base by applying the principles of good clinical practice, creating a resource for future dental faculty, training practitioners on best practices, and increasing the responsibility, accountability, and scope of care. PBRNs can be the future pivotal instruments of change in dental education, the use of electronic health record systems, diagnostic codes, and the role of comparative effectiveness research, which can create an unprecedented opportunity for the dental profession to advance and be integrated into the health care system. PMID:21828299

Advantages of the dental practice-based research network initiative and its role in dental education.

PubMed

Curro, Frederick A; Grill, Ashley C; Thompson, Van P; Craig, Ronald G; Vena, Don; Keenan, Analia V; Naftolin, Frederick

2011-08-01

Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) provide a novel venue in which providers can increase their knowledge base and improve delivery of care through participation in clinical studies. This article describes some aspects of our experience with a National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research-supported PBRN and discusses the role it can play in dental education. PBRNs create a structured pathway for providers to advance their professional development by participating in the process of collecting data through clinical research. This process allows practitioners to contribute to the goals of evidence-based dentistry by helping to provide a foundation of evidence on which to base clinical decisions as opposed to relying on anecdotal evidence. PBRNs strengthen the professional knowledge base by applying the principles of good clinical practice, creating a resource for future dental faculty, training practitioners on best practices, and increasing the responsibility, accountability, and scope of care. PBRNs can be the future pivotal instruments of change in dental education, the use of electronic health record systems, diagnostic codes, and the role of comparative effectiveness research, which can create an unprecedented opportunity for the dental profession to advance and be integrated into the health care system.

Embedded Active Fiber Optic Sensing Network for Structural Health Monitoring in Harsh Environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Anbo

This report summarizes technical progress on the program “Embedded Active Fiber Optic Sensing Network for Structural Health Monitoring in Harsh Environments” funded by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, and performed by the Center for Photonics Technology at Virginia Tech. The objective of this project is to develop a first-of-a-kind technology for remote fiber optic generation and detection of acoustic waves for structural health monitoring in harsh environments. During the project period, which is from April 1, 2013 to Septemeber 30, 2016, three different acoustic generation mechanisms were studied in detail for their applications inmore » building a fiber optic acoustic generation unit (AGU), including laser induced plasma breakdown (LIP), Erbium-doped fiber laser absorption, and metal laser absorption. By comparing the performance of the AGUs designed based on these three mechanisms and analyzing the experimental results with simulations, the metal laser absorption method was selected to build a complete fiber optic structure health monitoring (FO-SHM) system for the proposed high temperature multi-parameter structure health monitoring application. Based on the simulation of elastic wave propagation and fiber Bragg grating acoustic pulse detection, an FO-SHM element together with a completed interrogation system were designed and built. This system was first tested on an aluminum piece in the low-temperature range and successfully demonstrated its capability of multi-parameter monitoring and multi-point sensing. In the later stages of the project, the research was focused on improving the surface attachment design and preparing the FO-SHM element for high temperature environment tests. After several upgrades to the surface attachment methods, the FO-SHM element was able to work reliably up to 600oC when attached to P91 pipes, which are the target material of this project. In the final stage of this project, this FO-SHM sensing system was tested in the simulated harsh environment for its multi-parameter monitoring performance and high-temperature survivability.« less

State and non-state mental health service collaboration in a South African district: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Janse van Rensburg, André; Petersen, Inge; Wouters, Edwin; Engelbrecht, Michelle; Kigozi, Gladys; Fourie, Pieter; van Rensburg, Dingie; Bracke, Piet

2018-05-01

The Life Esidimeni tragedy in South Africa showed that, despite significant global gains in recognizing the salience of integrated public mental health care during the past decade, crucial gaps remain. State and non-state mental health service collaboration is a recognized strategy to increase access to care and optimal use of community resources, but little evidence exist about how it unfolds in low- to middle-income countries. South Africa's Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013-20 (MHPF) underlines the importance of collaborative public mental health care, though it is unclear how and to what extent this happens. The aim of the study was to explore the extent and nature of state and non-state mental health service collaboration in the Mangaung Metropolitan District, Free State, South Africa. The research involved an equal status, sequential mixed methods design, comprised of social network analysis (SNA) and semi-structured interviews. SNA-structured interviews were conducted with collaborating state and non-state mental health service providers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with collaborating partners and key stake holders. Descriptive network analyses of the SNA data were performed with Gephi, and thematic analysis of the semi-structured interview data were performed in NVivo. SNA results suggested a fragmented, hospital centric network, with low average density and clustering, and high authority and influence of a specialist psychiatric hospital. Several different types of collaborative interactions emerged, of which housing and treatment adherence a key point of collaboration. Proportional interactions between state and non-state services were low. Qualitative data expanded on these findings, highlighting the range of available mental health services, and pointed to power dynamics as an important consideration in the mental health service network. The fostering of a well-integrated system of care as proposed in the MHPF requires inter-institutional arrangements that include both clinical and social facets of care, and improvements in local governance.

Biogeography and environmental conditions shape bacteriophage-bacteria networks across the human microbiome

PubMed Central

Hannigan, Geoffrey D.; Duhaime, Melissa B.; Koutra, Danai

2018-01-01

Viruses and bacteria are critical components of the human microbiome and play important roles in health and disease. Most previous work has relied on studying bacteria and viruses independently, thereby reducing them to two separate communities. Such approaches are unable to capture how these microbial communities interact, such as through processes that maintain community robustness or allow phage-host populations to co-evolve. We implemented a network-based analytical approach to describe phage-bacteria network diversity throughout the human body. We built these community networks using a machine learning algorithm to predict which phages could infect which bacteria in a given microbiome. Our algorithm was applied to paired viral and bacterial metagenomic sequence sets from three previously published human cohorts. We organized the predicted interactions into networks that allowed us to evaluate phage-bacteria connectedness across the human body. We observed evidence that gut and skin network structures were person-specific and not conserved among cohabitating family members. High-fat diets appeared to be associated with less connected networks. Network structure differed between skin sites, with those exposed to the external environment being less connected and likely more susceptible to network degradation by microbial extinction events. This study quantified and contrasted the diversity of virome-microbiome networks across the human body and illustrated how environmental factors may influence phage-bacteria interactive dynamics. This work provides a baseline for future studies to better understand system perturbations, such as disease states, through ecological networks. PMID:29668682

Biogeography and environmental conditions shape bacteriophage-bacteria networks across the human microbiome.

PubMed

Hannigan, Geoffrey D; Duhaime, Melissa B; Koutra, Danai; Schloss, Patrick D

2018-04-01

Viruses and bacteria are critical components of the human microbiome and play important roles in health and disease. Most previous work has relied on studying bacteria and viruses independently, thereby reducing them to two separate communities. Such approaches are unable to capture how these microbial communities interact, such as through processes that maintain community robustness or allow phage-host populations to co-evolve. We implemented a network-based analytical approach to describe phage-bacteria network diversity throughout the human body. We built these community networks using a machine learning algorithm to predict which phages could infect which bacteria in a given microbiome. Our algorithm was applied to paired viral and bacterial metagenomic sequence sets from three previously published human cohorts. We organized the predicted interactions into networks that allowed us to evaluate phage-bacteria connectedness across the human body. We observed evidence that gut and skin network structures were person-specific and not conserved among cohabitating family members. High-fat diets appeared to be associated with less connected networks. Network structure differed between skin sites, with those exposed to the external environment being less connected and likely more susceptible to network degradation by microbial extinction events. This study quantified and contrasted the diversity of virome-microbiome networks across the human body and illustrated how environmental factors may influence phage-bacteria interactive dynamics. This work provides a baseline for future studies to better understand system perturbations, such as disease states, through ecological networks.

Utilizing a structural meta-ontology for family-based quality assurance of the BioPortal ontologies.

PubMed

Ochs, Christopher; He, Zhe; Zheng, Ling; Geller, James; Perl, Yehoshua; Hripcsak, George; Musen, Mark A

2016-06-01

An Abstraction Network is a compact summary of an ontology's structure and content. In previous research, we showed that Abstraction Networks support quality assurance (QA) of biomedical ontologies. The development of an Abstraction Network and its associated QA methodologies, however, is a labor-intensive process that previously was applicable only to one ontology at a time. To improve the efficiency of the Abstraction-Network-based QA methodology, we introduced a QA framework that uses uniform Abstraction Network derivation techniques and QA methodologies that are applicable to whole families of structurally similar ontologies. For the family-based framework to be successful, it is necessary to develop a method for classifying ontologies into structurally similar families. We now describe a structural meta-ontology that classifies ontologies according to certain structural features that are commonly used in the modeling of ontologies (e.g., object properties) and that are important for Abstraction Network derivation. Each class of the structural meta-ontology represents a family of ontologies with identical structural features, indicating which types of Abstraction Networks and QA methodologies are potentially applicable to all of the ontologies in the family. We derive a collection of 81 families, corresponding to classes of the structural meta-ontology, that enable a flexible, streamlined family-based QA methodology, offering multiple choices for classifying an ontology. The structure of 373 ontologies from the NCBO BioPortal is analyzed and each ontology is classified into multiple families modeled by the structural meta-ontology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural covariance networks in the mouse brain.

PubMed

Pagani, Marco; Bifone, Angelo; Gozzi, Alessandro

2016-04-01

The presence of networks of correlation between regional gray matter volume as measured across subjects in a group of individuals has been consistently described in several human studies, an approach termed structural covariance MRI (scMRI). Complementary to prevalent brain mapping modalities like functional and diffusion-weighted imaging, the approach can provide precious insights into the mutual influence of trophic and plastic processes in health and pathological states. To investigate whether analogous scMRI networks are present in lower mammal species amenable to genetic and experimental manipulation such as the laboratory mouse, we employed high resolution morphoanatomical MRI in a large cohort of genetically-homogeneous wild-type mice (C57Bl6/J) and mapped scMRI networks using a seed-based approach. We show that the mouse brain exhibits robust homotopic scMRI networks in both primary and associative cortices, a finding corroborated by independent component analyses of cortical volumes. Subcortical structures also showed highly symmetric inter-hemispheric correlations, with evidence of distributed antero-posterior networks in diencephalic regions of the thalamus and hypothalamus. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed six identifiable clusters of cortical and sub-cortical regions corresponding to previously described neuroanatomical systems. Our work documents the presence of homotopic cortical and subcortical scMRI networks in the mouse brain, thus supporting the use of this species to investigate the elusive biological and neuroanatomical underpinnings of scMRI network development and its derangement in neuropathological states. The identification of scMRI networks in genetically homogeneous inbred mice is consistent with the emerging view of a key role of environmental factors in shaping these correlational networks. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social barriers to Type 2 diabetes self-management: the role of capital.

PubMed

Henderson, Julie; Wilson, Christine; Roberts, Louise; Munt, Rebecca; Crotty, Mikaila

2014-12-01

Approaches to self-management traditionally focus upon individual capacity to make behavioural change. In this paper, we use Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and capital to demonstrate the impact of structural inequalities upon chronic illness self-management through exploring findings from 28 semi-structured interviews conducted with people from a lower socioeconomic region of Adelaide, South Australia who have type 2 diabetes. The data suggests that access to capital is a significant barrier to type 2 diabetes self-management. While many participants described having sufficient cultural capital to access and assess health information, they often lacked economic capital and social capital in the form of support networks who promote health. Participants were often involved in social networks in which activities which are contrary to self-management have symbolic value. As a consequence, they entered relationships with health professionals at a disadvantage. We conclude that structural barriers to self-management arising from habitus resulting in the performance of health behaviours rooted in cultural and class background and limited access to capital in the form of economic resources, social networks, health knowledge and prestige may have a negative impact on capacity for type 2 diabetes self-management. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Health monitoring of offshore structures using wireless sensor network: experimental investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekaran, Srinivasan; Chitambaram, Thailammai

2016-04-01

This paper presents a detailed methodology of deploying wireless sensor network in offshore structures for structural health monitoring (SHM). Traditional SHM is carried out by visual inspections and wired systems, which are complicated and requires larger installation space to deploy while decommissioning is a tedious process. Wireless sensor networks can enhance the art of health monitoring with deployment of scalable and dense sensor network, which consumes lesser space and lower power consumption. Proposed methodology is mainly focused to determine the status of serviceability of large floating platforms under environmental loads using wireless sensors. Data acquired by the servers will analyze the data for their exceedance with respect to the threshold values. On failure, SHM architecture will trigger an alarm or an early warning in the form of alert messages to alert the engineer-in-charge on board; emergency response plans can then be subsequently activated, which shall minimize the risk involved apart from mitigating economic losses occurring from the accidents. In the present study, wired and wireless sensors are installed in the experimental model and the structural response, acquired is compared. The wireless system comprises of Raspberry pi board, which is programmed to transmit the acquired data to the server using Wi-Fi adapter. Data is then hosted in the webpage for further post-processing, as desired.

German cooperation-network 'equity in health'-health promotion in settings.

PubMed

Mielck, Andreas; Kilian, Holger; Lehmann, Frank; Richter-Kornweitz, Antje; Kaba-Schönstein, Lotte

2018-04-01

In 2003, the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) initiated the national Cooperation-Network (CN) 'Equity in Health'. The CN is constantly increasing in size and scope, supporting setting approaches aimed at reducing health inequalities. A detailed description of the CN has not yet been available in English. The CN comprises a total of 66 institutional cooperation partners. Information concerning the structure and activities can be found on a special website. Coordination Centres (CC) have been established in the 16 federal states, for the coordination of all state-specific activities. Funding for the CN and CC is provided by the BZgA, the German statutory sickness funds and by the state-specific ministries of health. These partners also support the continuous quality improvement, which is based on the good-practice criteria developed by the Advisory Committee of the CN. In 2011, the 'Municipal Partner Process (MPP)' has been launched, specifically supporting local partners and integrated life-course approaches focussing on children. In 2015, the focus has been widened to include all age-groups. In July 2015, a new national health law concerning health promotion and prevention has been ratified by the federal Parliament, with a focus on reducing health inequalities. Currently, the details of its implementation are discussed on a nationwide basis. The CN has long advocated for such a law, and today the CN is a well-accepted partner providing concepts, methods and a strong and long-standing network. The article closes with future challenges faced by the CN.

Unattended wireless proximity sensor networks for counterterrorism, force protection, littoral environments, PHM, and tamper monitoring ground applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forcier, Bob

2003-09-01

This paper describes a digital-ultrasonic ground network, which forms an unique "unattended mote sensor system" for monitoring the environment, personnel, facilities, vehicles, power generation systems or aircraft in Counter-Terrorism, Force Protection, Prognostic Health Monitoring (PHM) and other ground applications. Unattended wireless smart sensor/tags continuously monitor the environment and provide alerts upon changes or disruptions to the environment. These wireless smart sensor/tags are networked utilizing ultrasonic wireless motes, hybrid RF/Ultrasonic Network Nodes and Base Stations. The network is monitored continuously with a 24/7 remote and secure monitoring system. This system utilizes physical objects such as a vehicle"s structure or a building to provide the media for two way secure communication of key metrics and sensor data and eliminates the "blind spots" that are common in RF solutions because of structural elements of buildings, etc. The digital-ultrasonic sensors have networking capability and a 32-bit identifier, which provide a platform for a robust data acquisition (DAQ) for a large amount of sensors. In addition, the network applies a unique "signature" of the environment by comparing sensor-to-sensor data to pick up on minute changes, which would signal an invasion of unknown elements or signal a potential tampering in equipment or facilities. The system accommodates satellite and other secure network uplinks in either RF or UWB protocols. The wireless sensors can be dispersed by ground or air maneuvers. In addition, the sensors can be incorporated into the structure or surfaces of vehicles, buildings, or clothing of field personnel.

Ensembles of novelty detection classifiers for structural health monitoring using guided waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dib, Gerges; Karpenko, Oleksii; Koricho, Ermias

Guided wave structural health monitoring uses sparse sensor networks embedded in sophisticated structures for defect detection and characterization. The biggest challenge of those sensor networks is developing robust techniques for reliable damage detection under changing environmental and operating conditions. To address this challenge, we develop a novelty classifier for damage detection based on one class support vector machines. We identify appropriate features for damage detection and introduce a feature aggregation method which quadratically increases the number of available training observations.We adopt a two-level voting scheme by using an ensemble of classifiers and predictions. Each classifier is trained on a differentmore » segment of the guided wave signal, and each classifier makes an ensemble of predictions based on a single observation. Using this approach, the classifier can be trained using a small number of baseline signals. We study the performance using monte-carlo simulations of an analytical model and data from impact damage experiments on a glass fiber composite plate.We also demonstrate the classifier performance using two types of baseline signals: fixed and rolling baseline training set. The former requires prior knowledge of baseline signals from all environmental and operating conditions, while the latter does not and leverages the fact that environmental and operating conditions vary slowly over time and can be modeled as a Gaussian process.« less

Utilization of an interorganizational network analysis to evaluate the development of community capacity among a community-academic partnership.

PubMed

Clark, Heather R; Ramirez, Albert; Drake, Kelly N; Beaudoin, Christopher E; Garney, Whitney R; Wendel, Monica L; Outley, Corliss; Burdine, James N; Player, Harold D

2014-01-01

Following a community health assessment the Brazos Valley Health Partnership (BVHP) organized to address fragmentation of services and local health needs. This regional partnership employs the fundamental principles of community-based participatory research, fostering an equitable partnership with the aim of building community capacity to address local health issues. This article describes changes in relationships as a result of capacity building efforts in a community-academic partnership. Growth in network structure among organizations is hypothesized to be indicative of less fragmentation of services for residents and increased capacity of the BVHP to collectively address local health issues. Each of the participant organizations responded to a series of questions regarding its relationships with other organizations. Each organization was asked about information sharing, joint planning, resource sharing, and formal agreements with other organizations. The network survey has been administered 3 times between 2004 and 2009. Network density increased for sharing information and jointly planning events. Growth in the complexity of relationships was reported for sharing tangible resources and formal agreements. The average number of ties between organizations as well as the strength of relationships increased. This study provides evidence that the community capacity building efforts within these communities have contributed to beneficial changes in interorganizational relationships. Results from this analysis are useful for understanding how a community partnership's efforts to address access to care can strengthen a community's capacity for future action. Increased collaboration also leads to new assets, resources, and the transfer of knowledge and skills.

Constructing financial network based on PMFG and threshold method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Chun-Xiao; Song, Fu-Tie

2018-04-01

Based on planar maximally filtered graph (PMFG) and threshold method, we introduced a correlation-based network named PMFG-based threshold network (PTN). We studied the community structure of PTN and applied ISOMAP algorithm to represent PTN in low-dimensional Euclidean space. The results show that the community corresponds well to the cluster in the Euclidean space. Further, we studied the dynamics of the community structure and constructed the normalized mutual information (NMI) matrix. Based on the real data in the market, we found that the volatility of the market can lead to dramatic changes in the community structure, and the structure is more stable during the financial crisis.

A Sensor Data Fusion System Based on k-Nearest Neighbor Pattern Classification for Structural Health Monitoring Applications

PubMed Central

Vitola, Jaime; Pozo, Francesc; Tibaduiza, Diego A.; Anaya, Maribel

2017-01-01

Civil and military structures are susceptible and vulnerable to damage due to the environmental and operational conditions. Therefore, the implementation of technology to provide robust solutions in damage identification (by using signals acquired directly from the structure) is a requirement to reduce operational and maintenance costs. In this sense, the use of sensors permanently attached to the structures has demonstrated a great versatility and benefit since the inspection system can be automated. This automation is carried out with signal processing tasks with the aim of a pattern recognition analysis. This work presents the detailed description of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system based on the use of a piezoelectric (PZT) active system. The SHM system includes: (i) the use of a piezoelectric sensor network to excite the structure and collect the measured dynamic response, in several actuation phases; (ii) data organization; (iii) advanced signal processing techniques to define the feature vectors; and finally; (iv) the nearest neighbor algorithm as a machine learning approach to classify different kinds of damage. A description of the experimental setup, the experimental validation and a discussion of the results from two different structures are included and analyzed. PMID:28230796

A Sensor Data Fusion System Based on k-Nearest Neighbor Pattern Classification for Structural Health Monitoring Applications.

PubMed

Vitola, Jaime; Pozo, Francesc; Tibaduiza, Diego A; Anaya, Maribel

2017-02-21

Civil and military structures are susceptible and vulnerable to damage due to the environmental and operational conditions. Therefore, the implementation of technology to provide robust solutions in damage identification (by using signals acquired directly from the structure) is a requirement to reduce operational and maintenance costs. In this sense, the use of sensors permanently attached to the structures has demonstrated a great versatility and benefit since the inspection system can be automated. This automation is carried out with signal processing tasks with the aim of a pattern recognition analysis. This work presents the detailed description of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system based on the use of a piezoelectric (PZT) active system. The SHM system includes: (i) the use of a piezoelectric sensor network to excite the structure and collect the measured dynamic response, in several actuation phases; (ii) data organization; (iii) advanced signal processing techniques to define the feature vectors; and finally; (iv) the nearest neighbor algorithm as a machine learning approach to classify different kinds of damage. A description of the experimental setup, the experimental validation and a discussion of the results from two different structures are included and analyzed.

Investigation of the Impact of Extracting and Exchanging Health Information by Using Internet and Social Networks.

PubMed

Pistolis, John; Zimeras, Stelios; Chardalias, Kostas; Roupa, Zoe; Fildisis, George; Diomidous, Marianna

2016-06-01

Social networks (1) have been embedded in our daily life for a long time. They constitute a powerful tool used nowadays for both searching and exchanging information on different issues by using Internet searching engines (Google, Bing, etc.) and Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter etc.). In this paper, are presented the results of a research based on the frequency and the type of the usage of the Internet and the Social Networks by the general public and the health professionals. The objectives of the research were focused on the investigation of the frequency of seeking and meticulously searching for health information in the social media by both individuals and health practitioners. The exchanging of information is a procedure that involves the issues of reliability and quality of information. In this research, by using advanced statistical techniques an effort is made to investigate the participant's profile in using social networks for searching and exchanging information on health issues. Based on the answers 93 % of the people, use the Internet to find information on health-subjects. Considering principal component analysis, the most important health subjects were nutrition (0.719 %), respiratory issues (0.79 %), cardiological issues (0.777%), psychological issues (0.667%) and total (73.8%). The research results, based on different statistical techniques revealed that the 61.2% of the males and 56.4% of the females intended to use the social networks for searching medical information. Based on the principal components analysis, the most important sources that the participants mentioned, were the use of the Internet and social networks for exchanging information on health issues. These sources proved to be of paramount importance to the participants of the study. The same holds for nursing, medical and administrative staff in hospitals.

Decomposition of metabolic network into functional modules based on the global connectivity structure of reaction graph.

PubMed

Ma, Hong-Wu; Zhao, Xue-Ming; Yuan, Ying-Jin; Zeng, An-Ping

2004-08-12

Metabolic networks are organized in a modular, hierarchical manner. Methods for a rational decomposition of the metabolic network into relatively independent functional subsets are essential to better understand the modularity and organization principle of a large-scale, genome-wide network. Network decomposition is also necessary for functional analysis of metabolism by pathway analysis methods that are often hampered by the problem of combinatorial explosion due to the complexity of metabolic network. Decomposition methods proposed in literature are mainly based on the connection degree of metabolites. To obtain a more reasonable decomposition, the global connectivity structure of metabolic networks should be taken into account. In this work, we use a reaction graph representation of a metabolic network for the identification of its global connectivity structure and for decomposition. A bow-tie connectivity structure similar to that previously discovered for metabolite graph is found also to exist in the reaction graph. Based on this bow-tie structure, a new decomposition method is proposed, which uses a distance definition derived from the path length between two reactions. An hierarchical classification tree is first constructed from the distance matrix among the reactions in the giant strong component of the bow-tie structure. These reactions are then grouped into different subsets based on the hierarchical tree. Reactions in the IN and OUT subsets of the bow-tie structure are subsequently placed in the corresponding subsets according to a 'majority rule'. Compared with the decomposition methods proposed in literature, ours is based on combined properties of the global network structure and local reaction connectivity rather than, primarily, on the connection degree of metabolites. The method is applied to decompose the metabolic network of Escherichia coli. Eleven subsets are obtained. More detailed investigations of the subsets show that reactions in the same subset are really functionally related. The rational decomposition of metabolic networks, and subsequent studies of the subsets, make it more amenable to understand the inherent organization and functionality of metabolic networks at the modular level. http://genome.gbf.de/bioinformatics/

Smart fabrics: integrating fiber optic sensors and information networks.

PubMed

El-Sherif, Mahmoud

2004-01-01

"Smart Fabrics" are defined as fabrics capable of monitoring their own "health", and sensing environmental conditions. They consist of special type of sensors, signal processing, and communication network embedded into textile substrate. Available conventional sensors and networking systems are not fully technologically mature for such applications. New classes of miniature sensors, signal processing and networking systems are urgently needed for such application. Also, the methodology for integration into textile structures has to be developed. In this paper, the development of smart fabrics with embedded fiber optic systems is presented for applications in health monitoring and diagnostics. Successful development of such smart fabrics with embedded sensors and networks is mainly dependent on the development of the proper miniature sensors technology, and on the integration of these sensors into textile structures. The developed smart fabrics will be discussed and samples of the results will be presented.

An actor-based model of social network influence on adolescent body size, screen time, and playing sports.

PubMed

Shoham, David A; Tong, Liping; Lamberson, Peter J; Auchincloss, Amy H; Zhang, Jun; Dugas, Lara; Kaufman, Jay S; Cooper, Richard S; Luke, Amy

2012-01-01

Recent studies suggest that obesity may be "contagious" between individuals in social networks. Social contagion (influence), however, may not be identifiable using traditional statistical approaches because they cannot distinguish contagion from homophily (the propensity for individuals to select friends who are similar to themselves) or from shared environmental influences. In this paper, we apply the stochastic actor-based model (SABM) framework developed by Snijders and colleagues to data on adolescent body mass index (BMI), screen time, and playing active sports. Our primary hypothesis was that social influences on adolescent body size and related behaviors are independent of friend selection. Employing the SABM, we simultaneously modeled network dynamics (friendship selection based on homophily and structural characteristics of the network) and social influence. We focused on the 2 largest schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and held the school environment constant by examining the 2 school networks separately (N = 624 and 1151). Results show support in both schools for homophily on BMI, but also for social influence on BMI. There was no evidence of homophily on screen time in either school, while only one of the schools showed homophily on playing active sports. There was, however, evidence of social influence on screen time in one of the schools, and playing active sports in both schools. These results suggest that both homophily and social influence are important in understanding patterns of adolescent obesity. Intervention efforts should take into consideration peers' influence on one another, rather than treating "high risk" adolescents in isolation.

Health rights pamphlets: critical literacy and inclusive citizenship, South Africa.

PubMed

Strecker, Morgan; Stuttaford, Maria; London, Leslie

2014-06-01

The Ottawa Charter recognizes the importance of strengthening community action for health and developing personal skills. At the same time, a rights-based approach to health includes the right to information, participation and accountability. The Learning Network for Health and Human Rights is a research and learning collaboration between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and universities in the Western Cape, South Africa. For the purposes of this article, a CSO is understood to be any organization that is outside of the state and private market sector. As part of a wider programme of action research, the learning network developed six pamphlets aimed at enhancing individual and collective skills to support action related to the implementation of the right to health. The research reported here analyses how the pamphlets, coupled with directed training, strengthened skills, promoted critical literacy and supported inclusive citizenship. Eighteen semi-structured interviews and eight focus groups were conducted with 59 participants from eight CSOs, their members, beneficiaries and communities. The success of the pamphlets was found to be attributed to the role they played in a wider training programme, requested by the CSOs and developed jointly by CSOs and university-based researchers. Community action on the right to health is contingent on personal as well as collective skills development. Understanding of the right to health and skills for participation and accountability were extended in breadth and depth, which enabled inclusive citizenship.

A Multivariate Granger Causality Concept towards Full Brain Functional Connectivity.

PubMed

Schmidt, Christoph; Pester, Britta; Schmid-Hertel, Nicole; Witte, Herbert; Wismüller, Axel; Leistritz, Lutz

2016-01-01

Detecting changes of spatially high-resolution functional connectivity patterns in the brain is crucial for improving the fundamental understanding of brain function in both health and disease, yet still poses one of the biggest challenges in computational neuroscience. Currently, classical multivariate Granger Causality analyses of directed interactions between single process components in coupled systems are commonly restricted to spatially low- dimensional data, which requires a pre-selection or aggregation of time series as a preprocessing step. In this paper we propose a new fully multivariate Granger Causality approach with embedded dimension reduction that makes it possible to obtain a representation of functional connectivity for spatially high-dimensional data. The resulting functional connectivity networks may consist of several thousand vertices and thus contain more detailed information compared to connectivity networks obtained from approaches based on particular regions of interest. Our large scale Granger Causality approach is applied to synthetic and resting state fMRI data with a focus on how well network community structure, which represents a functional segmentation of the network, is preserved. It is demonstrated that a number of different community detection algorithms, which utilize a variety of algorithmic strategies and exploit topological features differently, reveal meaningful information on the underlying network module structure.

Homeless but connected: the role of heterogeneous social network ties and social networking technology in the mental health outcomes of street-living adolescents.

PubMed

Rice, Eric; Kurzban, Seth; Ray, Diana

2012-12-01

Although social integration tends to have positive effects on the mental health of housed adolescents, the role of homeless adolescents' social networks is more ambiguous. Social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Hollywood, California to examine how network ties are associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Face-to-face relationships with street-based peers were a risk factor for both anxiety and depression, while contacting home-based friends through social networking technology was found to be protective for depression. Community-based and public agencies serving homeless adolescents should consider facilitating the maintenance of these protective relationships by providing internet access.

Age and Gender Differences in Social Network Composition and Social Support Among Older Rural South Africans: Findings From the HAALSI Study.

PubMed

Harling, Guy; Morris, Katherine Ann; Manderson, Lenore; Perkins, Jessica M; Berkman, Lisa F

2018-03-26

Drawing on the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in South Africa" (HAALSI) baseline survey, we present data on older adults' social networks and receipt of social support in rural South Africa. We examine how age and gender differences in social network characteristics matched with patterns predicted by theories of choice- and constraint-based network contraction in older adults. We used regression analysis on data for 5,059 South African adults aged 40 and older. Older respondents reported fewer important social contacts and less frequent communication than their middle-aged peers, largely due to fewer nonkin connections. Network size difference between older and younger respondents was greater for women than for men. These gender and age differences were explicable by much higher levels of widowhood among older women compared to younger women and older men. There was no evidence for employment-related network contraction or selective retention of emotionally supportive ties. Marriage-related structural constraints impacted on older women's social networks in rural South Africa, but did not explain choice-based network contraction. These findings suggest that many older women in rural Africa, a growing population, may have an unmet need for social support.

Research on energy stock market associated network structure based on financial indicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xi, Xian; An, Haizhong

2018-01-01

A financial market is a complex system consisting of many interacting units. In general, due to the various types of information exchange within the industry, there is a relationship between the stocks that can reveal their clear structural characteristics. Complex network methods are powerful tools for studying the internal structure and function of the stock market, which allows us to better understand the stock market. Applying complex network methodology, a stock associated network model based on financial indicators is created. Accordingly, we set threshold value and use modularity to detect the community network, and we analyze the network structure and community cluster characteristics of different threshold situations. The study finds that the threshold value of 0.7 is the abrupt change point of the network. At the same time, as the threshold value increases, the independence of the community strengthens. This study provides a method of researching stock market based on the financial indicators, exploring the structural similarity of financial indicators of stocks. Also, it provides guidance for investment and corporate financial management.

Structured prediction models for RNN based sequence labeling in clinical text.

PubMed

Jagannatha, Abhyuday N; Yu, Hong

2016-11-01

Sequence labeling is a widely used method for named entity recognition and information extraction from unstructured natural language data. In clinical domain one major application of sequence labeling involves extraction of medical entities such as medication, indication, and side-effects from Electronic Health Record narratives. Sequence labeling in this domain, presents its own set of challenges and objectives. In this work we experimented with various CRF based structured learning models with Recurrent Neural Networks. We extend the previously studied LSTM-CRF models with explicit modeling of pairwise potentials. We also propose an approximate version of skip-chain CRF inference with RNN potentials. We use these methodologies for structured prediction in order to improve the exact phrase detection of various medical entities.

Structured prediction models for RNN based sequence labeling in clinical text

PubMed Central

Jagannatha, Abhyuday N; Yu, Hong

2016-01-01

Sequence labeling is a widely used method for named entity recognition and information extraction from unstructured natural language data. In clinical domain one major application of sequence labeling involves extraction of medical entities such as medication, indication, and side-effects from Electronic Health Record narratives. Sequence labeling in this domain, presents its own set of challenges and objectives. In this work we experimented with various CRF based structured learning models with Recurrent Neural Networks. We extend the previously studied LSTM-CRF models with explicit modeling of pairwise potentials. We also propose an approximate version of skip-chain CRF inference with RNN potentials. We use these methodologies1 for structured prediction in order to improve the exact phrase detection of various medical entities. PMID:28004040

CRCHD Integrated Networks

Cancer.gov

INB supports two network-based programs—the National Outreach Network (NON) and the Geographic Management of Cancer Health Disparities Program (GMaP)—as well as advising on women’s health and sexual and gender minority opportunities within and across the NCI.

The Energy Coding of a Structural Neural Network Based on the Hodgkin-Huxley Model.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhenyu; Wang, Rubin; Zhu, Fengyun

2018-01-01

Based on the Hodgkin-Huxley model, the present study established a fully connected structural neural network to simulate the neural activity and energy consumption of the network by neural energy coding theory. The numerical simulation result showed that the periodicity of the network energy distribution was positively correlated to the number of neurons and coupling strength, but negatively correlated to signal transmitting delay. Moreover, a relationship was established between the energy distribution feature and the synchronous oscillation of the neural network, which showed that when the proportion of negative energy in power consumption curve was high, the synchronous oscillation of the neural network was apparent. In addition, comparison with the simulation result of structural neural network based on the Wang-Zhang biophysical model of neurons showed that both models were essentially consistent.

A 17-Month Review of the Care Model, Service Structure, and Design of THRIVE, a Community Mental Health Initiative in Northern Singapore.

PubMed

Cheang, K M; Cheok, C C S

2015-12-01

Effective delivery of psychiatric care requires the development of a range of services. The existing Singapore health care system provides a comprehensive range of psychiatric services based in restructured hospitals. The Ministry of Health Community Mental Health Masterplan (2012-2017) aims to build novel services for the community. This Masterplan envisions the development of ASCATs (Assessment Shared Care Teams) and COMITs (Community Intervention Teams) to build the capacity and capability for psychiatric care to be delivered outside the hospital in the community. A community mental health plan comprising a fast access clinic, internet-delivered self-help and building a community network of providers was devised for the North of Singapore through the THRIVE (Total Health Rich In Vitality and Energy) programme. This article provides an introduction to the care model, service structure and design of the THRIVE, and reviews its milestones and achievements from its inception in August 2012 until December 2013.

The networked health enterprise: a vision for 2008.

PubMed

Stead, W W

1998-01-01

Informatics and information technology hold the promise of a consumer-centered health enterprise--one that provides quality care at a cost society is willing to pay; one where need-based, adaptive, competency-based learning results in cost-effectiveness of health education; one where team-based health and learning on demand, coupled with monitoring of process outcomes and network access to expertise, guarantee quality. The barriers to this promise are the professional guilds, the cross-subsidies that support the health enterprise of 1998, and the lack of respect for privacy. Collectively, the informatics community needs to develop a compelling vision that will galvanize the health community to action. If the health community does not step up to this challenge, consumers will take advantage of disintermediation. Empowered by the network, they will go outside the system into hands that meet their needs.

Barriers of access to care in a managed competition model: lessons from Colombia.

PubMed

Vargas, Ingrid; Vázquez, María Luisa; Mogollón-Pérez, Amparo Susana; Unger, Jean-Pierre

2010-10-29

The health sector reform in Colombia, initiated by Law 100 (1993) that introduced a managed competition model, is generally presented as a successful experience of improving access to care through a health insurance regulated market. The study's objective is to improve our understanding of the factors influencing access to the continuum of care in the Colombian managed competition model, from the social actors' point of view. An exploratory, descriptive-interpretative qualitative study was carried out, based on case studies of four healthcare networks in rural and urban areas. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted to a three stage theoretical sample: I) cases, II) providers and III) informants: insured and uninsured users (35), health professionals (51), administrative personnel (20), and providers' (18) and insurers' (10) managers. Narrative content analysis was conducted; segmented by cases, informant's groups and themes. Access, particularly to secondary care, is perceived as complex due to four groups of obstacles with synergetic effects: segmented insurance design with insufficient services covered; insurers' managed care and purchasing mechanisms; providers' networks structural and organizational limitations; and, poor living conditions. Insurers' and providers' values based on economic profit permeate all factors. Variations became apparent between the two geographical areas and insurance schemes. In the urban areas barriers related to market functioning predominate, whereas in the rural areas structural deficiencies in health services are linked to insufficient public funding. While financial obstacles are dominant in the subsidized regime, in the contributory scheme supply shortage prevails, related to insufficient private investment. The results show how in the Colombian healthcare system structural and organizational barriers to care access, that are common in developing countries, are widened by both the insurers' use of mechanisms that limit the utilization and the public healthcare providers' change of behavior in a competition environment. They provide evidence to question the promotion of the managed competition model in low and middle-income countries.

Barriers of access to care in a managed competition model: lessons from Colombia

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The health sector reform in Colombia, initiated by Law 100 (1993) that introduced a managed competition model, is generally presented as a successful experience of improving access to care through a health insurance regulated market. The study's objective is to improve our understanding of the factors influencing access to the continuum of care in the Colombian managed competition model, from the social actors' point of view. Methods An exploratory, descriptive-interpretative qualitative study was carried out, based on case studies of four healthcare networks in rural and urban areas. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted to a three stage theoretical sample: I) cases, II) providers and III) informants: insured and uninsured users (35), health professionals (51), administrative personnel (20), and providers' (18) and insurers' (10) managers. Narrative content analysis was conducted; segmented by cases, informant's groups and themes. Results Access, particularly to secondary care, is perceived as complex due to four groups of obstacles with synergetic effects: segmented insurance design with insufficient services covered; insurers' managed care and purchasing mechanisms; providers' networks structural and organizational limitations; and, poor living conditions. Insurers' and providers' values based on economic profit permeate all factors. Variations became apparent between the two geographical areas and insurance schemes. In the urban areas barriers related to market functioning predominate, whereas in the rural areas structural deficiencies in health services are linked to insufficient public funding. While financial obstacles are dominant in the subsidized regime, in the contributory scheme supply shortage prevails, related to insufficient private investment. Conclusions The results show how in the Colombian healthcare system structural and organizational barriers to care access, that are common in developing countries, are widened by both the insurers' use of mechanisms that limit the utilization and the public healthcare providers' change of behavior in a competition environment. They provide evidence to question the promotion of the managed competition model in low and middle-income countries. PMID:21034481

Exploring the Use of a Social Network to Facilitate and Integrate Long-Term Interprofessional Educational Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittenger, Amy L.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing interprofessional education to students from six health professional programs through use of an online social networking platform. Specifically, three pedagogical models (Minimally Structured, Facilitated, Highly Structured) were evaluated for impact on…

Network Ecology and Adolescent Social Structure

PubMed Central

McFarland, Daniel A.; Moody, James; Diehl, David; Smith, Jeffrey A.; Thomas, Reuben J.

2014-01-01

Adolescent societies—whether arising from weak, short-term classroom friendships or from close, long-term friendships—exhibit various levels of network clustering, segregation, and hierarchy. Some are rank-ordered caste systems and others are flat, cliquish worlds. Explaining the source of such structural variation remains a challenge, however, because global network features are generally treated as the agglomeration of micro-level tie-formation mechanisms, namely balance, homophily, and dominance. How do the same micro-mechanisms generate significant variation in global network structures? To answer this question we propose and test a network ecological theory that specifies the ways features of organizational environments moderate the expression of tie-formation processes, thereby generating variability in global network structures across settings. We develop this argument using longitudinal friendship data on schools (Add Health study) and classrooms (Classroom Engagement study), and by extending exponential random graph models to the study of multiple societies over time. PMID:25535409

Network Ecology and Adolescent Social Structure.

PubMed

McFarland, Daniel A; Moody, James; Diehl, David; Smith, Jeffrey A; Thomas, Reuben J

2014-12-01

Adolescent societies-whether arising from weak, short-term classroom friendships or from close, long-term friendships-exhibit various levels of network clustering, segregation, and hierarchy. Some are rank-ordered caste systems and others are flat, cliquish worlds. Explaining the source of such structural variation remains a challenge, however, because global network features are generally treated as the agglomeration of micro-level tie-formation mechanisms, namely balance, homophily, and dominance. How do the same micro-mechanisms generate significant variation in global network structures? To answer this question we propose and test a network ecological theory that specifies the ways features of organizational environments moderate the expression of tie-formation processes, thereby generating variability in global network structures across settings. We develop this argument using longitudinal friendship data on schools (Add Health study) and classrooms (Classroom Engagement study), and by extending exponential random graph models to the study of multiple societies over time.

Network Influences on Dissemination of Evidence-Based Guidelines in State Tobacco Control Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luke, Douglas A.; Wald, Lana M.; Carothers, Bobbi J.; Bach, Laura E.; Harris, Jenine K.

2013-01-01

Little is known regarding the social network relationships that influence dissemination of evidence-based public health practices and policies. In public health, it is critical that evidence-based guidelines, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs," are…

Social network composition of vascular patients and its associations with health behavior and clinical risk factors

PubMed Central

Heijmans, Naomi; van Lieshout, Jan; Wensing, Michel

2017-01-01

Background This study aimed to explore linkages of patients’ social network composition with health behaviors and clinical risk factors. Methods/Design This observational study was embedded in a project aimed at improving cardiovascular risk management (CRVM) in primary care. 657 vascular patients (227 with cardiovascular disease, 380 at high vascular risk), mean age 72.4 (SD 9.4) years, were recruited as were individuals patients considered important for dealing with their disease, so called alters (n = 487). Network composition was measured with structured patient questionnaires. Both patients and alters completed questionnaires to measure health behavior (habits for physical activity, diet, and smoking). Clinical risk factors (systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol level, and body mass index) were extracted from patients’ medical records. Six logistic regression analyses, using generalized estimating equations, were used to test three hypothesized effects of network composition (having alters with healthful behaviors, without depression, and with specialized knowledge) on six outcomes, adjusted for demographic, personal and psychological characteristics. Results Having alters with overall healthful behavior was related to healthful patient diet (OR 2.14, 95%CI: 1.52–3.02). Having non-smoking alters in networks was related to reduced odds for patient smoking (OR 0.17, 95%CI: 0.05–0.60). No effects of presence of non-depressed alters were found. Presence of alters with specialized knowledge on CVRM was inversely related to healthful diet habits of patients (OR 0.47, 95%CI 0.24–0.89). No significant associations between social network composition and clinical risk factors were found. Discussion Diet and smoking, but not physical exercise and clinical risk factors, were associated with social network composition of patients with vascular conditions. In this study of vascular patients, controlling for both personal and psychological factors, fewer network influences were found compared to previous research. Further research is needed to examine network structure characteristics as well as the role of psychological factors to enhance understanding health behavior of patients involved in CVRM. PMID:28957372

Learning in networks: individual teacher learning versus organizational learning in a regional health-promoting schools network.

PubMed

Flaschberger, Edith; Gugglberger, Lisa; Dietscher, Christina

2013-12-01

To change a school into a health-promoting organization, organizational learning is required. The evaluation of an Austrian regional health-promoting schools network provides qualitative data on the views of the different stakeholders on learning in this network (steering group, network coordinator and representatives of the network schools; n = 26). Through thematic analysis and deep-structure analyses, the following three forms of learning in the network were identified: (A) individual learning through input offered by the network coordination, (B) individual learning between the network schools, i.e. through exchange between the representatives of different schools and (C) learning within the participating schools, i.e. organizational learning. Learning between (B) or within the participating schools (C) seems to be rare in the network; concepts of individual teacher learning are prevalent. Difficulties detected relating to the transfer of information from the network to the member schools included barriers to organizational learning such as the lack of collaboration, coordination and communication in the network schools, which might be effects of the school system in which the observed network is located. To ensure connectivity of the information offered by the network, more emphasis should be put on linking health promotion to school development and the core processes of schools.

A network-based method for the identification of putative genes related to infertility.

PubMed

Wang, ShaoPeng; Huang, GuoHua; Hu, Qinghua; Zou, Quan

2016-11-01

Infertility has become one of the major health problems worldwide, with its incidence having risen markedly in recent decades. There is an urgent need to investigate the pathological mechanisms behind infertility and to design effective treatments. However, this is made difficult by the fact that various biological factors have been identified to be related to infertility, including genetic factors. A network-based method was established to identify new genes potentially related to infertility. A network constructed using human protein-protein interactions based on previously validated infertility-related genes enabled the identification of some novel candidate genes. These genes were then filtered by a permutation test and their functional and structural associations with infertility-related genes. Our method identified 23 novel genes, which have strong functional and structural associations with previously validated infertility-related genes. Substantial evidence indicates that the identified genes are strongly related to dysfunction of the four main biological processes of fertility: reproductive development and physiology, gametogenesis, meiosis and recombination, and hormone regulation. The newly discovered genes may provide new directions for investigating infertility. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "System Genetics" Guest Editor: Dr. Yudong Cai and Dr. Tao Huang. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discovering complex interrelationships between socioeconomic status and health in Europe: A case study applying Bayesian Networks.

PubMed

Alvarez-Galvez, Javier

2016-03-01

Studies assume that socioeconomic status determines individuals' states of health, but how does health determine socioeconomic status? And how does this association vary depending on contextual differences? To answer this question, our study uses an additive Bayesian Networks model to explain the interrelationships between health and socioeconomic determinants using complex and messy data. This model has been used to find the most probable structure in a network to describe the interdependence of these factors in five European welfare state regimes. The advantage of this study is that it offers a specific picture to describe the complex interrelationship between socioeconomic determinants and health, producing a network that is controlled by socio-demographic factors such as gender and age. The present work provides a general framework to describe and understand the complex association between socioeconomic determinants and health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maturation of Structural Health Management Systems for Solid Rocket Motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quing, Xinlin; Beard, Shawn; Zhang, Chang

2011-01-01

Concepts of an autonomous and automated space-compliant diagnostic system were developed for conditioned-based maintenance (CBM) of rocket motors for space exploration vehicles. The diagnostic system will provide real-time information on the integrity of critical structures on launch vehicles, improve their performance, and greatly increase crew safety while decreasing inspection costs. Using the SMART Layer technology as a basis, detailed procedures and calibration techniques for implementation of the diagnostic system were developed. The diagnostic system is a distributed system, which consists of a sensor network, local data loggers, and a host central processor. The system detects external impact to the structure. The major functions of the system include an estimate of impact location, estimate of impact force at impacted location, and estimate of the structure damage at impacted location. This system consists of a large-area sensor network, dedicated multiple local data loggers with signal processing and data analysis software to allow for real-time, in situ monitoring, and longterm tracking of structural integrity of solid rocket motors. Specifically, the system could provide easy installation of large sensor networks, onboard operation under harsh environments and loading, inspection of inaccessible areas without disassembly, detection of impact events and impact damage in real-time, and monitoring of a large area with local data processing to reduce wiring.

Structural Health Monitoring in Composite Structures by Fiber-Optic Sensors.

PubMed

Güemes, Alfredo; Fernández-López, Antonio; F Díaz-Maroto, Patricia; Lozano, Angel; Sierra-Perez, Julian

2018-04-04

Fiber-optic sensors cannot measure damage; to get information about damage from strain measurements, additional strategies are needed, and several alternatives are available in the existing literature. This paper discusses two independent procedures. The first is based on detecting new strains appearing around a damage spot. The structure does not need to be under loads, the technique is very robust, and damage detectability is high, but it requires sensors to be located very close to the damage, so it is a local technique. The second approach offers wider coverage of the structure; it is based on identifying the changes caused by damage on the strain field in the whole structure for similar external loads. Damage location does not need to be known a priori, and detectability is dependent upon the sensor's network density, the damage size, and the external loads. Examples of application to real structures are given.

Structural Health Monitoring in Composite Structures by Fiber-Optic Sensors †

PubMed Central

Güemes, Alfredo; Díaz-Maroto, Patricia F.; Lozano, Angel; Sierra-Perez, Julian

2018-01-01

Fiber-optic sensors cannot measure damage; to get information about damage from strain measurements, additional strategies are needed, and several alternatives are available in the existing literature. This paper discusses two independent procedures. The first is based on detecting new strains appearing around a damage spot. The structure does not need to be under loads, the technique is very robust, and damage detectability is high, but it requires sensors to be located very close to the damage, so it is a local technique. The second approach offers wider coverage of the structure; it is based on identifying the changes caused by damage on the strain field in the whole structure for similar external loads. Damage location does not need to be known a priori, and detectability is dependent upon the sensor’s network density, the damage size, and the external loads. Examples of application to real structures are given. PMID:29617345

Surveying traffic congestion based on the concept of community structure of complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Lili; Zhang, Zhanli; Li, Meng

2016-07-01

In this paper, taking the traffic of Beijing city as an instance, we study city traffic states, especially traffic congestion, based on the concept of network community structure. Concretely, using the floating car data (FCD) information of vehicles gained from the intelligent transport system (ITS) of the city, we construct a new traffic network model which is with floating cars as network nodes and time-varying. It shows that this traffic network has Gaussian degree distributions at different time points. Furthermore, compared with free traffic situations, our simulations show that the traffic network generally has more obvious community structures with larger values of network fitness for congested traffic situations, and through the GPSspg web page, we show that all of our results are consistent with the reality. Then, it indicates that network community structure should be an available way for investigating city traffic congestion problems.

[Communication management of collaborative networks of science, technology and innovation in health].

PubMed

Martins, Wagner de Jesus; Artmann, Elizabeth; Rivera, Francisco Javier Uribe

2012-12-01

The objective of the article was to propose a model of communication management of networks for the Health Innovation System in Brazil. The health production complex and its relationship with the nation's development are addressed and some suggestions for operationalization of the proposed model are also presented. The discussion is based on Habermas' theory and similar cases from other countries. Communication strategies and approaches to commitment dialogue for concerted actions and consensus-building based on critical reasoning may help strengthen democratic networks.

System-wide analysis of the transcriptional network of human myelomonocytic leukemia cells predicts attractor structure and phorbol-ester-induced differentiation and dedifferentiation transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakata, Katsumi; Ohyanagi, Hajime; Sato, Shinji; Nobori, Hiroya; Hayashi, Akiko; Ishii, Hideshi; Daub, Carsten O.; Kawai, Jun; Suzuki, Harukazu; Saito, Toshiyuki

2015-02-01

We present a system-wide transcriptional network structure that controls cell types in the context of expression pattern transitions that correspond to cell type transitions. Co-expression based analyses uncovered a system-wide, ladder-like transcription factor cluster structure composed of nearly 1,600 transcription factors in a human transcriptional network. Computer simulations based on a transcriptional regulatory model deduced from the system-wide, ladder-like transcription factor cluster structure reproduced expression pattern transitions when human THP-1 myelomonocytic leukaemia cells cease proliferation and differentiate under phorbol myristate acetate stimulation. The behaviour of MYC, a reprogramming Yamanaka factor that was suggested to be essential for induced pluripotent stem cells during dedifferentiation, could be interpreted based on the transcriptional regulation predicted by the system-wide, ladder-like transcription factor cluster structure. This study introduces a novel system-wide structure to transcriptional networks that provides new insights into network topology.

Use of Savitzky-Golay Filter for Performances Improvement of SHM Systems Based on Neural Networks and Distributed PZT Sensors.

PubMed

de Oliveira, Mario A; Araujo, Nelcileno V S; da Silva, Rodolfo N; da Silva, Tony I; Epaarachchi, Jayantha

2018-01-08

A considerable amount of research has focused on monitoring structural damage using Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) technologies, which has had recent advances. However, it is important to note the challenges and unresolved problems that disqualify currently developed monitoring systems. One of the frontline SHM technologies, the Electromechanical Impedance (EMI) technique, has shown its potential to overcome remaining problems and challenges. Unfortunately, the recently developed neural network algorithms have not shown significant improvements in the accuracy of rate and the required processing time. In order to fill this gap in advanced neural networks used with EMI techniques, this paper proposes an enhanced and reliable strategy for improving the structural damage detection via: (1) Savitzky-Golay (SG) filter, using both first and second derivatives; (2) Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN); and, (3) Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP Network (SFAN). Those three methods were employed to analyze the EMI data experimentally obtained from an aluminum plate containing three attached PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) patches. In this present study, the damage scenarios were simulated by attaching a small metallic nut at three different positions in the aluminum plate. We found that the proposed method achieves a hit rate of more than 83%, which is significantly higher than current state-of-the-art approaches. Furthermore, this approach results in an improvement of 93% when considering the best case scenario.

Use of Savitzky–Golay Filter for Performances Improvement of SHM Systems Based on Neural Networks and Distributed PZT Sensors

PubMed Central

Araujo, Nelcileno V. S.; da Silva, Rodolfo N.; da Silva, Tony I.; Epaarachchi, Jayantha

2018-01-01

A considerable amount of research has focused on monitoring structural damage using Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) technologies, which has had recent advances. However, it is important to note the challenges and unresolved problems that disqualify currently developed monitoring systems. One of the frontline SHM technologies, the Electromechanical Impedance (EMI) technique, has shown its potential to overcome remaining problems and challenges. Unfortunately, the recently developed neural network algorithms have not shown significant improvements in the accuracy of rate and the required processing time. In order to fill this gap in advanced neural networks used with EMI techniques, this paper proposes an enhanced and reliable strategy for improving the structural damage detection via: (1) Savitzky–Golay (SG) filter, using both first and second derivatives; (2) Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN); and, (3) Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP Network (SFAN). Those three methods were employed to analyze the EMI data experimentally obtained from an aluminum plate containing three attached PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) patches. In this present study, the damage scenarios were simulated by attaching a small metallic nut at three different positions in the aluminum plate. We found that the proposed method achieves a hit rate of more than 83%, which is significantly higher than current state-of-the-art approaches. Furthermore, this approach results in an improvement of 93% when considering the best case scenario. PMID:29316693

Implementation of a health data-sharing infrastructure across diverse primary care organizations.

PubMed

Cole, Allison M; Stephens, Kari A; Keppel, Gina A; Lin, Ching-Ping; Baldwin, Laura-Mae

2014-01-01

Practice-based research networks bring together academic researchers and primary care clinicians to conduct research that improves health outcomes in real-world settings. The Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho region Practice and Research Network implemented a health data-sharing infrastructure across 9 clinics in 3 primary care organizations. Following implementation, we identified challenges and solutions. Challenges included working with diverse primary care organizations, adoption of health information data-sharing technology in a rapidly changing local and national landscape, and limited resources for implementation. Overarching solutions included working with a multidisciplinary academic implementation team, maintaining flexibility, and starting with an established network for primary care organizations. Approaches outlined may generalize to similar initiatives and facilitate adoption of health data sharing in other practice-based research networks.

Implementation of a Health Data-Sharing Infrastructure Across Diverse Primary Care Organizations

PubMed Central

Cole, Allison M.; Stephens, Kari A.; Keppel, Gina A.; Lin, Ching-Ping; Baldwin, Laura-Mae

2014-01-01

Practice-based research networks bring together academic researchers and primary care clinicians to conduct research that improves health outcomes in real-world settings. The Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho region Practice and Research Network implemented a health data-sharing infrastructure across 9 clinics in 3 primary care organizations. Following implementation, we identified challenges and solutions. Challenges included working with diverse primary care organizations, adoption of health information data-sharing technology in a rapidly changing local and national landscape, and limited resources for implementation. Overarching solutions included working with a multidisciplinary academic implementation team, maintaining flexibility, and starting with an established network for primary care organizations. Approaches outlined may generalize to similar initiatives and facilitate adoption of health data sharing in other practice-based research networks. PMID:24594564

Detection of driver metabolites in the human liver metabolic network using structural controllability analysis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Abnormal states in human liver metabolism are major causes of human liver diseases ranging from hepatitis to hepatic tumor. The accumulation in relevant data makes it feasible to derive a large-scale human liver metabolic network (HLMN) and to discover important biological principles or drug-targets based on network analysis. Some studies have shown that interesting biological phenomenon and drug-targets could be discovered by applying structural controllability analysis (which is a newly prevailed concept in networks) to biological networks. The exploration on the connections between structural controllability theory and the HLMN could be used to uncover valuable information on the human liver metabolism from a fresh perspective. Results We applied structural controllability analysis to the HLMN and detected driver metabolites. The driver metabolites tend to have strong ability to influence the states of other metabolites and weak susceptibility to be influenced by the states of others. In addition, the metabolites were classified into three classes: critical, high-frequency and low-frequency driver metabolites. Among the identified 36 critical driver metabolites, 27 metabolites were found to be essential; the high-frequency driver metabolites tend to participate in different metabolic pathways, which are important in regulating the whole metabolic systems. Moreover, we explored some other possible connections between the structural controllability theory and the HLMN, and find that transport reactions and the environment play important roles in the human liver metabolism. Conclusion There are interesting connections between the structural controllability theory and the human liver metabolism: driver metabolites have essential biological functions; the crucial role of extracellular metabolites and transport reactions in controlling the HLMN highlights the importance of the environment in the health of human liver metabolism. PMID:24885538

A new method for constructing networks from binary data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Borkulo, Claudia D.; Borsboom, Denny; Epskamp, Sacha; Blanken, Tessa F.; Boschloo, Lynn; Schoevers, Robert A.; Waldorp, Lourens J.

2014-08-01

Network analysis is entering fields where network structures are unknown, such as psychology and the educational sciences. A crucial step in the application of network models lies in the assessment of network structure. Current methods either have serious drawbacks or are only suitable for Gaussian data. In the present paper, we present a method for assessing network structures from binary data. Although models for binary data are infamous for their computational intractability, we present a computationally efficient model for estimating network structures. The approach, which is based on Ising models as used in physics, combines logistic regression with model selection based on a Goodness-of-Fit measure to identify relevant relationships between variables that define connections in a network. A validation study shows that this method succeeds in revealing the most relevant features of a network for realistic sample sizes. We apply our proposed method to estimate the network of depression and anxiety symptoms from symptom scores of 1108 subjects. Possible extensions of the model are discussed.

Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) Technology Infrastructure for a Distributed Data Network

PubMed Central

Schilling, Lisa M.; Kwan, Bethany M.; Drolshagen, Charles T.; Hosokawa, Patrick W.; Brandt, Elias; Pace, Wilson D.; Uhrich, Christopher; Kamerick, Michael; Bunting, Aidan; Payne, Philip R.O.; Stephens, William E.; George, Joseph M.; Vance, Mark; Giacomini, Kelli; Braddy, Jason; Green, Mika K.; Kahn, Michael G.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Distributed Data Networks (DDNs) offer infrastructure solutions for sharing electronic health data from across disparate data sources to support comparative effectiveness research. Data sharing mechanisms must address technical and governance concerns stemming from network security and data disclosure laws and best practices, such as HIPAA. Methods: The Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) deploys TRIAD grid technology, a common data model, detailed technical documentation, and custom software for data harmonization to facilitate data sharing in collaboration with stakeholders in the care of safety net populations. Data sharing partners host TRIAD grid nodes containing harmonized clinical data within their internal or hosted network environments. Authorized users can use a central web-based query system to request analytic data sets. Discussion: SAFTINet DDN infrastructure achieved a number of data sharing objectives, including scalable and sustainable systems for ensuring harmonized data structures and terminologies and secure distributed queries. Initial implementation challenges were resolved through iterative discussions, development and implementation of technical documentation, governance, and technology solutions. PMID:25848567

Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) Technology Infrastructure for a Distributed Data Network.

PubMed

Schilling, Lisa M; Kwan, Bethany M; Drolshagen, Charles T; Hosokawa, Patrick W; Brandt, Elias; Pace, Wilson D; Uhrich, Christopher; Kamerick, Michael; Bunting, Aidan; Payne, Philip R O; Stephens, William E; George, Joseph M; Vance, Mark; Giacomini, Kelli; Braddy, Jason; Green, Mika K; Kahn, Michael G

2013-01-01

Distributed Data Networks (DDNs) offer infrastructure solutions for sharing electronic health data from across disparate data sources to support comparative effectiveness research. Data sharing mechanisms must address technical and governance concerns stemming from network security and data disclosure laws and best practices, such as HIPAA. The Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) deploys TRIAD grid technology, a common data model, detailed technical documentation, and custom software for data harmonization to facilitate data sharing in collaboration with stakeholders in the care of safety net populations. Data sharing partners host TRIAD grid nodes containing harmonized clinical data within their internal or hosted network environments. Authorized users can use a central web-based query system to request analytic data sets. SAFTINet DDN infrastructure achieved a number of data sharing objectives, including scalable and sustainable systems for ensuring harmonized data structures and terminologies and secure distributed queries. Initial implementation challenges were resolved through iterative discussions, development and implementation of technical documentation, governance, and technology solutions.

A comparative study of theoretical graph models for characterizing structural networks of human brain.

PubMed

Li, Xiaojin; Hu, Xintao; Jin, Changfeng; Han, Junwei; Liu, Tianming; Guo, Lei; Hao, Wei; Li, Lingjiang

2013-01-01

Previous studies have investigated both structural and functional brain networks via graph-theoretical methods. However, there is an important issue that has not been adequately discussed before: what is the optimal theoretical graph model for describing the structural networks of human brain? In this paper, we perform a comparative study to address this problem. Firstly, large-scale cortical regions of interest (ROIs) are localized by recently developed and validated brain reference system named Dense Individualized Common Connectivity-based Cortical Landmarks (DICCCOL) to address the limitations in the identification of the brain network ROIs in previous studies. Then, we construct structural brain networks based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data. Afterwards, the global and local graph properties of the constructed structural brain networks are measured using the state-of-the-art graph analysis algorithms and tools and are further compared with seven popular theoretical graph models. In addition, we compare the topological properties between two graph models, namely, stickiness-index-based model (STICKY) and scale-free gene duplication model (SF-GD), that have higher similarity with the real structural brain networks in terms of global and local graph properties. Our experimental results suggest that among the seven theoretical graph models compared in this study, STICKY and SF-GD models have better performances in characterizing the structural human brain network.

[Financing Regional Dementia Networks in Germany: Determinants of Sustainable Healthcare Networks].

PubMed

Michalowsky, B; Wübbeler, M; Thyrian, J R; Holle, B; Gräske, J; Schäfer-Walkmann, S; Fleßa, S; Hoffmann, W

2017-12-01

Analysis of practice-based financing concepts in German dementia networks (DN); Provision of sustainable financing structures and their determinants in DN. Qualitative expert interviews with leaders of 13 DN were conducted. A semi-structured interview guide was used to analyse four main topics: Finance-related organization, cost, sources of funding and financial sustainability. DN were primarily financed by membership fees, earnings of services provided, public funds and payments by municipalities or health care providers. 63% of the DN reported a financial sustainability. Funds to support the interpersonal expanding, a mix of internal and external financing sources and investments of the municipality were determinants of a sustainable financing. Overall, DN in rural areas seemed to be disadvantaged due to a lack of potential linkable service providers. DN in urban regions are more likely able to gather sustainable funding resources. A minimum funding of 50.000 €/year for human resources coordinating the DN, seems to be a threshold for a sustainable DN. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Diagnosis of helicopter gearboxes using structure-based networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jammu, Vinay B.; Danai, Kourosh; Lewicki, David G.

1995-01-01

A connectionist network is introduced for fault diagnosis of helicopter gearboxes that incorporates knowledge of the gearbox structure and characteristics of the vibration features as its fuzzy weights. Diagnosis is performed by propagating the abnormal features of vibration measurements through this Structure-Based Connectionist Network (SBCN), the outputs of which represent the fault possibility values for individual components of the gearbox. The performance of this network is evaluated by applying it to experimental vibration data from an OH-58A helicopter gearbox. The diagnostic results indicate that the network performance is comparable to those obtained from supervised pattern classification.

Designing Industrial Networks Using Ecological Food Web Metrics.

PubMed

Layton, Astrid; Bras, Bert; Weissburg, Marc

2016-10-18

Biologically Inspired Design (biomimicry) and Industrial Ecology both look to natural systems to enhance the sustainability and performance of engineered products, systems and industries. Bioinspired design (BID) traditionally has focused on a unit operation and single product level. In contrast, this paper describes how principles of network organization derived from analysis of ecosystem properties can be applied to industrial system networks. Specifically, this paper examines the applicability of particular food web matrix properties as design rules for economically and biologically sustainable industrial networks, using an optimization model developed for a carpet recycling network. Carpet recycling network designs based on traditional cost and emissions based optimization are compared to designs obtained using optimizations based solely on ecological food web metrics. The analysis suggests that networks optimized using food web metrics also were superior from a traditional cost and emissions perspective; correlations between optimization using ecological metrics and traditional optimization ranged generally from 0.70 to 0.96, with flow-based metrics being superior to structural parameters. Four structural food parameters provided correlations nearly the same as that obtained using all structural parameters, but individual structural parameters provided much less satisfactory correlations. The analysis indicates that bioinspired design principles from ecosystems can lead to both environmentally and economically sustainable industrial resource networks, and represent guidelines for designing sustainable industry networks.

Comparison of topological clustering within protein networks using edge metrics that evaluate full sequence, full structure, and active site microenvironment similarity.

PubMed

Leuthaeuser, Janelle B; Knutson, Stacy T; Kumar, Kiran; Babbitt, Patricia C; Fetrow, Jacquelyn S

2015-09-01

The development of accurate protein function annotation methods has emerged as a major unsolved biological problem. Protein similarity networks, one approach to function annotation via annotation transfer, group proteins into similarity-based clusters. An underlying assumption is that the edge metric used to identify such clusters correlates with functional information. In this contribution, this assumption is evaluated by observing topologies in similarity networks using three different edge metrics: sequence (BLAST), structure (TM-Align), and active site similarity (active site profiling, implemented in DASP). Network topologies for four well-studied protein superfamilies (enolase, peroxiredoxin (Prx), glutathione transferase (GST), and crotonase) were compared with curated functional hierarchies and structure. As expected, network topology differs, depending on edge metric; comparison of topologies provides valuable information on structure/function relationships. Subnetworks based on active site similarity correlate with known functional hierarchies at a single edge threshold more often than sequence- or structure-based networks. Sequence- and structure-based networks are useful for identifying sequence and domain similarities and differences; therefore, it is important to consider the clustering goal before deciding appropriate edge metric. Further, conserved active site residues identified in enolase and GST active site subnetworks correspond with published functionally important residues. Extension of this analysis yields predictions of functionally determinant residues for GST subgroups. These results support the hypothesis that active site similarity-based networks reveal clusters that share functional details and lay the foundation for capturing functionally relevant hierarchies using an approach that is both automatable and can deliver greater precision in function annotation than current similarity-based methods. © 2015 The Authors Protein Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Protein Society.

Comparison of topological clustering within protein networks using edge metrics that evaluate full sequence, full structure, and active site microenvironment similarity

PubMed Central

Leuthaeuser, Janelle B; Knutson, Stacy T; Kumar, Kiran; Babbitt, Patricia C; Fetrow, Jacquelyn S

2015-01-01

The development of accurate protein function annotation methods has emerged as a major unsolved biological problem. Protein similarity networks, one approach to function annotation via annotation transfer, group proteins into similarity-based clusters. An underlying assumption is that the edge metric used to identify such clusters correlates with functional information. In this contribution, this assumption is evaluated by observing topologies in similarity networks using three different edge metrics: sequence (BLAST), structure (TM-Align), and active site similarity (active site profiling, implemented in DASP). Network topologies for four well-studied protein superfamilies (enolase, peroxiredoxin (Prx), glutathione transferase (GST), and crotonase) were compared with curated functional hierarchies and structure. As expected, network topology differs, depending on edge metric; comparison of topologies provides valuable information on structure/function relationships. Subnetworks based on active site similarity correlate with known functional hierarchies at a single edge threshold more often than sequence- or structure-based networks. Sequence- and structure-based networks are useful for identifying sequence and domain similarities and differences; therefore, it is important to consider the clustering goal before deciding appropriate edge metric. Further, conserved active site residues identified in enolase and GST active site subnetworks correspond with published functionally important residues. Extension of this analysis yields predictions of functionally determinant residues for GST subgroups. These results support the hypothesis that active site similarity-based networks reveal clusters that share functional details and lay the foundation for capturing functionally relevant hierarchies using an approach that is both automatable and can deliver greater precision in function annotation than current similarity-based methods. PMID:26073648

The financial performance of hospitals belonging to health networks and systems.

PubMed

Bazzoli, G J; Chan, B; Shortell, S M; D'Aunno, T

2000-01-01

The U.S. health industry is experiencing substantial restructuring through ownership consolidation and development of new forms of interorganizational relationships. Using an established taxonomy of health networks and systems, this paper develops and tests four hypotheses related to hospital financial performance. Consistent with our predictions, we find that hospitals in health systems that had unified ownership generally had better financial performance than hospitals in contractually based health networks. Among health network hospitals, those belonging to highly centralized networks had better financial performance than those belonging to more decentralized networks. However, health system hospitals in moderately centralized systems performed better than those in highly centralized systems. Finally, hospitals in networks or systems with little differentiation or centralization experienced the poorest financial performance. These results are consistent with resource dependence, transaction cost economics, and institutional theories of organizational behavior, and provide a conceptual and empirical baseline for future research.

Energy Harvesting for Structural Health Monitoring Sensor Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Park, G.; Farrar, C. R.; Todd, M. D.

2007-02-26

This report has been developed based on information exchanges at a 2.5-day workshop on energy harvesting for embedded structural health monitoring (SHM) sensing systems that was held June 28-30, 2005, at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The workshop was hosted by the LANL/UCSD Engineering Institute (EI). This Institute is an education- and research-focused collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Jacobs School of Engineering. A Statistical Pattern Recognition paradigm for SHM is first presented and the concept of energy harvesting for embedded sensing systems is addressed with respect to the data acquisition portionmore » of this paradigm. Next, various existing and emerging sensing modalities used for SHM and their respective power requirements are summarized, followed by a discussion of SHM sensor network paradigms, power requirements for these networks and power optimization strategies. Various approaches to energy harvesting and energy storage are discussed and limitations associated with the current technology are addressed. This discussion also addresses current energy harvesting applications and system integration issues. The report concludes by defining some future research directions and possible technology demonstrations that are aimed at transitioning the concept of energy harvesting for embedded SHM sensing systems from laboratory research to field-deployed engineering prototypes.« less

Theorising big IT programmes in healthcare: strong structuration theory meets actor-network theory.

PubMed

Greenhalgh, Trisha; Stones, Rob

2010-05-01

The UK National Health Service is grappling with various large and controversial IT programmes. We sought to develop a sharper theoretical perspective on the question "What happens - at macro-, meso- and micro-level - when government tries to modernise a health service with the help of big IT?" Using examples from data fragments at the micro-level of clinical work, we considered how structuration theory and actor-network theory (ANT) might be combined to inform empirical investigation. Giddens (1984) argued that social structures and human agency are recursively linked and co-evolve. ANT studies the relationships that link people and technologies in dynamic networks. It considers how discourses become inscribed in data structures and decision models of software, making certain network relations irreversible. Stones' (2005) strong structuration theory (SST) is a refinement of Giddens' work, systematically concerned with empirical research. It views human agents as linked in dynamic networks of position-practices. A quadripartite approcach considers [a] external social structures (conditions for action); [b] internal social structures (agents' capabilities and what they 'know' about the social world); [c] active agency and actions and [d] outcomes as they feed back on the position-practice network. In contrast to early structuration theory and ANT, SST insists on disciplined conceptual methodology and linking this with empirical evidence. In this paper, we adapt SST for the study of technology programmes, integrating elements from material interactionism and ANT. We argue, for example, that the position-practice network can be a socio-technical one in which technologies in conjunction with humans can be studied as 'actants'. Human agents, with their complex socio-cultural frames, are required to instantiate technology in social practices. Structurally relevant properties inscribed and embedded in technological artefacts constrain and enable human agency. The fortunes of healthcare IT programmes might be studied in terms of the interplay between these factors. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Building Capacity for Evidence-Based Public Health: Reconciling the Pulls of Practice and the Push of Research.

PubMed

Brownson, Ross C; Fielding, Jonathan E; Green, Lawrence W

2018-04-01

Timely implementation of principles of evidence-based public health (EBPH) is critical for bridging the gap between discovery of new knowledge and its application. Public health organizations need sufficient capacity (the availability of resources, structures, and workforce to plan, deliver, and evaluate the preventive dose of an evidence-based intervention) to move science to practice. We review principles of EBPH, the importance of capacity building to advance evidence-based approaches, promising approaches for capacity building, and future areas for research and practice. Although there is general agreement among practitioners and scientists on the importance of EBPH, there is less clarity on the definition of evidence, how to find it, and how, when, and where to use it. Capacity for EBPH is needed among both individuals and organizations. Capacity can be strengthened via training, use of tools, technical assistance, assessment and feedback, peer networking, and incentives. Modest investments in EBPH capacity building will foster more effective public health practice.

Building capacity for evidence-based public health: Reconciling the pulls of practice and the push of research

PubMed Central

Fielding, Jonathan E.; Green, Lawrence W.

2018-01-01

Timely implementation of principles of evidence-based public health (EBPH) is critical for bridging the gap between discovery of new knowledge and application. Public health organizations need sufficient capacity (the availability of resources, structures, and workforce to plan deliver and evaluate the “preventive dose” of an evidence-based intervention) to move science to practice. We review principles of EBPH, the importance of capacity building to advance evidence-based approaches, promising approaches for capacity building, and future areas for research and practice. While there is general agreement on the importance of EBPH, there is less clarity on the definition of evidence, how to find it, and how, when and where to use it. Capacity for EBPH is needed among both individuals and organizations. Capacity can be strengthened via training, use of tools, technical assistance, assessment and feedback, peer networking, and incentives. Modest investments in EBPH capacity-building will foster more effective public health practice. PMID:29166243

Analysis of changes in cancer health care system in Poland since the socio-economic transformation in 1989

PubMed

Dudek-Godeau, Dorota; Kieszkowska-Grudny, Anna; Kwiatkowska, Katarzyna; Bogusz, Joanna; Wysocki, Mirosław J; Bielska-Lasota, Magdalena

The transformation period in Poland is associated with a set of factors seen as ‘socio-economic stress’, which unfavourably influenced cancer treatment and slowed down the progress of the Polish cancer care in the 90’s. These outcomes in many aspects of cancer care may be experienced till today. The results of the international EUROCARE and CONCORD studies based on European data prove evidence that there is a substantial potential for improvement of low 5-year survival rates in Poland. Since high survivals are related to notably efficient health care system, therefore, to improve organization and treatment methods seems to be one of the most important directions of change in the Polish health care system. Till today, cancer care in Poland is based on a network outlined by Professor Koszarowski in the middle of the last century, and is a solid foundation for the contemporary project of the Comprehensive Cancer Care Network (CCCN) proposed in the frame of CanCon Project. Analysis of the structure of health care system and the changes introduced within the network of oncology in Poland since the beginning of the post-commuinist socio-economic transformation in 1989. This study was conducted based on the CanCon methods aimed at reviewing specialist literature and collecting meaningful experiences of European countries in cancer care, including the main legal regulations. The analysis provided evidence that the political situation and the economic crisis of the Transformation period disintegrated the cancer care and resulted in low 5-year survival rates. A step forward in increasing efficiency of the cancer treatment care was a proposal of the ’Quick Oncological Therapy’ together with one more attempt to organize a CCCN. With this paper the Authors contribute to the CanCon Project by exploration, analysis and discussion of the cancer network in Poland as an example of existing net-like structures in Europe as well as by preparation of guidelines for constructing a contemporary CCCN. (1) ‘Socio-economic’ stress adversely affected the efficiency of oncological treatment, both by reducing safety and slowing down the development of modern oncology. (2) Changing the current system into the contemporary form - CCCN could be an important step forward to optimise the oncological health care in Poland. (3) Introduction of the mandatory monitoring of organizational changes with the use of health standardized indicators could allow for the assessment of the effectiveness of implemented solutions and their impact on better prognosis for cancer patients. (4) Optimising the organization of the health care system is possible only by implementing necessary legislative corrections.

Quality of nurses' work life: strategies for enhancement.

PubMed

Davis, B; Thorburn, B

1999-01-01

The radical transformation resulting from health care reform, with its emphasis on restructuring, reorganizing and downsizing, has impacted on the nursing profession and has profoundly effected the quality of nurses' work life. The Health Care Corporation of St. John's experienced the stress associated with change when it simultaneously merged eight health care sites and introduced a programmed-based management structure. This article reviews the strategies developed in response to this transition by the Nurses' Quality of Worklife Team, to help reduce stress and enhance the quality of nurses' work life. In particular, it highlights the development and implementation of a professional support network called the Nursing Peer Support Program.

Reducing Cancer Disparities Through Innovative Partnerships: A Collaboration of the South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network and Federally Qualified Health Centers

PubMed Central

Young, Vicki M.; Freedman, Darcy A.; Adams, Swann Arp; Brandt, Heather M.; Xirasagar, Sudha; Felder, Tisha M.; Ureda, John R.; Hurley, Thomas; Khang, Leepao; Campbell, Dayna; Hébert, James R.

2011-01-01

The South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network, in partnership with the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), aims to promote evidence-based cancer interventions in community-based primary care settings. Partnership activities include (1) examining FQHCs’ readiness and capacity for conducting research, (2) developing a cancer-focused data sharing network, and (3) integrating a farmers’ market within an FQHC. These activities identify unique opportunities for public health and primary care collaborations. PMID:21932143

Dynamics of functional failures and recovery in complex road networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Xianyuan; Ukkusuri, Satish V.; Rao, P. Suresh C.

2017-11-01

We propose a new framework for modeling the evolution of functional failures and recoveries in complex networks, with traffic congestion on road networks as the case study. Differently from conventional approaches, we transform the evolution of functional states into an equivalent dynamic structural process: dual-vertex splitting and coalescing embedded within the original network structure. The proposed model successfully explains traffic congestion and recovery patterns at the city scale based on high-resolution data from two megacities. Numerical analysis shows that certain network structural attributes can amplify or suppress cascading functional failures. Our approach represents a new general framework to model functional failures and recoveries in flow-based networks and allows understanding of the interplay between structure and function for flow-induced failure propagation and recovery.

Structural Covariance of the Default Network in Healthy and Pathological Aging

PubMed Central

Turner, Gary R.

2013-01-01

Significant progress has been made uncovering functional brain networks, yet little is known about the corresponding structural covariance networks. The default network's functional architecture has been shown to change over the course of healthy and pathological aging. We examined cross-sectional and longitudinal datasets to reveal the structural covariance of the human default network across the adult lifespan and through the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used a novel approach to identify the structural covariance of the default network and derive individual participant scores that reflect the covariance pattern in each brain image. A seed-based multivariate analysis was conducted on structural images in the cross-sectional OASIS (N = 414) and longitudinal Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (N = 434) datasets. We reproduced the distributed topology of the default network, based on a posterior cingulate cortex seed, consistent with prior reports of this intrinsic connectivity network. Structural covariance of the default network scores declined in healthy and pathological aging. Decline was greatest in the AD cohort and in those who progressed from mild cognitive impairment to AD. Structural covariance of the default network scores were positively associated with general cognitive status, reduced in APOEε4 carriers versus noncarriers, and associated with CSF biomarkers of AD. These findings identify the structural covariance of the default network and characterize changes to the network's gray matter integrity across the lifespan and through the progression of AD. The findings provide evidence for the large-scale network model of neurodegenerative disease, in which neurodegeneration spreads through intrinsically connected brain networks in a disease specific manner. PMID:24048852

Homeless but Connected: The Role of Heterogeneous Social Network Ties and Social Networking Technology in the Mental Health Outcomes of Street-Living Youth

PubMed Central

Rice, Eric; Ray, Diana; Kurzban, Seth

2013-01-01

Although social integration tends to have positive effects on the mental health of housed adolescents, the role of homeless adolescents’ social networks is more ambiguous. Social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Hollywood, California to examine how network ties are associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Face-to-face relationships with street-based peers were a risk factor for both anxiety and depression, while contacting home-based friends through social networking technology was found to be protective for depression. Community-based and public agencies serving homeless adolescents should consider facilitating the maintenance of these protective relationships by providing internet access. PMID:22075769

The development of an information system and installation of an Internet web database for the purposes of the occupational health and safety management system.

PubMed

Mavrikakis, I; Mantas, J; Diomidous, M

2007-01-01

This paper is based on the research on the possible structure of an information system for the purposes of occupational health and safety management. We initiated a questionnaire in order to find the possible interest on the part of potential users in the subject of occupational health and safety. The depiction of the potential interest is vital both for the software analysis cycle and development according to previous models. The evaluation of the results tends to create pilot applications among different enterprises. Documentation and process improvements ascertained quality of services, operational support, occupational health and safety advice are the basics of the above applications. Communication and codified information among intersted parts is the other target of the survey regarding health issues. Computer networks can offer such services. The network will consist of certain nodes responsible to inform executives on Occupational Health and Safety. A web database has been installed for inserting and searching documents. The submission of files to a server and the answers to questionnaires through the web help the experts to perform their activities. Based on the requirements of enterprises we have constructed a web file server. We submit files so that users can retrieve the files which they need. The access is limited to authorized users. Digital watermarks authenticate and protect digital objects.

Reference ability neural networks and behavioral performance across the adult life span.

PubMed

Habeck, Christian; Eich, Teal; Razlighi, Ray; Gazes, Yunglin; Stern, Yaakov

2018-05-15

To better understand the impact of aging, along with other demographic and brain health variables, on the neural networks that support different aspects of cognitive performance, we applied a brute-force search technique based on Principal Components Analysis to derive 4 corresponding spatial covariance patterns (termed Reference Ability Neural Networks -RANNs) from a large sample of participants across the age range. 255 clinically healthy, community-dwelling adults, aged 20-77, underwent fMRI while performing 12 tasks, 3 tasks for each of the following cognitive reference abilities: Episodic Memory, Reasoning, Perceptual Speed, and Vocabulary. The derived RANNs (1) showed selective activation to their specific cognitive domain and (2) correlated with behavioral performance. Quasi out-of-sample replication with Monte-Carlo 5-fold cross validation was built into our approach, and all patterns indicated their corresponding reference ability and predicted performance in held-out data to a degree significantly greater than chance level. RANN-pattern expression for Episodic Memory, Reasoning and Vocabulary were associated selectively with age, while the pattern for Perceptual Speed showed no such age-related influences. For each participant we also looked at residual activity unaccounted for by the RANN-pattern derived for the cognitive reference ability. Higher residual activity was associated with poorer brain-structural health and older age, but -apart from Vocabulary-not with cognitive performance, indicating that older participants with worse brain-structural health might recruit alternative neural resources to maintain performance levels. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Translational networks in healthcare? Evidence on the design and initiation of organizational networks for knowledge mobilization.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Louise; Harvey, Gill

2015-08-01

International attention has focussed on the variations between research evidence and practice in healthcare. This prompted the creation of formalized translational networks consisting of academic-service partnerships. The English Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs) are one example of a translational network. Using longitudinal, archival case study data from one CLAHRC over a 3-year period (2008-11), this article explores the relationship between organizational form and the function(s) of a translational network. The article focuses on the research gaps on the effective structures and appropriate governance to support a translational network. Data analysis suggested that the policy of setting up translational networks is insufficient of itself to produce positive translational activity. The data indicate that to leverage the benefits of the whole network, attention must be paid to devising a structure which integrates research production and use and facilitates lateral cross-disciplinary and cross-organizational communication. Equally, appropriate governance arrangements are necessary, particularly in large, multi-stakeholder networks, where shared governance may be questionable. Inappropriate network structure and governance inhibits the potential of the translational network. Finally, the case provides insights into the movement of knowledge within and between network organizations. The data demonstrate that knowledge mobilization extends beyond knowledge translation; knowledge mobilization includes the negotiated utilization of knowledge - a balanced power form of collaboration. Whilst much translational effort is externally focused on the health system, our findings highlight the essential need for the internal negotiation and mobilization of knowledge within academia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bridging gaps to promote networked care between teams and groups in health delivery systems: a systematic review of non-health literature

PubMed Central

Braithwaite, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

Objectives To assess non-health literature, identify key strategies in promoting more networked teams and groups, apply external ideas to healthcare, and build a model based on these strategies. Design A systematic review of the literature outside of healthcare. Method Searches guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) of ABI/INFORM Global, CINAHL, IBSS, MEDLINE and Psychinfo databases following a mind-mapping exercise generating key terms centred on the core construct of gaps across organisational social structures that uncovered 842 empirical articles of which 116 met the inclusion criteria. Data extraction and content analysis via data mining techniques were performed on these articles. Results The research involved subjects in 40 countries, with 32 studies enrolling participants in multiple countries. There were 40 studies conducted wholly or partly in the USA, 46 wholly or partly in continental Europe, 29 wholly or partly in Asia and 12 wholly or partly in Russia or Russian federated countries. Methods employed included 30 mixed or triangulated social science study designs, 39 qualitative studies, 13 experimental studies and 34 questionnaire-based studies, where the latter was mostly to gather data for social network analyses. Four recurring factors underpin a model for promoting networked behaviours and fortifying cross-group cooperation: appreciating the characteristics and nature of gaps between groups; using the leverage of boundary-spanners to bridge two or more groups; applying various mechanisms to stimulate interactive relationships; and mobilising those who can exert positive external influences to promote connections while minimising the impact of those who exacerbate divides. Conclusions The literature assessed is rich and varied. An evidence-oriented model and strategies for promoting more networked systems are now available for application to healthcare. While caution needs to be exercised in translating outside ideas and studies, drawing on non-health ideas is useful in providing insights into other sectors. PMID:26408280

Measuring the authority of local public health directors in the context of organizational structure: an exploratory, multimodal approach.

PubMed

Miner Gearin, Kimberly J; Thrash, Allison M Rick; Frauendienst, Renee; Myhre, Julie; Gyllstrom, M Elizabeth; Riley, William J; Schroeder, Janelle

2012-11-01

Studies have reported a relationship between the organization of public health services and variability in public health practice at the local and state levels. A national research agenda has prioritized practice-based research to understand pathways that lead to this variation and examine the impact of these differences on outcomes. To measure the extent to which Minnesota local health directors report having key authorities and examine the relationship between organizational structure and authority of local health directors. : Multimodal. Minnesota local health departments. Directors of Minnesota local health departments. Director authorities. Most Minnesota local health directors reported having 6 key authorities related to budget preparation and modification and interaction with local elected officials (n = 51, 71%). Twelve directors (16%) reported that they have 4 or fewer of the 6 authorities. The authority most commonly reported as lacking was the authority to initiate communication with locally elected officials (n = 15, 21%). The percentage of directors who reported having all 6 authorities was higher among those in stand-alone departments (82%) than those in combined organizations (50%). This descriptive study illustrates that emerging practice-based research networks can successfully collaborate on small-scale research projects with immediate application for systems development. Study findings are being used by local public health officials to help articulate their role, aid in succession planning, and inform elected officials, who need to consider the public health implications of potential changes to local public health governance and organization. More studies are needed to refine measurement of authority and structure.

Enhanced health monitoring of fibrous composites with aligned carbon nanotube networks and electrical impedance tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tallman, T.; Semperlotti, F.; Wang, K. W.

2012-04-01

The high strength to weight ratio of fibrous composites such as glass-fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP) makes them prominent structural materials. However, their laminar nature is susceptible to delamination failure the onset of which traditional structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques cannot reliably and accurately detect. Carbon nano-tubes (CNT) have been recently used to tailor the electrical conductivity of polymer based materials that otherwise behave as insulators. The occurrence of damage in the polymer matrix produces localized changes in conductivity which can be tracked using electrical impedance tomography (EIT). This paper explores combining advances in composite manufacturing with EIT to develop a SHM technique that exploits anisotropic conductance monitoring for enhanced delamination and matrix crack detection.

Advanced active health monitoring system of liquid rocket engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qing, Xinlin P.; Wu, Zhanjun; Beard, Shawn; Chang, Fu-Kuo

2008-11-01

An advanced SMART TAPE system has been developed for real-time in-situ monitoring and long term tracking of structural integrity of pressure vessels in liquid rocket engines. The practical implementation of the structural health monitoring (SHM) system including distributed sensor network, portable diagnostic hardware and dedicated data analysis software is addressed based on the harsh operating environment. Extensive tests were conducted on a simulated large booster LOX-H2 engine propellant duct to evaluate the survivability and functionality of the system under the operating conditions of typical liquid rocket engines such as cryogenic temperature, vibration loads. The test results demonstrated that the developed SHM system could survive the combined cryogenic temperature and vibration environments and effectively detect cracks as small as 2 mm.

Switching the poles in sexual and reproductive health research: implementing a research capacity-strengthening network in West and North Africa.

PubMed

Dossou, Jean-Paul; Assarag, Bouchra; Delamou, Alexandre; Van der Veken, Karen; Belaid, Loubna; Ouédraogo, Moctar; Khalfallah, Sonia; Aouras, Hayet; Diadhiou, Mohamed; Fassassi, Raïmi; Delvaux, Thérèse

2016-08-08

Health research capacities have been improved in Africa but still remain weak as compared to other regions of the World. To strengthen these research capacities, international collaboration and networking for knowledge and capacity transfer are needed. In this commentary, we present the Network for Scientific Support in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health in West and North Africa, its priority research topics and discuss its implementation process. Established in January 2014, the Network aims at generating human rights and gender-based research fully carried out and driven by South based institutions. It is composed of 12 institutions including the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp (Belgium) and 11 institutions from eight Francophone West and North African countries. The key areas of interest of this network are health policies analysis and health system research in family planning, HIV prevention among vulnerable groups, quality of care and breast cancers. Since it started, seventeen research proposals based on locally relevant research questions have been developed. Among the seventeen proposals, eleven have been implemented. Several research institutions enhanced linkages with local representations of international partners such as UNFPA. The network is committed to strengthening methodological research capacities and soft skills such as fundraising, advocacy and leadership. Such competencies are strongly needed for developing an effective South-based leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health research, and for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Changes in Brain Structural Networks and Cognitive Functions in Testicular Cancer Patients Receiving Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy.

PubMed

Amidi, Ali; Hosseini, S M Hadi; Leemans, Alexander; Kesler, Shelli R; Agerbæk, Mads; Wu, Lisa M; Zachariae, Robert

2017-12-01

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy may have neurotoxic effects within the central nervous system. The aims of this study were 1) to longitudinally investigate the impact of cisplatin-based chemotherapy on whole-brain networks in testicular cancer patients undergoing treatment and 2) to explore whether possible changes are related to decline in cognitive functioning. Sixty-four newly orchiectomized TC patients underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging) and cognitive testing at baseline prior to further treatment and again at a six-month follow-up. At follow-up, 22 participants had received cisplatin-based chemotherapy (CT) while 42 were in active surveillance (S). Brain structural networks were constructed for each participant, and network properties were investigated using graph theory and longitudinally compared across groups. Cognitive functioning was evaluated using standardized neuropsychological tests. All statistical tests were two-sided. Compared with the S group, the CT group demonstrated altered global and local brain network properties from baseline to follow-up as evidenced by decreases in important brain network properties such as small-worldness (P = .04), network clustering (P = .04), and local efficiency (P = .02). In the CT group, poorer overall cognitive performance was associated with decreased small-worldness (r = -0.46, P = .04) and local efficiency (r = -0.51, P = .02), and verbal fluency was associated with decreased local efficiency (r = -0.55, P = .008). Brain structural networks may be disrupted following treatment with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Impaired brain networks may underlie poorer performance over time on both specific and nonspecific cognitive functions in patients undergoing chemotherapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to longitudinally investigate changes in structural brain networks in a cancer population, providing novel insights regarding the neurobiological mechanisms of cancer-related cognitive impairment.

Managing Network Partitions in Structured P2P Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafaat, Tallat M.; Ghodsi, Ali; Haridi, Seif

Structured overlay networks form a major class of peer-to-peer systems, which are touted for their abilities to scale, tolerate failures, and self-manage. Any long-lived Internet-scale distributed system is destined to face network partitions. Consequently, the problem of network partitions and mergers is highly related to fault-tolerance and self-management in large-scale systems. This makes it a crucial requirement for building any structured peer-to-peer systems to be resilient to network partitions. Although the problem of network partitions and mergers is highly related to fault-tolerance and self-management in large-scale systems, it has hardly been studied in the context of structured peer-to-peer systems. Structured overlays have mainly been studied under churn (frequent joins/failures), which as a side effect solves the problem of network partitions, as it is similar to massive node failures. Yet, the crucial aspect of network mergers has been ignored. In fact, it has been claimed that ring-based structured overlay networks, which constitute the majority of the structured overlays, are intrinsically ill-suited for merging rings. In this chapter, we motivate the problem of network partitions and mergers in structured overlays. We discuss how a structured overlay can automatically detect a network partition and merger. We present an algorithm for merging multiple similar ring-based overlays when the underlying network merges. We examine the solution in dynamic conditions, showing how our solution is resilient to churn during the merger, something widely believed to be difficult or impossible. We evaluate the algorithm for various scenarios and show that even when falsely detecting a merger, the algorithm quickly terminates and does not clutter the network with many messages. The algorithm is flexible as the tradeoff between message complexity and time complexity can be adjusted by a parameter.

A conceptual review on systems biology in health and diseases: from biological networks to modern therapeutics.

PubMed

Somvanshi, Pramod Rajaram; Venkatesh, K V

2014-03-01

Human physiology is an ensemble of various biological processes spanning from intracellular molecular interactions to the whole body phenotypic response. Systems biology endures to decipher these multi-scale biological networks and bridge the link between genotype to phenotype. The structure and dynamic properties of these networks are responsible for controlling and deciding the phenotypic state of a cell. Several cells and various tissues coordinate together to generate an organ level response which further regulates the ultimate physiological state. The overall network embeds a hierarchical regulatory structure, which when unusually perturbed can lead to undesirable physiological state termed as disease. Here, we treat a disease diagnosis problem analogous to a fault diagnosis problem in engineering systems. Accordingly we review the application of engineering methodologies to address human diseases from systems biological perspective. The review highlights potential networks and modeling approaches used for analyzing human diseases. The application of such analysis is illustrated in the case of cancer and diabetes. We put forth a concept of cell-to-human framework comprising of five modules (data mining, networking, modeling, experimental and validation) for addressing human physiology and diseases based on a paradigm of system level analysis. The review overtly emphasizes on the importance of multi-scale biological networks and subsequent modeling and analysis for drug target identification and designing efficient therapies.

Structure-preserving model reduction of large-scale logistics networks. Applications for supply chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholz-Reiter, B.; Wirth, F.; Dashkovskiy, S.; Makuschewitz, T.; Schönlein, M.; Kosmykov, M.

2011-12-01

We investigate the problem of model reduction with a view to large-scale logistics networks, specifically supply chains. Such networks are modeled by means of graphs, which describe the structure of material flow. An aim of the proposed model reduction procedure is to preserve important features within the network. As a new methodology we introduce the LogRank as a measure for the importance of locations, which is based on the structure of the flows within the network. We argue that these properties reflect relative importance of locations. Based on the LogRank we identify subgraphs of the network that can be neglected or aggregated. The effect of this is discussed for a few motifs. Using this approach we present a meta algorithm for structure-preserving model reduction that can be adapted to different mathematical modeling frameworks. The capabilities of the approach are demonstrated with a test case, where a logistics network is modeled as a Jackson network, i.e., a particular type of queueing network.

Count Your Calories and Share Them: Health Benefits of Sharing mHealth Information on Social Networking Sites.

PubMed

Oeldorf-Hirsch, Anne; High, Andrew C; Christensen, John L

2018-04-23

This study investigates the relationship between sharing tracked mobile health (mHealth) information online, supportive communication, feedback, and health behavior. Based on the Integrated Theory of mHealth, our model asserts that sharing tracked health information on social networking sites benefits users' perceptions of their health because of the supportive communication they gain from members of their online social networks and that the amount of feedback people receive moderates these associations. Users of mHealth apps (N = 511) completed an online survey, and results revealed that both sharing tracked health information and receiving feedback from an online social network were positively associated with supportive communication. Network support both corresponded with improved health behavior and mediated the association between sharing health information and users' health behavior. As users received greater amounts of feedback from their online social networks, however, the association between sharing tracked health information and health behavior decreased. Theoretical implications for sharing tracked health information and practical implications for using mHealth apps are discussed.

Upstream and downstream correlates of older people's engagement in social networks: what are their effects on health over time?

PubMed

Stephens, Christine; Noone, Jack; Alpass, Fiona

2014-01-01

This study tested the effects of social network engagement and social support on the health of older people moving into retirement, using a model which includes social context variables. A prospective survey of a New Zealand population sample aged 54-70 at baseline (N = 2,282) was used to assess the effects on mental and physical health across time. A structural equation model assessed pathways from the social context variables through network engagement to social support and then to mental and physical health 2 years later. The proposed model of effects on mental health was supported when gender, economic living standards, and ethnicity were included along with the direct effects of these variables on social support. These findings confirm the importance of taking social context variables into account when considering social support networks. Social engagement appears to be an important aspect of social network functioning which could be investigated further.

Clusters of poverty and disease emerge from feedbacks on an epidemiological network.

PubMed

Pluciński, Mateusz M; Ngonghala, Calistus N; Getz, Wayne M; Bonds, Matthew H

2013-03-06

The distribution of health conditions is characterized by extreme inequality. These disparities have been alternately attributed to disease ecology and the economics of poverty. Here, we provide a novel framework that integrates epidemiological and economic growth theory on an individual-based hierarchically structured network. Our model indicates that, under certain parameter regimes, feedbacks between disease ecology and economics create clusters of low income and high disease that can stably persist in populations that become otherwise predominantly rich and free of disease. Surprisingly, unlike traditional poverty trap models, these localized disease-driven poverty traps can arise despite homogeneity of parameters and evenly distributed initial economic conditions.

Graph configuration model based evaluation of the education-occupation match

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

To study education—occupation matchings we developed a bipartite network model of education to work transition and a graph configuration model based metric. We studied the career paths of 15 thousand Hungarian students based on the integrated database of the National Tax Administration, the National Health Insurance Fund, and the higher education information system of the Hungarian Government. A brief analysis of gender pay gap and the spatial distribution of over-education is presented to demonstrate the background of the research and the resulted open dataset. We highlighted the hierarchical and clustered structure of the career paths based on the multi-resolution analysis of the graph modularity. The results of the cluster analysis can support policymakers to fine-tune the fragmented program structure of higher education. PMID:29509783

Graph configuration model based evaluation of the education-occupation match.

PubMed

Gadar, Laszlo; Abonyi, Janos

2018-01-01

To study education-occupation matchings we developed a bipartite network model of education to work transition and a graph configuration model based metric. We studied the career paths of 15 thousand Hungarian students based on the integrated database of the National Tax Administration, the National Health Insurance Fund, and the higher education information system of the Hungarian Government. A brief analysis of gender pay gap and the spatial distribution of over-education is presented to demonstrate the background of the research and the resulted open dataset. We highlighted the hierarchical and clustered structure of the career paths based on the multi-resolution analysis of the graph modularity. The results of the cluster analysis can support policymakers to fine-tune the fragmented program structure of higher education.

Summarisation of weighted networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Fang; Qu, Qiang; Toivonen, Hannu

2017-09-01

Networks often contain implicit structure. We introduce novel problems and methods that look for structure in networks, by grouping nodes into supernodes and edges to superedges, and then make this structure visible to the user in a smaller generalised network. This task of finding generalisations of nodes and edges is formulated as 'network Summarisation'. We propose models and algorithms for networks that have weights on edges, on nodes or on both, and study three new variants of the network summarisation problem. In edge-based weighted network summarisation, the summarised network should preserve edge weights as well as possible. A wider class of settings is considered in path-based weighted network summarisation, where the resulting summarised network should preserve longer range connectivities between nodes. Node-based weighted network summarisation in turn allows weights also on nodes and summarisation aims to preserve more information related to high weight nodes. We study theoretical properties of these problems and show them to be NP-hard. We propose a range of heuristic generalisation algorithms with different trade-offs between complexity and quality of the result. Comprehensive experiments on real data show that weighted networks can be summarised efficiently with relatively little error.

Policymaking in European healthy cities.

PubMed

de Leeuw, Evelyne; Green, Geoff; Spanswick, Lucy; Palmer, Nicola

2015-06-01

This paper assesses policy development in, with and for Healthy Cities in the European Region of the World Health Organization. Materials for the assessment were sourced through case studies, a questionnaire and statistical databases. They were compiled in a realist synthesis methodology, applying theory-based evaluation principles. Non-response analyses were applied to ascertain the degree of representatives of the high response rates for the entire network of Healthy Cities in Europe. Further measures of reliability and validity were applied, and it was found that our material was indicative of the entire network. European Healthy Cities are successful in developing local health policy across many sectors within and outside government. They were also successful in addressing 'wicked' problems around equity, governance and participation in themes such as Healthy Urban Planning. It appears that strong local leadership for policy change is driven by international collaboration and the stewardship of the World Health Organization. The processes enacted by WHO, structuring membership of the Healthy City Network (designation) and the guidance on particular themes, are identified as being important for the success of local policy development. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Upending the social ecological model to guide health promotion efforts toward policy and environmental change.

PubMed

Golden, Shelley D; McLeroy, Kenneth R; Green, Lawrence W; Earp, Jo Anne L; Lieberman, Lisa D

2015-04-01

Efforts to change policies and the environments in which people live, work, and play have gained increasing attention over the past several decades. Yet health promotion frameworks that illustrate the complex processes that produce health-enhancing structural changes are limited. Building on the experiences of health educators, community activists, and community-based researchers described in this supplement and elsewhere, as well as several political, social, and behavioral science theories, we propose a new framework to organize our thinking about producing policy, environmental, and other structural changes. We build on the social ecological model, a framework widely employed in public health research and practice, by turning it inside out, placing health-related and other social policies and environments at the center, and conceptualizing the ways in which individuals, their social networks, and organized groups produce a community context that fosters healthy policy and environmental development. We conclude by describing how health promotion practitioners and researchers can foster structural change by (1) conveying the health and social relevance of policy and environmental change initiatives, (2) building partnerships to support them, and (3) promoting more equitable distributions of the resources necessary for people to meet their daily needs, control their lives, and freely participate in the public sphere. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Consumer, physician, and payer perspectives on primary care medication management services with a shared resource pharmacists network.

PubMed

Smith, Marie; Cannon-Breland, Michelle L; Spiggle, Susan

2014-01-01

Health care reform initiatives are examining new care delivery models and payment reform alternatives such as medical homes, health homes, community-based care transitions teams, medical neighborhoods and accountable care organizations (ACOs). Of particular interest is the extent to which pharmacists are integrated in team-based health care reform initiatives and the related perspectives of consumers, physicians, and payers. To assess the current knowledge of consumers and physicians about pharmacist training/expertise and capacity to provide primary care medication management services in a shared resource network; determine factors that will facilitate/limit consumer interest in having pharmacists as a member of a community-based "health care team;" determine factors that will facilitate/limit physician utilization of pharmacists for medication management services; and determine factors that will facilitate/limit payer reimbursement models for medication management services using a shared resource pharmacist network model. This project used qualitative research methods to assess the perceptions of consumers, primary care physicians, and payers on pharmacist-provided medication management services using a shared resource network of pharmacists. Focus groups were conducted with primary care physicians and consumers, while semi-structured discussions were conducted with a public and private payer. Most consumers viewed pharmacists in traditional dispensing roles and were unaware of the direct patient care responsibilities of pharmacists as part of community-based health teams. Physicians noted several chronic disease states where clinically-trained pharmacists could collaborate as health care team members yet had uncertainties about integrating pharmacists into their practice workflow and payment sources for pharmacist services. Payers were interested in having credentialed pharmacists provide medication management services if the services improved quality of patient care and/or prevented adverse drug events, and the services were cost neutral (at a minimum). It was difficult for most consumers and physicians to envision pharmacists practicing in non-dispensing roles. The pharmacy profession must disseminate the existing body of evidence on pharmacists as care providers of medication management services and the related impact on clinical outcomes, patient safety, and cost savings to external audiences. Without such, new pharmacist practice models may have limited acceptance by consumers, primary care physicians, and payers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modeling Social Capital as Dynamic Networks to Promote Access to Oral Healthcare

PubMed Central

Northridge, Mary E.; Kunzel, Carol; Zhang, Qiuyi; Kum, Susan S.; Gilbert, Jessica L.; Jin, Zhu; Metcalf, Sara S.

2016-01-01

Social capital, as comprised of human connections in social networks and their associated benefits, is closely related to the health of individuals, communities, and societies at large. For disadvantaged population groups such as older adults and racial/ethnic minorities, social capital may play a particularly critical role in mitigating the negative effects and reinforcing the positive effects on health. In this project, we model social capital as both cause and effect by simulating dynamic networks. Informed in part by a community-based health promotion program, an agent-based model is contextualized in a GIS environment to explore the complexity of social disparities in oral and general health as experienced at the individual, interpersonal, and community scales. This study provides the foundation for future work investigating how health and healthcare accessibility may be influenced by social networks. PMID:27668298

Modeling Social Capital as Dynamic Networks to Promote Access to Oral Healthcare.

PubMed

Wang, Hua; Northridge, Mary E; Kunzel, Carol; Zhang, Qiuyi; Kum, Susan S; Gilbert, Jessica L; Jin, Zhu; Metcalf, Sara S

2016-01-01

Social capital, as comprised of human connections in social networks and their associated benefits, is closely related to the health of individuals, communities, and societies at large. For disadvantaged population groups such as older adults and racial/ethnic minorities, social capital may play a particularly critical role in mitigating the negative effects and reinforcing the positive effects on health. In this project, we model social capital as both cause and effect by simulating dynamic networks. Informed in part by a community-based health promotion program, an agent-based model is contextualized in a GIS environment to explore the complexity of social disparities in oral and general health as experienced at the individual, interpersonal, and community scales. This study provides the foundation for future work investigating how health and healthcare accessibility may be influenced by social networks.

Pathways for best practice diffusion: the structure of informal relationships in Canada's long-term care sector.

PubMed

Dearing, James W; Beacom, Amanda M; Chamberlain, Stephanie A; Meng, Jingbo; Berta, Whitney B; Keefe, Janice M; Squires, Janet E; Doupe, Malcolm B; Taylor, Deanne; Reid, Robert Colin; Cook, Heather; Cummings, Greta G; Baumbusch, Jennifer L; Knopp-Sihota, Jennifer; Norton, Peter G; Estabrooks, Carole A

2017-02-03

Initiatives to accelerate the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices benefit from an association with influential individuals and organizations. When opinion leaders advocate or adopt a best practice, others adopt too, resulting in diffusion. We sought to identify existing influence throughout Canada's long-term care sector and the extent to which informal advice-seeking relationships tie the sector together as a network. We conducted a sociometric survey of senior leaders in 958 long-term care facilities operating in 11 of Canada's 13 provinces and territories. We used an integrated knowledge translation approach to involve knowledge users in planning and administering the survey and in analyzing and interpreting the results. Responses from 482 senior leaders generated the names of 794 individuals and 587 organizations as sources of advice for improving resident care in long-term care facilities. A single advice-seeking network appears to span the nation. Proximity exhibits a strong effect on network structure, with provincial inter-organizational networks having more connections and thus a denser structure than interpersonal networks. We found credible individuals and organizations within groups (opinion leaders and opinion-leading organizations) and individuals and organizations that function as weak ties across groups (boundary spanners and bridges) for all studied provinces and territories. A good deal of influence in the Canadian long-term care sector rests with professionals such as provincial health administrators not employed in long-term care facilities. The Canadian long-term care sector is tied together through informal advice-seeking relationships that have given rise to an emergent network structure. Knowledge of this structure and engagement with its opinion leaders and boundary spanners may provide a route for stimulating the adoption and effective implementation of best practices, improving resident care and strengthening the long-term care advice network. We conclude that informal relational pathways hold promise for helping to transform the Canadian long-term care sector.

Inference of time-delayed gene regulatory networks based on dynamic Bayesian network hybrid learning method

PubMed Central

Yu, Bin; Xu, Jia-Meng; Li, Shan; Chen, Cheng; Chen, Rui-Xin; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Yan; Wang, Ming-Hui

2017-01-01

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) research reveals complex life phenomena from the perspective of gene interaction, which is an important research field in systems biology. Traditional Bayesian networks have a high computational complexity, and the network structure scoring model has a single feature. Information-based approaches cannot identify the direction of regulation. In order to make up for the shortcomings of the above methods, this paper presents a novel hybrid learning method (DBNCS) based on dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) to construct the multiple time-delayed GRNs for the first time, combining the comprehensive score (CS) with the DBN model. DBNCS algorithm first uses CMI2NI (conditional mutual inclusive information-based network inference) algorithm for network structure profiles learning, namely the construction of search space. Then the redundant regulations are removed by using the recursive optimization algorithm (RO), thereby reduce the false positive rate. Secondly, the network structure profiles are decomposed into a set of cliques without loss, which can significantly reduce the computational complexity. Finally, DBN model is used to identify the direction of gene regulation within the cliques and search for the optimal network structure. The performance of DBNCS algorithm is evaluated by the benchmark GRN datasets from DREAM challenge as well as the SOS DNA repair network in Escherichia coli, and compared with other state-of-the-art methods. The experimental results show the rationality of the algorithm design and the outstanding performance of the GRNs. PMID:29113310

Inference of time-delayed gene regulatory networks based on dynamic Bayesian network hybrid learning method.

PubMed

Yu, Bin; Xu, Jia-Meng; Li, Shan; Chen, Cheng; Chen, Rui-Xin; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Yan; Wang, Ming-Hui

2017-10-06

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) research reveals complex life phenomena from the perspective of gene interaction, which is an important research field in systems biology. Traditional Bayesian networks have a high computational complexity, and the network structure scoring model has a single feature. Information-based approaches cannot identify the direction of regulation. In order to make up for the shortcomings of the above methods, this paper presents a novel hybrid learning method (DBNCS) based on dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) to construct the multiple time-delayed GRNs for the first time, combining the comprehensive score (CS) with the DBN model. DBNCS algorithm first uses CMI2NI (conditional mutual inclusive information-based network inference) algorithm for network structure profiles learning, namely the construction of search space. Then the redundant regulations are removed by using the recursive optimization algorithm (RO), thereby reduce the false positive rate. Secondly, the network structure profiles are decomposed into a set of cliques without loss, which can significantly reduce the computational complexity. Finally, DBN model is used to identify the direction of gene regulation within the cliques and search for the optimal network structure. The performance of DBNCS algorithm is evaluated by the benchmark GRN datasets from DREAM challenge as well as the SOS DNA repair network in Escherichia coli , and compared with other state-of-the-art methods. The experimental results show the rationality of the algorithm design and the outstanding performance of the GRNs.

Principal Component Analysis Based Measure of Structural Holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Shiguo; Zhang, Wenqing; Yang, Huijie

2013-02-01

Based upon principal component analysis, a new measure called compressibility coefficient is proposed to evaluate structural holes in networks. This measure incorporates a new effect from identical patterns in networks. It is found that compressibility coefficient for Watts-Strogatz small-world networks increases monotonically with the rewiring probability and saturates to that for the corresponding shuffled networks. While compressibility coefficient for extended Barabasi-Albert scale-free networks decreases monotonically with the preferential effect and is significantly large compared with that for corresponding shuffled networks. This measure is helpful in diverse research fields to evaluate global efficiency of networks.

Networks as systems.

PubMed

Best, Allan; Berland, Alex; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Bourgeault, Ivy L; Saul, Jessie E; Barker, Brittany

2018-03-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the World Health Organization's Global Healthcare Workforce Alliance (GHWA). Based on a commissioned evaluation of GHWA, it applies network theory and key concepts from systems thinking to explore network emergence, effectiveness, and evolution to over a ten-year period. The research was designed to provide high-level strategic guidance for further evolution of global governance in human resources for health (HRH). Design/methodology/approach Methods included a review of published literature on HRH governance and current practice in the field and an in-depth case study whose main data sources were relevant GHWA background documents and key informant interviews with GHWA leaders, staff, and stakeholders. Sampling was purposive and at a senior level, focusing on board members, executive directors, funders, and academics. Data were analyzed thematically with reference to systems theory and Shiffman's theory of network development. Findings Five key lessons emerged: effective management and leadership are critical; networks need to balance "tight" and "loose" approaches to their structure and processes; an active communication strategy is key to create and maintain support; the goals, priorities, and membership must be carefully focused; and the network needs to support shared measurement of progress on agreed-upon goals. Shiffman's middle-range network theory is a useful tool when guided by the principles of complex systems that illuminate dynamic situations and shifting interests as global alliances evolve. Research limitations/implications This study was implemented at the end of the ten-year funding cycle. A more continuous evaluation throughout the term would have provided richer understanding of issues. Experience and perspectives at the country level were not assessed. Practical implications Design and management of large, complex networks requires ongoing attention to key issues like leadership, and flexible structures and processes to accommodate the dynamic reality of these networks. Originality/value This case study builds on growing interest in the role of networks to foster large-scale change. The particular value rests on the longitudinal perspective on the evolution of a large, complex global network, and the use of theory to guide understanding.

[Assessment of laboratory diagnostic network in the implementation of the Program for Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control in São Paulo State, Brazil, 1997-2012].

PubMed

Marques, Cristiano Corrêa de Azevedo; Carvalheiro, José da Rocha

2017-01-01

to assess the performance of the diagnostic network in the implementation process of the Program for Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control in São Paulo State, Brazil, from 1997 to 2012. evaluation study based on documentary research and structured interviews, combined with a historical series analysis of indicators developed to assess the implementation process of the program, using data from the Department of the Brazilian National Health System. from 1997 to 2012, the serology, biopsy and molecular biology diagnostic networks showed an increase in the coefficients of coverage of 7.4, 7.3, and 62.0 times, respectively, with an increase in cases detection and treatment access. despite the effective implementation of the diagnostic network, there is a need to review the search strategy for new cases, and access to liver biopsy, still insufficient to the program demand.

Value-Based Emergency Management.

PubMed

Corrigan, Zachary; Winslow, Walter; Miramonti, Charlie; Stephens, Tim

2016-02-01

This article touches on the complex and decentralized network that is the US health care system and how important it is to include emergency management in this network. By aligning the overarching incentives of opposing health care organizations, emergency management can become resilient to up-and-coming changes in reimbursement, staffing, and network ownership. Coalitions must grasp the opportunity created by changes in value-based purchasing and impending Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services emergency management rules to engage payers, physicians, and executives. Hope and faith in doing good is no longer enough for preparedness and health care coalitions; understanding how physicians are employed and health care is delivered and paid for is now necessary. Incentivizing preparedness through value-based compensation systems will become the new standard for emergency management.

Epidemic Wave Dynamics Attributable to Urban Community Structure: A Theoretical Characterization of Disease Transmission in a Large Network

PubMed Central

Eggo, Rosalind M; Lenczner, Michael

2015-01-01

Background Multiple waves of transmission during infectious disease epidemics represent a major public health challenge, but the ecological and behavioral drivers of epidemic resurgence are poorly understood. In theory, community structure—aggregation into highly intraconnected and loosely interconnected social groups—within human populations may lead to punctuated outbreaks as diseases progress from one community to the next. However, this explanation has been largely overlooked in favor of temporal shifts in environmental conditions and human behavior and because of the difficulties associated with estimating large-scale contact patterns. Objective The aim was to characterize naturally arising patterns of human contact that are capable of producing simulated epidemics with multiple wave structures. Methods We used an extensive dataset of proximal physical contacts between users of a public Wi-Fi Internet system to evaluate the epidemiological implications of an empirical urban contact network. We characterized the modularity (community structure) of the network and then estimated epidemic dynamics under a percolation-based model of infectious disease spread on the network. We classified simulated epidemics as multiwave using a novel metric and we identified network structures that were critical to the network’s ability to produce multiwave epidemics. Results We identified robust community structure in a large, empirical urban contact network from which multiwave epidemics may emerge naturally. This pattern was fueled by a special kind of insularity in which locally popular individuals were not the ones forging contacts with more distant social groups. Conclusions Our results suggest that ordinary contact patterns can produce multiwave epidemics at the scale of a single urban area without the temporal shifts that are usually assumed to be responsible. Understanding the role of community structure in epidemic dynamics allows officials to anticipate epidemic resurgence without having to forecast future changes in hosts, pathogens, or the environment. PMID:26156032

Multiplex Competition, Collaboration, and Funding Networks Among Health and Social Organizations: Toward Organization-based HIV Interventions for Young Men Who Have Sex With Men.

PubMed

Fujimoto, Kayo; Wang, Peng; Kuhns, Lisa M; Ross, Michael W; Williams, Mark L; Garofalo, Robert; Klovdahl, Alden S; Laumann, Edward O; Schneider, John A

2017-02-01

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have the highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States. Decades into the HIV epidemic, the relationships that YMSM-serving health and social organizations have with one another has not been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to examine the competition, collaboration, and funding source structures of multiplex organization networks and the mechanisms that promote fruitful relationships among these organizations. The study data collection method was a survey of health and social organizations from 2013-2014 in 2 cities, Chicago, IL and Houston, TX. Study participants were representatives from 138 health and social organizations. Responses to survey questions were used to reconstruct competition, collaboration, and combined competition-collaboration networks. While taking into consideration the collaborative relationships among organizations, we provide statistical evidence that organizations of similar type, similar social media use patterns, comparable patterns of funding, and similar network contexts tended to compete with one another. This competition was less likely to be accompanied by any sort of collaboration if the organizations shared common funding sources. Competition that excludes potential collaboration may be detrimental to mobilizing the collective efforts that serve local YMSM communities. System-level interventions may provide promising approaches to scaling-up HIV prevention and treatment efforts so as to encourage organizations to form partnerships with otherwise competing providers.

Multiplex competition, collaboration, and funding networks among health and social organizations: Towards organization-based HIV interventions for young men who have sex with men

PubMed Central

Fujimoto, Kayo; Wang, Peng; Kuhns, Lisa; Ross, Michael W; Williams, Mark L.; Garofalo, Robert; Klovdahl, Alden S.; Laumann, Edward O.; Schneider, John A.

2016-01-01

Background Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have the highest rates of HIV infection in the United States. Decades into the HIV epidemic, the relationships that YMSM-serving health and social organizations have with one another has not been studied in depth. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the competition, collaboration and funding source structures of multiplex organization networks and the mechanisms that promote fruitful relationships among these organizations. Research Design The study data collection method was a survey of health and social organizations from 2013–2014 in two cities, Chicago IL, and Houston TX. Subjects Study participants were representatives from 138 health and social organizations. Measures Responses to survey questions were used to reconstruct competition, collaboration and combined competition-collaboration networks. Results While taking into consideration the collaborative relationships among organizations, we provide solid statistical evidence that organizations of similar type, similar social media use patterns, comparable patterns of funding, and similar network contexts tended to compete with one another. This competition was less likely to be accompanied by any sort of collaboration if the organizations shared common funding sources. Conclusions Competition that excludes potential collaboration may be detrimental to mobilizing the collective efforts that serve local YMSM communities. System-level interventions may provide promising approaches to scaling-up HIV prevention and treatment efforts so as to encourage organizations to form partnerships with otherwise competing providers. PMID:27676400

The relationship between context, structure, and processes with outcomes of 6 regional diabetes networks in Europe.

PubMed

Mahdavi, Mahdi; Vissers, Jan; Elkhuizen, Sylvia; van Dijk, Mattees; Vanhala, Antero; Karampli, Eleftheria; Faubel, Raquel; Forte, Paul; Coroian, Elena; van de Klundert, Joris

2018-01-01

While health service provisioning for the chronic condition Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) often involves a network of organisations and professionals, most evidence on the relationships between the structures and processes of service provisioning and the outcomes considers single organisations or solo practitioners. Extending Donabedian's Structure-Process-Outcome (SPO) model, we investigate how differences in quality of life, effective coverage of diabetes, and service satisfaction are associated with differences in the structures, processes, and context of T2D services in six regions in Finland, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Spain, and UK. Data collection consisted of: a) systematic modelling of provider network's structures and processes, and b) a cross-sectional survey of patient reported outcomes and other information. The survey resulted in data from 1459 T2D patients, during 2011-2012. Stepwise linear regression models were used to identify how independent cumulative proportion of variance in quality of life and service satisfaction are related to differences in context, structure and process. The selected context, structure and process variables are based on Donabedian's SPO model, a service quality research instrument (SERVQUAL), and previous organization and professional level evidence. Additional analysis deepens the possible bidirectional relation between outcomes and processes. The regression models explain 44% of variance in service satisfaction, mostly by structure and process variables (such as human resource use and the SERVQUAL dimensions). The models explained 23% of variance in quality of life between the networks, much of which is related to contextual variables. Our results suggest that effectiveness of A1c control is negatively correlated with process variables such as total hours of care provided per year and cost of services per year. While the selected structure and process variables explain much of the variance in service satisfaction, this is less the case for quality of life. Moreover, it appears that the effect of the clinical outcome A1c control on processes is stronger than the other way around, as poorer control seems to relate to more service use, and higher cost. The standardized operational models used in this research prove to form a basis for expanding the network level evidence base for effective T2D service provisioning.

Social Network Decay as Potential Recovery from Homelessness: A Mixed Methods Study in Housing First Programming

PubMed Central

Golembiewski, Elizabeth; Watson, Dennis P.; Robison, Lisa; Coberg, John W.

2017-01-01

The positive relationship between social support and mental health has been well documented, but individuals experiencing chronic homelessness face serious disruptions to their social networks. Housing First (HF) programming has been shown to improve health and stability of formerly chronically homeless individuals. However, researchers are only just starting to understand the impact HF has on residents’ individual social integration. The purpose of the current study was to describe and understand changes in social networks of residents living in a HF program. Researchers employed a longitudinal, convergent parallel mixed method design, collecting quantitative social network data through structured interviews (n = 13) and qualitative data through semi-structured interviews (n = 20). Quantitative results demonstrated a reduction in network size over the course of one year. However, increases in both network density and frequency of contact with network members increased. Qualitative interviews demonstrated a strengthening in the quality of relationships with family and housing providers and a shedding of burdensome and abusive relationships. These results suggest network decay is a possible indicator of participants’ recovery process as they discontinued negative relationships and strengthened positive ones. PMID:28890807

Detection of core-periphery structure in networks based on 3-tuple motifs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Chuang; Xiang, Bing-Bing; Chen, Han-Shuang; Small, Michael; Zhang, Hai-Feng

2018-05-01

Detecting mesoscale structure, such as community structure, is of vital importance for analyzing complex networks. Recently, a new mesoscale structure, core-periphery (CP) structure, has been identified in many real-world systems. In this paper, we propose an effective algorithm for detecting CP structure based on a 3-tuple motif. In this algorithm, we first define a 3-tuple motif in terms of the patterns of edges as well as the property of nodes, and then a motif adjacency matrix is constructed based on the 3-tuple motif. Finally, the problem is converted to find a cluster that minimizes the smallest motif conductance. Our algorithm works well in different CP structures: including single or multiple CP structure, and local or global CP structures. Results on the synthetic and the empirical networks validate the high performance of our method.

An assessment of technology-based service encounters & network security on the e-health care systems of medical centers in Taiwan

PubMed Central

Chang, Hsin Hsin; Chang, Ching Sheng

2008-01-01

Background Enhancing service efficiency and quality has always been one of the most important factors to heighten competitiveness in the health care service industry. Thus, how to utilize information technology to reduce work load for staff and expeditiously improve work efficiency and healthcare service quality is presently the top priority for every healthcare institution. In this fast changing modern society, e-health care systems are currently the best possible way to achieve enhanced service efficiency and quality under the restraint of healthcare cost control. The electronic medical record system and the online appointment system are the core features in employing e-health care systems in the technology-based service encounters. Methods This study implemented the Service Encounters Evaluation Model, the European Customer Satisfaction Index, the Attribute Model and the Overall Affect Model for model inference. A total of 700 copies of questionnaires from two authoritative southern Taiwan medical centers providing the electronic medical record system and the online appointment system service were distributed, among which 590 valid copies were retrieved with a response rate of 84.3%. We then used SPSS 11.0 and the Linear Structural Relationship Model (LISREL 8.54) to analyze and evaluate the data. Results The findings are as follows: (1) Technology-based service encounters have a positive impact on service quality, but not patient satisfaction; (2) After experiencing technology-based service encounters, the cognition of the service quality has a positive effect on patient satisfaction; and (3) Network security contributes a positive moderating effect on service quality and patient satisfaction. Conclusion It revealed that the impact of electronic workflow (online appointment system service) on service quality was greater than electronic facilities (electronic medical record systems) in technology-based service encounters. Convenience and credibility are the most important factors of service quality in technology-based service encounters that patients demand. Due to the openness of networks, patients worry that transaction information could be intercepted; also, the credibility of the hospital involved is even a bigger concern, as patients have a strong sense of distrust. Therefore, in the operation of technology-based service encounters, along with providing network security, it is essential to build an atmosphere of psychological trust. PMID:18419820

An assessment of technology-based service encounters & network security on the e-health care systems of medical centers in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chang, Hsin Hsin; Chang, Ching Sheng

2008-04-17

Enhancing service efficiency and quality has always been one of the most important factors to heighten competitiveness in the health care service industry. Thus, how to utilize information technology to reduce work load for staff and expeditiously improve work efficiency and healthcare service quality is presently the top priority for every healthcare institution. In this fast changing modern society, e-health care systems are currently the best possible way to achieve enhanced service efficiency and quality under the restraint of healthcare cost control. The electronic medical record system and the online appointment system are the core features in employing e-health care systems in the technology-based service encounters. This study implemented the Service Encounters Evaluation Model, the European Customer Satisfaction Index, the Attribute Model and the Overall Affect Model for model inference. A total of 700 copies of questionnaires from two authoritative southern Taiwan medical centers providing the electronic medical record system and the online appointment system service were distributed, among which 590 valid copies were retrieved with a response rate of 84.3%. We then used SPSS 11.0 and the Linear Structural Relationship Model (LISREL 8.54) to analyze and evaluate the data. The findings are as follows: (1) Technology-based service encounters have a positive impact on service quality, but not patient satisfaction; (2) After experiencing technology-based service encounters, the cognition of the service quality has a positive effect on patient satisfaction; and (3) Network security contributes a positive moderating effect on service quality and patient satisfaction. It revealed that the impact of electronic workflow (online appointment system service) on service quality was greater than electronic facilities (electronic medical record systems) in technology-based service encounters. Convenience and credibility are the most important factors of service quality in technology-based service encounters that patients demand. Due to the openness of networks, patients worry that transaction information could be intercepted; also, the credibility of the hospital involved is even a bigger concern, as patients have a strong sense of distrust. Therefore, in the operation of technology-based service encounters, along with providing network security, it is essential to build an atmosphere of psychological trust.

Rural physicians, rural networks, and free market health care in the 1990s.

PubMed

Rosenthal, T C; James, P; Fox, C; Wysong, J; FitzPatrick, P G

1997-01-01

The changes brought about by managed care in America's urban communities will have profound effects on rural physicians and hospitals. The rural health care market characterized by small, independent group practices working with community hospitals is being offered affiliations with large, often urban-based health care organizations. Health care is evolving into a free market system characterized by large networks of organizations capable of serving whole regions. Rural provider-initiated networks can assure local representation when participating in the new market and improve the rural health infrastructure. Although an extensive review of the literature from 1970 to 1996 reveals little definitive research about networks, many rural hospitals have embraced networking as one strategy to unify health care systems with minimal capitalization. These networks, now licensed in Minnesota and New York, offer rural physicians the opportunity to team up with their community hospital and enhance local health care accessibility.

Effects of substrate network topologies on competition dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang Hoon; Jeong, Hawoong

2006-08-01

We study a competition dynamics, based on the minority game, endowed with various substrate network structures. We observe the effects of the network topologies by investigating the volatility of the system and the structure of follower networks. The topology of substrate structures significantly influences the system efficiency represented by the volatility and such substrate networks are shown to amplify the herding effect and cause inefficiency in most cases. The follower networks emerging from the leadership structure show a power-law incoming degree distribution. This study shows the emergence of scale-free structures of leadership in the minority game and the effects of the interaction among players on the networked version of the game.

On the topological structure of multinationals network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyez, Charlie

2017-05-01

This paper uses a weighted network analysis to examine the structure of multinationals' implantation countries network. Based on French firm-level dataset of multinational enterprises (MNEs) the network analysis provides information on each country position in the network and in internationalization strategies of French MNEs through connectivity preferences among the nodes. The paper also details network-wide features and their recent evolution toward a more decentralized structure. While much has been said on international trade network, this paper shows that multinational firms' studies would also benefit from network analysis, notably by investigating the sensitivity of the network construction to firm heterogeneity.

Reinforced communication and social navigation: Remember your friends and remember yourself

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirshahvalad, A.; Rosvall, M.

2011-09-01

In social systems, people communicate with each other and form groups based on their interests. The pattern of interactions, the network, and the ideas that flow on the network naturally evolve together. Researchers use simple models to capture the feedback between changing network patterns and ideas on the network, but little is understood about the role of past events in the feedback process. Here, we introduce a simple agent-based model to study the coupling between peoples’ ideas and social networks, and better understand the role of history in dynamic social networks. We measure how information about ideas can be recovered from information about network structure and, the other way around, how information about network structure can be recovered from information about ideas. We find that it is, in general, easier to recover ideas from the network structure than vice versa.

Connecticut permanent long-term bridge monitoring network, volume 7 : lessons learned for specifications to guide design of structural health monitoring systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

This report proposes a set of specifications for bridge structural health monitoring that has resulted from the : experiences gained during the installation and monitoring of six permanent long-term bridge monitoring systems in : Connecticut. As expe...

Developing a Nuclear Global Health Workforce Amid the Increasing Threat of a Nuclear Crisis.

PubMed

Burkle, Frederick M; Dallas, Cham E

2016-02-01

This study argues that any nuclear weapon exchange or major nuclear plant meltdown, in the categories of human systems failure and conflict-based crises, will immediately provoke an unprecedented public health emergency of international concern. Notwithstanding nuclear triage and management plans and technical monitoring standards within the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization (WHO), the capacity to rapidly deploy a robust professional workforce with the internal coordination and collaboration capabilities required for large-scale nuclear crises is profoundly lacking. A similar dilemma, evident in the early stages of the Ebola epidemic, was eventually managed by using worldwide infectious disease experts from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and multiple multidisciplinary WHO-supported foreign medical teams. This success has led the WHO to propose the development of a Global Health Workforce. A strategic format is proposed for nuclear preparedness and response that builds and expands on the current model for infectious disease outbreak currently under consideration. This study proposes the inclusion of a nuclear global health workforce under the technical expertise of the International Atomic Energy Agency and WHO's Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network leadership and supported by the International Health Regulations Treaty. Rationales are set forth for the development, structure, and function of a nuclear workforce based on health outcomes research that define the unique health, health systems, and public health challenges of a nuclear crisis. Recent research supports that life-saving opportunities are possible, but only if a rapidly deployed and robust multidisciplinary response component exists.

XML and its impact on content and structure in electronic health care documents.

PubMed Central

Sokolowski, R.; Dudeck, J.

1999-01-01

Worldwide information networks have the requirement that electronic documents must be easily accessible, portable, flexible and system-independent. With the development of XML (eXtensible Markup Language), the future of electronic documents, health care informatics and the Web itself are about to change. The intent of the recently formed ASTM E31.25 subcommittee, "XML DTDs for Health Care", is to develop standard electronic document representations of paper-based health care documents and forms. A goal of the subcommittee is to work together to enhance existing levels of interoperability among the various XML/SGML standardization efforts, products and systems in health care. The ASTM E31.25 subcommittee uses common practices and software standards to develop the implementation recommendations for XML documents in health care. The implementation recommendations are being developed to standardize the many different structures of documents. These recommendations are in the form of a set of standard DTDs, or document type definitions that match the electronic document requirements in the health care industry. This paper discusses recent efforts of the ASTM E31.25 subcommittee. PMID:10566338

Autonomous System for Monitoring the Integrity of Composite Fan Housings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qing, Xinlin P.; Aquino, Christopher; Kumar, Amrita

2010-01-01

A low-cost and reliable system assesses the integrity of composite fan-containment structures. The system utilizes a network of miniature sensors integrated with the structure to scan the entire structural area for any impact events and resulting structural damage, and to monitor degradation due to usage. This system can be used to monitor all types of composite structures on aircraft and spacecraft, as well as automatically monitor in real time the location and extent of damage in the containment structures. This diagnostic information is passed to prognostic modeling that is being developed to utilize the information and provide input on the residual strength of the structure, and maintain a history of structural degradation during usage. The structural health-monitoring system would consist of three major components: (1) sensors and a sensor network, which is permanently bonded onto the structure being monitored; (2) integrated hardware; and (3) software to monitor in-situ the health condition of in-service structures.

A Demonstration of Concrete Structural Health Monitoring Framework for Degradation due to Alkali-Silica Reaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mahadevan, Sankaran; Agarwal, Vivek; Neal, Kyle

Assessment and management of aging concrete structures in nuclear power plants require a more systematic approach than simple reliance on existing code margins of safety. Structural health monitoring of concrete structures aims to understand the current health condition of a structure based on heterogeneous measurements to produce high-confidence actionable information regarding structural integrity that supports operational and maintenance decisions. This ongoing research project is seeking to develop a probabilistic framework for health diagnosis and prognosis of aging concrete structures in a nuclear power plant that is subjected to physical, chemical, environment, and mechanical degradation. The proposed framework consists of fourmore » elements: monitoring, data analytics, uncertainty quantification and prognosis. This report focuses on degradation caused by ASR (alkali-silica reaction). Controlled specimens were prepared to develop accelerated ASR degradation. Different monitoring techniques – thermography, digital image correlation (DIC), mechanical deformation measurements, nonlinear impact resonance acoustic spectroscopy (NIRAS), and vibro-acoustic modulation (VAM) -- were used to detect the damage caused by ASR. Heterogeneous data from the multiple techniques was used for damage diagnosis and prognosis, and quantification of the associated uncertainty using a Bayesian network approach. Additionally, MapReduce technique has been demonstrated with synthetic data. This technique can be used in future to handle large amounts of observation data obtained from the online monitoring of realistic structures.« less

Resistance and Security Index of Networks: Structural Information Perspective of Network Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Angsheng; Hu, Qifu; Liu, Jun; Pan, Yicheng

2016-06-01

Recently, Li and Pan defined the metric of the K-dimensional structure entropy of a structured noisy dataset G to be the information that controls the formation of the K-dimensional structure of G that is evolved by the rules, order and laws of G, excluding the random variations that occur in G. Here, we propose the notion of resistance of networks based on the one- and two-dimensional structural information of graphs. Given a graph G, we define the resistance of G, written , as the greatest overall number of bits required to determine the code of the module that is accessible via random walks with stationary distribution in G, from which the random walks cannot escape. We show that the resistance of networks follows the resistance law of networks, that is, for a network G, the resistance of G is , where and are the one- and two-dimensional structure entropies of G, respectively. Based on the resistance law, we define the security index of a network G to be the normalised resistance of G, that is, . We show that the resistance and security index are both well-defined measures for the security of the networks.

Resistance and Security Index of Networks: Structural Information Perspective of Network Security.

PubMed

Li, Angsheng; Hu, Qifu; Liu, Jun; Pan, Yicheng

2016-06-03

Recently, Li and Pan defined the metric of the K-dimensional structure entropy of a structured noisy dataset G to be the information that controls the formation of the K-dimensional structure of G that is evolved by the rules, order and laws of G, excluding the random variations that occur in G. Here, we propose the notion of resistance of networks based on the one- and two-dimensional structural information of graphs. Given a graph G, we define the resistance of G, written , as the greatest overall number of bits required to determine the code of the module that is accessible via random walks with stationary distribution in G, from which the random walks cannot escape. We show that the resistance of networks follows the resistance law of networks, that is, for a network G, the resistance of G is , where and are the one- and two-dimensional structure entropies of G, respectively. Based on the resistance law, we define the security index of a network G to be the normalised resistance of G, that is, . We show that the resistance and security index are both well-defined measures for the security of the networks.

Resistance and Security Index of Networks: Structural Information Perspective of Network Security

PubMed Central

Li, Angsheng; Hu, Qifu; Liu, Jun; Pan, Yicheng

2016-01-01

Recently, Li and Pan defined the metric of the K-dimensional structure entropy of a structured noisy dataset G to be the information that controls the formation of the K-dimensional structure of G that is evolved by the rules, order and laws of G, excluding the random variations that occur in G. Here, we propose the notion of resistance of networks based on the one- and two-dimensional structural information of graphs. Given a graph G, we define the resistance of G, written , as the greatest overall number of bits required to determine the code of the module that is accessible via random walks with stationary distribution in G, from which the random walks cannot escape. We show that the resistance of networks follows the resistance law of networks, that is, for a network G, the resistance of G is , where and are the one- and two-dimensional structure entropies of G, respectively. Based on the resistance law, we define the security index of a network G to be the normalised resistance of G, that is, . We show that the resistance and security index are both well-defined measures for the security of the networks. PMID:27255783

Will choice-based reform work for Medicare? Evidence from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

PubMed

Florence, Curtis S; Atherly, Adam; Thorpe, Kenneth E

2006-10-01

. To examine the effect of premiums and benefits on the health plan choices of older enrollees who choose Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) health plans as their primary payer. Administrative enrollment data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and plan premiums and benefits data taken from the Checkbook Guide to health plans. We estimate individual plan choice models where the choice of health plan is a function of out-of-pocket premium, actuarial value, plan attributes, and individual characteristics. Plan attributes include plan structure (fee-for-service/preferred provider organization, point-of-service, or health maintenance organization), drug benefit structure, and whether or not the plan covers other types of spending such as dental services and diabetic supplies. The models are estimated by conditional logit. Our study focuses on three populations that currently choose FEHBP as their primary health care coverage and are similar to the Medicare population: current employees and retirees who are approaching the age of Medicare eligibility (ages 60-64) and current federal employees age 65+. Current employees age 65+ are eligible for Medicare, but their FEHBP plan is their primary payer. Retirees and employees 60-64 are not yet eligible for Medicare but are similar in many respects to recently age-eligible Medicare beneficiaries. We also estimate our model for current employees age 55 and younger as a comparison group. We select a random sample of retirees and employees age 60-64, as well as all current employees age 65+, from the OPM administrative database for the calendar year 2001. The plan choices available to each person are determined by the plans participating in their metropolitan statistical area. We match plan premium and attribute information from the Checkbook Guide to each plan in the enrollee's list of choices. We find that current workers 65+, 60-64, and non-Medicare eligible retirees are sensitive to variation in plan premiums. The premium elasticities for these groups are similar in magnitude to those of the age 55 and under employee group. Older workers and retirees not yet eligible for Medicare are willing to pay a substantial amount for plans with open provider networks. The willingness to pay for open networks is significantly greater for these groups than for younger employees. Willingness to pay for open network plans varies significantly by income, but varies little by age within group. Our finding that older workers and non-Medicare eligible retirees are sensitive to plan premiums suggests that choice-based reform of Medicare would lead to cost-conscious choices by Medicare beneficiaries. However, our finding that these groups are willing to pay more for open network plans than younger employees suggest that higher risk individuals may migrate toward higher benefit, higher cost plans. Our findings on the relationship between income and willingness to pay for open network plans suggest that means testing is a viable reform for lowering Medicare program costs.

How can scientists bring research to use: the HENVINET experience.

PubMed

Bartonova, Alena

2012-06-28

Health concerns have driven the European environmental policies of the last 25 years, with issues becoming more complex. Addressing these concerns requires an approach that is both interdisciplinary and engages scientists with society. In response to this requirement, the FP6 coordination action "Health and Environment Network" HENVINET was set up to create a permanent inter-disciplinary network of professionals in the field of health and environment tasked to bridge the communication gap between science and society. In this paper we describe how HENVINET delivered on this task. The HENVINET project approached the issue of inter-disciplinary collaboration in four ways. (1) The Drivers-Pressures-State-Exposure-Effect-Action framework was used to structure information gathering, collaboration and communication between scientists in the field of health and the environment. (2) Interactive web-based tools were developed to enhance methods for knowledge evaluation, and use these methods to formulate policy advice. (3) Quantification methods were adapted to measure scientific agreement. And (4) Open architecture web technology was used to develop an information repository and a web portal to facilitate collaboration and communication among scientists. Twenty-five organizations from Europe and five from outside Europe participated in the Health and Environment Network HENVINET, which lasted for 3.5 years. The consortium included partners in environmental research, public health and veterinary medicine; included medical practitioners and representatives of local administrations; and had access to national policy making and EEA and WHO expertise. Dedicated web-based tools for visualisation of environmental health issues and knowledge evaluation allowed remote expert elicitation, and were used as a basis for developing policy advice in five health areas (asthma and allergies; cancer; neurodevelopmental disorders; endocrine disruption; and engineered nanoparticles in the environment). An open searchable database of decision support tools was established and populated. A web based social networking tool was developed to enhance collaboration and communication between scientists and society. HENVINET addressed key issues that arise in inter-disciplinary research on health and environment and in communicating research results to policy makers and society. HENVINET went beyond traditional scientific tools and methods to bridge the communication gap between science and policy makers. The project identified the need for a common framework and delivered it. It developed and implemented a variety of novel methods and tools and, using several representative examples, demonstrated the process of producing politically relevant scientific advice based on an open participation of experts. It highlighted the need for, and benefits of, a liaison between health and environment professionals and professionals in the social sciences and liberal arts. By adopting critical complexity thinking, HENVINET extended the traditional approach to environment and health research, and set the standard for current approaches to bridge the gap between science and society.

Health and disease phenotyping in old age using a cluster network analysis.

PubMed

Valenzuela, Jesus Felix; Monterola, Christopher; Tong, Victor Joo Chuan; Ng, Tze Pin; Larbi, Anis

2017-11-15

Human ageing is a complex trait that involves the synergistic action of numerous biological processes that interact to form a complex network. Here we performed a network analysis to examine the interrelationships between physiological and psychological functions, disease, disability, quality of life, lifestyle and behavioural risk factors for ageing in a cohort of 3,270 subjects aged ≥55 years. We considered associations between numerical and categorical descriptors using effect-size measures for each variable pair and identified clusters of variables from the resulting pairwise effect-size network and minimum spanning tree. We show, by way of a correspondence analysis between the two sets of clusters, that they correspond to coarse-grained and fine-grained structure of the network relationships. The clusters obtained from the minimum spanning tree mapped to various conceptual domains and corresponded to physiological and syndromic states. Hierarchical ordering of these clusters identified six common themes based on interactions with physiological systems and common underlying substrates of age-associated morbidity and disease chronicity, functional disability, and quality of life. These findings provide a starting point for indepth analyses of ageing that incorporate immunologic, metabolomic and proteomic biomarkers, and ultimately offer low-level-based typologies of healthy and unhealthy ageing.

Demographic and Indication-Specific Characteristics Have Limited Association With Social Network Engagement: Evidence From 24,954 Members of Four Health Care Support Groups.

PubMed

van Mierlo, Trevor; Li, Xinlong; Hyatt, Douglas; Ching, Andrew T

2017-02-17

Digital health social networks (DHSNs) are widespread, and the consensus is that they contribute to wellness by offering social support and knowledge sharing. The success of a DHSN is based on the number of participants and their consistent creation of externalities through the generation of new content. To promote network growth, it would be helpful to identify characteristics of superusers or actors who create value by generating positive network externalities. The aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of developing predictive models that identify potential superusers in real time. This study examined associations between posting behavior, 4 demographic variables, and 20 indication-specific variables. Data were extracted from the custom structured query language (SQL) databases of 4 digital health behavior change interventions with DHSNs. Of these, 2 were designed to assist in the treatment of addictions (problem drinking and smoking cessation), and 2 for mental health (depressive disorder, panic disorder). To analyze posting behavior, 10 models were developed, and negative binomial regressions were conducted to examine associations between number of posts, and demographic and indication-specific variables. The DHSNs varied in number of days active (3658-5210), number of registrants (5049-52,396), number of actors (1085-8452), and number of posts (16,231-521,997). In the sample, all 10 models had low R 2 values (.013-.086) with limited statistically significant demographic and indication-specific variables. Very few variables were associated with social network engagement. Although some variables were statistically significant, they did not appear to be practically significant. Based on the large number of study participants, variation in DHSN theme, and extensive time-period, we did not find strong evidence that demographic characteristics or indication severity sufficiently explain the variability in number of posts per actor. Researchers should investigate alternative models that identify superusers or other individuals who create social network externalities. ©Trevor van Mierlo, Xinlong Li, Douglas Hyatt, Andrew T Ching. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 17.02.2017.

Information seeking for making evidence-informed decisions: a social network analysis on the staff of a public health department in Canada

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Social network analysis is an approach to study the interactions and exchange of resources among people. It can help understanding the underlying structural and behavioral complexities that influence the process of capacity building towards evidence-informed decision making. A social network analysis was conducted to understand if and how the staff of a public health department in Ontario turn to peers to get help incorporating research evidence into practice. Methods The staff were invited to respond to an online questionnaire inquiring about information seeking behavior, identification of colleague expertise, and friendship status. Three networks were developed based on the 170 participants. Overall shape, key indices, the most central people and brokers, and their characteristics were identified. Results The network analysis showed a low density and localized information-seeking network. Inter-personal connections were mainly clustered by organizational divisions; and people tended to limit information-seeking connections to a handful of peers in their division. However, recognition of expertise and friendship networks showed more cross-divisional connections. Members of the office of the Medical Officer of Health were located at the heart of the department, bridging across divisions. A small group of professional consultants and middle managers were the most-central staff in the network, also connecting their divisions to the center of the information-seeking network. In each division, there were some locally central staff, mainly practitioners, who connected their neighboring peers; but they were not necessarily connected to other experts or managers. Conclusions The methods of social network analysis were useful in providing a systems approach to understand how knowledge might flow in an organization. The findings of this study can be used to identify early adopters of knowledge translation interventions, forming Communities of Practice, and potential internal knowledge brokers. PMID:22591757

Understanding Online Health Groups for Depression: Social Network and Linguistic Perspectives

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background Mental health problems have become increasingly prevalent in the past decade. With the advance of Web 2.0 technologies, social media present a novel platform for Web users to form online health groups. Members of online health groups discuss health-related issues and mutually help one another by anonymously revealing their mental conditions, sharing personal experiences, exchanging health information, and providing suggestions and support. The conversations in online health groups contain valuable information to facilitate the understanding of their mutual help behaviors and their mental health problems. Objective We aimed to characterize the conversations in a major online health group for major depressive disorder (MDD) patients in a popular Chinese social media platform. In particular, we intended to explain how Web users discuss depression-related issues from the perspective of the social networks and linguistic patterns revealed by the members’ conversations. Methods Social network analysis and linguistic analysis were employed to characterize the social structure and linguistic patterns, respectively. Furthermore, we integrated both perspectives to exploit the hidden relations between them. Results We found an intensive use of self-focus words and negative affect words. In general, group members used a higher proportion of negative affect words than positive affect words. The social network of the MDD group for depression possessed small-world and scale-free properties, with a much higher reciprocity ratio and clustering coefficient value as compared to the networks of other social media platforms and classic network models. We observed a number of interesting relationships, either strong correlations or convergent trends, between the topological properties and linguistic properties of the MDD group members. Conclusions (1) The MDD group members have the characteristics of self-preoccupation and negative thought content, according to Beck’s cognitive theory of depression; (2) the social structure of the MDD group is much stickier than those of other social media groups, indicating the tendency of mutual communications and efficient spread of information in the MDD group; and (3) the linguistic patterns of MDD members are associated with their topological positions in the social network. PMID:26966078

Understanding Online Health Groups for Depression: Social Network and Linguistic Perspectives.

PubMed

Xu, Ronghua; Zhang, Qingpeng

2016-03-10

Mental health problems have become increasingly prevalent in the past decade. With the advance of Web 2.0 technologies, social media present a novel platform for Web users to form online health groups. Members of online health groups discuss health-related issues and mutually help one another by anonymously revealing their mental conditions, sharing personal experiences, exchanging health information, and providing suggestions and support. The conversations in online health groups contain valuable information to facilitate the understanding of their mutual help behaviors and their mental health problems. We aimed to characterize the conversations in a major online health group for major depressive disorder (MDD) patients in a popular Chinese social media platform. In particular, we intended to explain how Web users discuss depression-related issues from the perspective of the social networks and linguistic patterns revealed by the members' conversations. Social network analysis and linguistic analysis were employed to characterize the social structure and linguistic patterns, respectively. Furthermore, we integrated both perspectives to exploit the hidden relations between them. We found an intensive use of self-focus words and negative affect words. In general, group members used a higher proportion of negative affect words than positive affect words. The social network of the MDD group for depression possessed small-world and scale-free properties, with a much higher reciprocity ratio and clustering coefficient value as compared to the networks of other social media platforms and classic network models. We observed a number of interesting relationships, either strong correlations or convergent trends, between the topological properties and linguistic properties of the MDD group members. (1) The MDD group members have the characteristics of self-preoccupation and negative thought content, according to Beck's cognitive theory of depression; (2) the social structure of the MDD group is much stickier than those of other social media groups, indicating the tendency of mutual communications and efficient spread of information in the MDD group; and (3) the linguistic patterns of MDD members are associated with their topological positions in the social network.

Implementing partnership-driven clinical federated electronic health record data sharing networks.

PubMed

Stephens, Kari A; Anderson, Nicholas; Lin, Ching-Ping; Estiri, Hossein

2016-09-01

Building federated data sharing architectures requires supporting a range of data owners, effective and validated semantic alignment between data resources, and consistent focus on end-users. Establishing these resources requires development methodologies that support internal validation of data extraction and translation processes, sustaining meaningful partnerships, and delivering clear and measurable system utility. We describe findings from two federated data sharing case examples that detail critical factors, shared outcomes, and production environment results. Two federated data sharing pilot architectures developed to support network-based research associated with the University of Washington's Institute of Translational Health Sciences provided the basis for the findings. A spiral model for implementation and evaluation was used to structure iterations of development and support knowledge share between the two network development teams, which cross collaborated to support and manage common stages. We found that using a spiral model of software development and multiple cycles of iteration was effective in achieving early network design goals. Both networks required time and resource intensive efforts to establish a trusted environment to create the data sharing architectures. Both networks were challenged by the need for adaptive use cases to define and test utility. An iterative cyclical model of development provided a process for developing trust with data partners and refining the design, and supported measureable success in the development of new federated data sharing architectures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Network structure of subway passenger flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Q.; Mao, B. H.; Bai, Y.

2016-03-01

The results of transportation infrastructure network analyses have been used to analyze complex networks in a topological context. However, most modeling approaches, including those based on complex network theory, do not fully account for real-life traffic patterns and may provide an incomplete view of network functions. This study utilizes trip data obtained from the Beijing Subway System to characterize individual passenger movement patterns. A directed weighted passenger flow network was constructed from the subway infrastructure network topology by incorporating trip data. The passenger flow networks exhibit several properties that can be characterized by power-law distributions based on flow size, and log-logistic distributions based on the fraction of boarding and departing passengers. The study also characterizes the temporal patterns of in-transit and waiting passengers and provides a hierarchical clustering structure for passenger flows. This hierarchical flow organization varies in the spatial domain. Ten cluster groups were identified, indicating a hierarchical urban polycentric structure composed of large concentrated flows at urban activity centers. These empirical findings provide insights regarding urban human mobility patterns within a large subway network.

Predictors of Facebook User Engagement With Health-Related Content for Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: Content Analysis

PubMed Central

Lachowsky, Nathan; Hawkins, Blake W; Jollimore, Jody; Baharuddin, Fahmy; Hogg, Robert S

2018-01-01

Background Social media is used by community-based organizations (CBOs) to promote the well-being of gay and bisexual men (GBM). However, few studies have quantified which factors facilitate the diffusion of health content tailored for sexual minorities. Objective The aim of this study was to identify post characteristics that can be leveraged to optimize the health promotion efforts of CBOs on Facebook. Methods The Facebook application programming interface was used to collect 5 years’ of posts shared across 10 Facebook pages administered by Vancouver-based CBOs promoting GBM health. Network analysis assessed basic indicators of network structure. Content analyses were conducted using informatics-based approaches. Hierarchical negative binomial regression of post engagement data was used to identify meaningful covariates of engagement. Results In total, 14,071 posts were shared and 21,537 users engaged with these posts. Most users (n=13,315) engaged only once. There was moderate correlation between the number of posts and the number of CBOs users engaged with (r=.53, P<.001). Higher user engagement was positively associated with positive sentiment, sharing multimedia, and posting about pre-exposure prophylaxis, stigma, and mental health. Engagement was negatively associated with asking questions, posting about dating, and sharing posts during or after work (versus before). Conclusions Results highlight the existence of a core group of Facebook users who facilitate diffusion. Factors associated with greater user engagement present CBOs with a number of strategies for improving the diffusion of health content. PMID:29625953

Validation of electronic medical record-based phenotyping algorithms: results and lessons learned from the eMERGE network.

PubMed

Newton, Katherine M; Peissig, Peggy L; Kho, Abel Ngo; Bielinski, Suzette J; Berg, Richard L; Choudhary, Vidhu; Basford, Melissa; Chute, Christopher G; Kullo, Iftikhar J; Li, Rongling; Pacheco, Jennifer A; Rasmussen, Luke V; Spangler, Leslie; Denny, Joshua C

2013-06-01

Genetic studies require precise phenotype definitions, but electronic medical record (EMR) phenotype data are recorded inconsistently and in a variety of formats. To present lessons learned about validation of EMR-based phenotypes from the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) studies. The eMERGE network created and validated 13 EMR-derived phenotype algorithms. Network sites are Group Health, Marshfield Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University. By validating EMR-derived phenotypes we learned that: (1) multisite validation improves phenotype algorithm accuracy; (2) targets for validation should be carefully considered and defined; (3) specifying time frames for review of variables eases validation time and improves accuracy; (4) using repeated measures requires defining the relevant time period and specifying the most meaningful value to be studied; (5) patient movement in and out of the health plan (transience) can result in incomplete or fragmented data; (6) the review scope should be defined carefully; (7) particular care is required in combining EMR and research data; (8) medication data can be assessed using claims, medications dispensed, or medications prescribed; (9) algorithm development and validation work best as an iterative process; and (10) validation by content experts or structured chart review can provide accurate results. Despite the diverse structure of the five EMRs of the eMERGE sites, we developed, validated, and successfully deployed 13 electronic phenotype algorithms. Validation is a worthwhile process that not only measures phenotype performance but also strengthens phenotype algorithm definitions and enhances their inter-institutional sharing.

Unfolding similarity in interphysician networks: the impact of institutional and professional homophily.

PubMed

Mascia, Daniele; Di Vincenzo, Fausto; Iacopino, Valentina; Fantini, Maria Pia; Cicchetti, Americo

2015-03-10

Modern healthcare is characterized by high complexity due to the proliferation of specialties, professional roles, and priorities within organizations. To perform clinical interventions, knowledge distributed across units, directorates and individuals needs to be integrated. Formal and/or informal mechanisms may be used to coordinate knowledge and tasks within organizations. Although the literature has recently considered the role of physicians' professional networks in the diffusion of knowledge, several concerns remain about the mechanisms through which these networks emerge within healthcare organizations. The aim of the present paper is to explore the impact of institutional and professional homophilies on the formation of interphysician professional networks. We collected data on a community of around 300 physicians working at a local health authority within the Italian National Health Service. We employed multiple regression quadratic assignment procedures to explore the extent to which institutional and professional homophilies influence the formation of interphysician networks. We found that both institutional and professional homophilies matter in explaining interphysician networks. Physicians who had similar fields of interest or belonged to the same organizational structure were more likely to establish professional relationships. In addition, professional homophily was more relevant than institutional affiliation in explaining collaborative ties. Our findings have organizational implications and provide useful information for managers who are responsible for undertaking organizational restructuring. Healthcare executives and administrators may want to consider the structure of advice networks while adopting new organizational structures.

Matching algorithm of missile tail flame based on back-propagation neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Da; Huang, Shucai; Tang, Yidong; Zhao, Wei; Cao, Wenhuan

2018-02-01

This work presents a spectral matching algorithm of missile plume detection that based on neural network. The radiation value of the characteristic spectrum of the missile tail flame is taken as the input of the network. The network's structure including the number of nodes and layers is determined according to the number of characteristic spectral bands and missile types. We can get the network weight matrixes and threshold vectors through training the network using training samples, and we can determine the performance of the network through testing the network using the test samples. A small amount of data cause the network has the advantages of simple structure and practicality. Network structure composed of weight matrix and threshold vector can complete task of spectrum matching without large database support. Network can achieve real-time requirements with a small quantity of data. Experiment results show that the algorithm has the ability to match the precise spectrum and strong robustness.

Comparison analysis on vulnerability of metro networks based on complex network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jianhua; Wang, Shuliang; Wang, Xiaoyuan

2018-04-01

This paper analyzes the networked characteristics of three metro networks, and two malicious attacks are employed to investigate the vulnerability of metro networks based on connectivity vulnerability and functionality vulnerability. Meanwhile, the networked characteristics and vulnerability of three metro networks are compared with each other. The results show that Shanghai metro network has the largest transport capacity, Beijing metro network has the best local connectivity and Guangzhou metro network has the best global connectivity, moreover Beijing metro network has the best homogeneous degree distribution. Furthermore, we find that metro networks are very vulnerable subjected to malicious attacks, and Guangzhou metro network has the best topological structure and reliability among three metro networks. The results indicate that the proposed methodology is feasible and effective to investigate the vulnerability and to explore better topological structure of metro networks.

Preliminary evidence for mediation of the association between acculturation and sun-safe behaviors

PubMed Central

Andreeva, Valentina A.; Cockburn, Myles G.; Yaroch, Amy L.; Unger, Jennifer B.; Rueda, Robert; Reynolds, Kim D.

2013-01-01

Objectives To identify and test mediators of the relationship between acculturation and sun-safe behaviors among Latinos in the United States. We hypothesized that the effect of acculturation on use of sunscreen, shade, and sun-protective clothing would be mediated by perceived health status, educational level, access to healthcare, and contact with social networks regarding health matters. Design The 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey, implemented by the National Cancer Institute. Setting Nationwide survey. Participants A probability-based sample of the US civilian, noninstitutionalized adult population, comprising 496 Latino respondents. Main outcome measures Use of sunscreen, shade, and sun-protective clothing when outdoors on sunny days, assessed by self-reports on frequency scales. Results The positive association between acculturation and sunscreen use and the negative association between acculturation and use of sun-protective clothing were mediated by educational level (P<0.05 for both). Perceived health status and contact with social networks regarding health matters were supported as mediators only for sunscreen use (P<0.05). Health care access was not supported as a mediator for any of the outcomes. Conclusions Structural equation models revealed distinct direct and indirect paths between acculturation and each sun-safe practice. Our findings place an emphasis on behavior-specific mediated associations and could inform sun safety programming for Latinos with low and high levels of acculturation. The models support education level, contact with social networks regarding health matters, and perceived health status as mediators primarily for sunscreen use. Future research should test different mediators for use of shade or sun-protective clothing. PMID:21768480

Demonstration of a roving-host wireless sensor network for rapid assessment monitoring of structural health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mascarenas, David D. L.; Flynn, Eric; Lin, Kaisen; Farinholt, Kevin; Park, Gyuhae; Gupta, Rajesh; Todd, Michael; Farrar, Charles

2008-03-01

A major challenge impeding the deployment of wireless sensor networks for structural health monitoring (SHM) is developing means to supply power to the sensor nodes in a cost-effective manner. In this work an initial test of a roving-host wireless sensor network was performed on a bridge near Truth or Consequences, NM in August of 2007. The roving-host wireless sensor network features a radio controlled helicopter responsible for wirelessly delivering energy to sensor nodes on an "as-needed" basis. In addition, the helicopter also serves as a central data repository and processing center for the information collected by the sensor network. The sensor nodes used on the bridge were developed for measuring the peak displacement of the bridge, as well as measuring the preload of some of the bolted joints in the bridge. These sensors and sensor nodes were specifically designed to be able to operate from energy supplied wirelessly from the helicopter. The ultimate goal of this research is to ease the requirement for battery power supplies in wireless sensor networks.

NETWORK POSITION AND SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION: IMPLICATIONS OF PARTNER BETWEENNESS FOR MEN*

PubMed Central

Cornwell, Benjamin; Laumann, Edward O.

2013-01-01

This paper combines relational perspectives on gender identity with social network structural perspectives on health to understand men’s sexual functioning. We argue that network positions that afford independence and control over social resources are consistent with traditional masculine roles and may therefore affect men’s sexual performance. For example, when a heterosexual man’s female partner has more frequent contact with his confidants than he does–a situation that we refer to as partner betweenness – his relational autonomy, privacy, and control are constrained. Analyses of data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) show that about a quarter of men experience partner betweenness, and that these men are 92 percent more likely to report problems getting and/or maintaining an erection (95% CI: 1.274, 2.881). This association is strongest among the youngest men in the sample, which may reflect changing conceptions of masculinity in later life. We close by considering several explanations for these findings, and urge additional research on the linkages between health, gender, and network structure. PMID:22003520

Attractor Structures of Signaling Networks: Consequences of Different Conformational Barcode Dynamics and Their Relations to Network-Based Drug Design.

PubMed

Szalay, Kristóf Z; Nussinov, Ruth; Csermely, Peter

2014-06-01

Conformational barcodes tag functional sites of proteins and are decoded by interacting molecules transmitting the incoming signal. Conformational barcodes are modified by all co-occurring allosteric events induced by post-translational modifications, pathogen, drug binding, etc. We argue that fuzziness (plasticity) of conformational barcodes may be increased by disordered protein structures, by integrative plasticity of multi-phosphorylation events, by increased intracellular water content (decreased molecular crowding) and by increased action of molecular chaperones. This leads to increased plasticity of signaling and cellular networks. Increased plasticity is both substantiated by and inducing an increased noise level. Using the versatile network dynamics tool, Turbine (www.turbine.linkgroup.hu), here we show that the 10 % noise level expected in cellular systems shifts a cancer-related signaling network of human cells from its proliferative attractors to its largest, apoptotic attractor representing their health-preserving response in the carcinogen containing and tumor suppressor deficient environment modeled in our study. Thus, fuzzy conformational barcodes may not only make the cellular system more plastic, and therefore more adaptable, but may also stabilize the complex system allowing better access to its largest attractor. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Features of Online Health Communities for Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Ho, Yun-Xian; O’Connor, Brendan H.; Mulvaney, Shelagh A.

2014-01-01

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine diabetes online health communities (OHCs) available to adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). We sought to identify and classify site features and relate them to evidence-based processes for improving self-management. We reviewed 18 OHCs and identified the following five feature categories: social learning and networking, information, guidance, engagement, and personal health data sharing. While features that have been associated with improved self-management were present, such as social learning, results suggest that more guidance or structure would be helpful to ensure that those processes were focused on promoting positive beliefs and behaviors. Enhancing guidance-related features and structure to existing OHCs could provide greater opportunity for effective diabetes self-management support. To support clinical recommendations, more research is needed to quantitatively relate features and participation in OHCs to patient outcomes. PMID:24473058

Exploring the networking behaviors of hospital organizations.

PubMed

Di Vincenzo, Fausto

2018-05-08

Despite an extensive body of knowledge exists on network outcomes and on how hospital network structures may contribute to the creation of outcomes at different levels of analysis, less attention has been paid to understanding how and why hospital organizational networks evolve and change. The aim of this paper is to study the dynamics of networking behaviors of hospital organizations. Stochastic actor-based model for network dynamics was used to quantitatively examine data covering six-years of patient transfer relations among 35 hospital organizations. Specifically, the study investigated about determinants of patient transfer evolution modeling partner selection choice as a combination of multiple organizational attributes and endogenous network-based processes. The results indicate that having overlapping specialties and treating patients with the same case-mix decrease the likelihood of observing network ties between hospitals. Also, results revealed as geographical proximity and membership of the same LHA have a positive impact on the networking behavior of hospitals organizations, there is a propensity in the network to choose larger hospitals as partners, and to transfer patients between hospitals facing similar levels of operational uncertainty. Organizational attributes (overlapping specialties and case-mix), institutional factors (LHA), and geographical proximity matter in the formation and shaping of hospital networks over time. Managers can benefit from the use of these findings by clearly identifying the role and strategic positioning of their hospital with respect to the entire network. Social network analysis can yield novel information and also aid policy makers in the formation of interventions, encouraging alliances among providers as well as planning health system restructuring.

The value of structured data elements from electronic health records for identifying subjects for primary care clinical trials.

PubMed

Ateya, Mohammad B; Delaney, Brendan C; Speedie, Stuart M

2016-01-11

An increasing number of clinical trials are conducted in primary care settings. Making better use of existing data in the electronic health records to identify eligible subjects can improve efficiency of such studies. Our study aims to quantify the proportion of eligibility criteria that can be addressed with data in electronic health records and to compare the content of eligibility criteria in primary care with previous work. Eligibility criteria were extracted from primary care studies downloaded from the UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio. Criteria were broken into elemental statements. Two expert independent raters classified each statement based on whether or not structured data items in the electronic health record can be used to determine if the statement was true for a specific patient. Disagreements in classification were discussed until 100 % agreement was reached. Statements were also classified based on content and the percentages of each category were compared to two similar studies reported in the literature. Eligibility criteria were retrieved from 228 studies and decomposed into 2619 criteria elemental statements. 74 % of the criteria elemental statements were considered likely associated with structured data in an electronic health record. 79 % of the studies had at least 60 % of their criteria statements addressable with structured data likely to be present in an electronic health record. Based on clinical content, most frequent categories were: "disease, symptom, and sign", "therapy or surgery", and "medication" (36 %, 13 %, and 10 % of total criteria statements respectively). We also identified new criteria categories related to provider and caregiver attributes (2.6 % and 1 % of total criteria statements respectively). Electronic health records readily contain much of the data needed to assess patients' eligibility for clinical trials enrollment. Eligibility criteria content categories identified by our study can be incorporated as data elements in electronic health records to facilitate their integration with clinical trial management systems.

Investigating the Associations between Ethnic Networks, Community Social Capital, and Physical Health among Marriage Migrants in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Harris Hyun-Soo

2018-01-17

This study examines factors associated with the physical health of Korea's growing immigrant population. Specifically, it focuses on the associations between ethnic networks, community social capital, and self-rated health (SRH) among female marriage migrants. For empirical testing, secondary analysis of a large nationally representative sample (NSMF 2009) is conducted. Given the clustered data structure (individuals nested in communities), a series of two-level random intercepts and slopes models are fitted to probe the relationships between SRH and interpersonal (bonding and bridging) networks among foreign-born wives in Korea. In addition to direct effects, cross-level interaction effects are investigated using hierarchical linear modeling. While adjusting for confounders, bridging (inter-ethnic) networks are significantly linked with better health. Bonding (co-ethnic) networks, to the contrary, are negatively associated with immigrant health. Net of individual-level covariates, living in a commuijnity with more aggregate bridging social capital is positively linked with health. Community-level bonding social capital, however, is not a significant predictor. Lastly, two cross-level interaction terms are found. First, the positive relationship between bridging network and health is stronger in residential contexts with more aggregate bridging social capital. Second, it is weaker in communities with more aggregate bonding social capital.

Mapping the historical development of physical activity and health research: A structured literature review and citation network analysis.

PubMed

Varela, Andrea Ramirez; Pratt, Michael; Harris, Jenine; Lecy, Jesse; Salvo, Deborah; Brownson, Ross C; Hallal, Pedro C

2018-06-01

Little has been published about the historical development of scientific evidence in the physical activity (PA) and public health research field. The study aimed to examine the evolution of knowledge in this field. A structured literature review using formal citation network analysis methods was conducted in June-2016. Using a list of influential PA publications identified by domain experts, a snowball sampling technique was used to build a compact citation network of 141 publications that represents the backbone of the field. Articles were coded by study type and research team characteristics, then analyzed by visualizing the citation network and identifying research clusters to trace the evolution of the field. The field started in the 1950s, with a health sciences focus and strong North American and European leadership. Health outcome studies appeared most frequently in the network and policy and interventions least. Critical articles on objective measurement and public policy have influenced the progress from an emphasis on health outcomes research at early stages in the field to the more recent emerging built environment and global monitoring foci. There is only modest cross-citation across types of study. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to systematically describe the development of research on PA and public health. The key publications include fundamental ideas that remain citable over time, but notable research and dissemination gaps exist and should be addressed. Increasing collaboration and communication between study areas, encouraging female researchers, and increasing studies on interventions, evaluation of interventions and policy are recommended. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing a structural health monitoring system for nuclear dry cask storage canister

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xiaoyi; Lin, Bin; Bao, Jingjing; Giurgiutiu, Victor; Knight, Travis; Lam, Poh-Sang; Yu, Lingyu

2015-03-01

Interim storage of spent nuclear fuel from reactor sites has gained additional importance and urgency for resolving waste-management-related technical issues. In total, there are over 1482 dry cask storage system (DCSS) in use at US plants, storing 57,807 fuel assemblies. Nondestructive material condition monitoring is in urgent need and must be integrated into the fuel cycle to quantify the "state of health", and more importantly, to guarantee the safe operation of radioactive waste storage systems (RWSS) during their extended usage period. A state-of-the-art nuclear structural health monitoring (N-SHM) system based on in-situ sensing technologies that monitor material degradation and aging for nuclear spent fuel DCSS and similar structures is being developed. The N-SHM technology uses permanently installed low-profile piezoelectric wafer sensors to perform long-term health monitoring by strategically using a combined impedance (EMIS), acoustic emission (AE), and guided ultrasonic wave (GUW) approach, called "multimode sensing", which is conducted by the same network of installed sensors activated in a variety of ways. The system will detect AE events resulting from crack (case for study in this project) and evaluate the damage evolution; when significant AE is detected, the sensor network will switch to the GUW mode to perform damage localization, and quantification as well as probe "hot spots" that are prone to damage for material degradation evaluation using EMIS approach. The N-SHM is expected to eventually provide a systematic methodology for assessing and monitoring nuclear waste storage systems without incurring human radiation exposure.

Establishing a regional network of academic centers to support decision making for new vaccine introduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: the ProVac experience.

PubMed

Toscano, C M; Jauregui, B; Janusz, C B; Sinha, A; Clark, A D; Sanderson, C; Resch, S; Ruiz Matus, C; Andrus, J K

2013-07-02

The Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative, designed to strengthen national decision making regarding the introduction of new vaccines, was initiated in 2004. Central to realizing ProVac's vision of regional capacity building, the ProVac Network of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) was established in 2010 to provide research support to the ProVac Initiative, leveraging existing capacity at Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) universities. We describe the process of establishing the ProVac Network of CoEs and its initial outcomes and challenges. A survey was sent to academic, not-for-profit institutions in LAC that had recently published work in the areas of clinical decision sciences and health economic analysis. Centers invited to join the Network were selected by an international committee on the basis of the survey results. Selection criteria included academic productivity in immunization-related work, team size and expertise, successful collaboration with governmental agencies and international organizations, and experience in training and education. The Network currently includes five academic institutions across LAC. Through open dialog and negotiation, specific projects were assigned to centers according to their areas of expertise. Collaboration among centers was highly encouraged. Faculty from ProVac's technical partners were assigned as focal points for each project. The resulting work led to the development and piloting of tools, methodological guides, and training materials that support countries in assessing existing evidence and generating new evidence on vaccine introduction. The evidence generated is shared with country-level decision makers and the scientific community. As the ProVac Initiative expands to other regions of the world with support from immunization and public health partners, the establishment of other regional and global networks of CoEs will be critical. The experience of LAC in creating the current network could benefit the formation of similar structures that support evidence-based decisions regarding new public health interventions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Would more social partners leads to enhanced health? The paradox between quantity and quality.

PubMed

Xing, Cai; Zhang, Xin; Cheng, Sheung-Tak

2017-09-01

In the current investigation, we examined the association between social network composition (SNC) and mental health, as well as whether quantity and quality of social network could influence mental health differently. The social network quantity and quality of 345 middle-aged and older Chinese adults were measured by the Social Convoy Questionnaire. The Chinese version of the Medical Outcome Studies 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to assess mental health while controlling for physical health. It was found that both quantity and quality of social network were associated with mental health, and more specifically that (1) quantity of peripheral partners (PP) was positively associated with mental health; (2) quality of emotionally close social partners (ECSP) influenced mental health the most; and (3) paradoxically, the effect of ECSP quality on mental health depended on quantity of ECSP, that is, participants with more ECSP showed a stronger association between ECSP quality and mental health. The findings replicated and extended previous studies on SNC and suggested that structure/quantity and quality of SNC were both important for mental health. © 2017 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Structural Racism in the Workplace: Does Perception Matter for Health Inequalities?

PubMed Central

McCluney, Courtney L.; Schmitz, Lauren L.; Hicken, Margaret T.; Sonnega, Amanda

2017-01-01

Structural racism has been linked to racial health inequalities and may operate through an unequal labor market that results in inequalities in psychosocial workplace environments (PWE). Experiences of the PWE may be a critical but understudied source of racial health disparities as most adults spend a large portion of their lives in the workplace, and work-related stress affects health outcomes. Further, it is not clear if the objective characteristics of the workplace are important for health inequalities or if these inequalities are driven by the perception of the workplace. Using data from the 2008 to 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a probability-based sample of US adults 50 years of age and older and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET), we examine the role of both standardized, objective (O*NET) and survey-based, subjective (as in HRS) measures of PWEs on health and Black-White health inequalities. We find that Blacks experience more stressful PWEs and have poorer health as measured by self-rated health, episodic memory function, and mean arterial pressure. Mediation analyses suggest that these objective O*NET ratings, but not the subjective perceptions, partially explain the relationship between race and health. We discuss these results within the extant literature on workplace and health and health inequalities. Furthermore, we discuss the use of standardized objective measures of the PWE to capture racial inequalities in workplace environment. PMID:28552294

Structural racism in the workplace: Does perception matter for health inequalities?

PubMed

McCluney, Courtney L; Schmitz, Lauren L; Hicken, Margaret T; Sonnega, Amanda

2018-02-01

Structural racism has been linked to racial health inequalities and may operate through an unequal labor market that results in inequalities in psychosocial workplace environments (PWE). Experiences of the PWE may be a critical but understudied source of racial health disparities as most adults spend a large portion of their lives in the workplace, and work-related stress affects health outcomes. Further, it is not clear if the objective characteristics of the workplace are important for health inequalities or if these inequalities are driven by the perception of the workplace. Using data from the 2008 to 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a probability-based sample of US adults 50 years of age and older and the Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*NET), we examine the role of both standardized, objective (O*NET) and survey-based, subjective (as in HRS) measures of PWEs on health and Black-White health inequalities. We find that Blacks experience more stressful PWEs and have poorer health as measured by self-rated health, episodic memory function, and mean arterial pressure. Mediation analyses suggest that these objective O*NET ratings, but not the subjective perceptions, partially explain the relationship between race and health. We discuss these results within the extant literature on workplace and health and health inequalities. Furthermore, we discuss the use of standardized objective measures of the PWE to capture racial inequalities in workplace environment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of structure-function network decoupling in the brain systems of spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Lee, Dongha; Pae, Chongwon; Lee, Jong Doo; Park, Eun Sook; Cho, Sung-Rae; Um, Min-Hee; Lee, Seung-Koo; Oh, Maeng-Keun; Park, Hae-Jeong

2017-10-01

Manifestation of the functionalities from the structural brain network is becoming increasingly important to understand a brain disease. With the aim of investigating the differential structure-function couplings according to network systems, we investigated the structural and functional brain networks of patients with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy with periventricular leukomalacia compared to healthy controls. The structural and functional networks of the whole brain and motor system, constructed using deterministic and probabilistic tractography of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance images and Pearson and partial correlation analyses of resting-state functional magnetic resonance images, showed differential embedding of functional networks in the structural networks in patients. In the whole-brain network of patients, significantly reduced global network efficiency compared to healthy controls were found in the structural networks but not in the functional networks, resulting in reduced structural-functional coupling. On the contrary, the motor network of patients had a significantly lower functional network efficiency over the intact structural network and a lower structure-function coupling than the control group. This reduced coupling but reverse directionality in the whole-brain and motor networks of patients was prominent particularly between the probabilistic structural and partial correlation-based functional networks. Intact (or less deficient) functional network over impaired structural networks of the whole brain and highly impaired functional network topology over the intact structural motor network might subserve relatively preserved cognitions and impaired motor functions in cerebral palsy. This study suggests that the structure-function relationship, evaluated specifically using sparse functional connectivity, may reveal important clues to functional reorganization in cerebral palsy. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5292-5306, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A network model of the interbank market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shouwei; He, Jianmin; Zhuang, Yaming

2010-12-01

This work introduces a network model of an interbank market based on interbank credit lending relationships. It generates some network features identified through empirical analysis. The critical issue to construct an interbank network is to decide the edges among banks, which is realized in this paper based on the interbank’s degree of trust. Through simulation analysis of the interbank network model, some typical structural features are identified in our interbank network, which are also proved to exist in real interbank networks. They are namely, a low clustering coefficient and a relatively short average path length, community structures, and a two-power-law distribution of out-degree and in-degree.

Dynamic functional connectivity using state-based dynamic community structure: method and application to opioid analgesia.

PubMed

Robinson, Lucy F; Atlas, Lauren Y; Wager, Tor D

2015-03-01

We present a new method, State-based Dynamic Community Structure, that detects time-dependent community structure in networks of brain regions. Most analyses of functional connectivity assume that network behavior is static in time, or differs between task conditions with known timing. Our goal is to determine whether brain network topology remains stationary over time, or if changes in network organization occur at unknown time points. Changes in network organization may be related to shifts in neurological state, such as those associated with learning, drug uptake or experimental conditions. Using a hidden Markov stochastic blockmodel, we define a time-dependent community structure. We apply this approach to data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment examining how contextual factors influence drug-induced analgesia. Results reveal that networks involved in pain, working memory, and emotion show distinct profiles of time-varying connectivity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The social determinants of oral health: new approaches to conceptualizing and researching complex causal networks.

PubMed

Newton, J Timothy; Bower, Elizabeth J

2005-02-01

Oral epidemiological research into the social determinants of oral health has been limited by the absence of a theoretical framework which reflects the complexity of real life social processes and the network of causal pathways between social structure and oral health and disease. In the absence of such a framework, social determinants are treated as isolated risk factors, attributable to the individual, having a direct impact on oral health. There is little sense of how such factors interrelate over time and place and the pathways between the factors and oral health. Features of social life which impact on individuals' oral health but are not reducible to the individual remain under-researched. A conceptual framework informing mainstream epidemiological research into the social determinants of health is applied to oral epidemiology. The framework suggests complex causal pathways between social structure and health via interlinking material, psychosocial and behavioural pathways. Methodological implications for oral epidemiological research informed by the framework, such as the use of multilevel modelling, path analysis and structural equation modelling, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods, and collaborative research, are discussed. Copyright Blackwell Munksgaard, 2005.

Weaving networks of responsibility: community work in development programs in rural Malawi.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Anat

2012-01-01

The need to cope with the impact of the AIDS epidemic on communities in Africa has resulted in the emergence of numerous community health and development programs. Initiated by governments, international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and local organizations, such programs target local communities with the goal of building care and support mechanisms in the local level. Based on ethnographic field research in rural Malawi, and drawing from the cross-disciplinary debate on development work, the article explores the work of an NGO offering health and care programs to orphans and vulnerable children. Through analyzing the organization's scope of work, the article demonstrates how the NGO acts to structure local social networks as instruments of care and offers a new reading of the role of NGOs in which the limitations of development work and the work of NGOs are understood within their local context and not only in the context of broad cultural critique.

Characteristics of suicide hotspots on the Belgian railway network.

PubMed

Debbaut, Kevin; Krysinska, Karolina; Andriessen, Karl

2014-01-01

In 2004, railway suicide accounted for 5.3% of all suicides in Belgium. In 2008, Infrabel (Manager of the Belgian Railway Infrastructure) introduced a railway suicide prevention programme, including identification of suicide hotspots, i.e., areas of the railway network with an elevated incidence of suicide. The study presents an analysis of 43 suicide hotspots based on Infrabel data collected during field visits and semi-structured interviews conducted in mental health facilities in the vicinity of the hotspots. Three major characteristics of the hotspots were accessibility, anonymity, and vicinity of a mental health institution. The interviews identified several risk and protective factors for railway suicide, including the training of staff, introduction of a suicide prevention policy, and the role of the media. In conclusion, a comprehensive railway suicide prevention programme should continuously safeguard and monitor hotspots, and should be embedded in a comprehensive suicide prevention programme in the community.

[Reembursing health-care service provider networks].

PubMed

Binder, A; Braun, G E

2015-03-01

Health-care service provider networks are regarded as an important instrument to overcome the widely criticised fragmentation and sectoral partition of the German health-care system. The first part of this paper incorporates health-care service provider networks in the field of health-care research. The system theoretical model and basic functions of health-care research are used for this purpose. Furthermore already established areas of health-care research with strong relations to health-care service provider networks are listed. The second part of this paper introduces some innovative options for reimbursing health-care service provider networks which can be regarded as some results of network-oriented health-care research. The origins are virtual budgets currently used in part to reimburse integrated care according to §§ 140a ff. SGB V. Describing and evaluating this model leads to real budgets (capitation) - a reimbursement scheme repeatedly demanded by SVR-Gesundheit (German governmental health-care advisory board), for example, however barely implemented. As a final step a direct reimbursement of networks by the German sickness fund is discussed. Advantages and challenges are shown. The development of the different reimbursement schemes is partially based on models from the USA. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Molecular Signaling Network Motifs Provide a Mechanistic Basis for Cellular Threshold Responses

PubMed Central

Bhattacharya, Sudin; Conolly, Rory B.; Clewell, Harvey J.; Kaminski, Norbert E.; Andersen, Melvin E.

2014-01-01

Background: Increasingly, there is a move toward using in vitro toxicity testing to assess human health risk due to chemical exposure. As with in vivo toxicity testing, an important question for in vitro results is whether there are thresholds for adverse cellular responses. Empirical evaluations may show consistency with thresholds, but the main evidence has to come from mechanistic considerations. Objectives: Cellular response behaviors depend on the molecular pathway and circuitry in the cell and the manner in which chemicals perturb these circuits. Understanding circuit structures that are inherently capable of resisting small perturbations and producing threshold responses is an important step towards mechanistically interpreting in vitro testing data. Methods: Here we have examined dose–response characteristics for several biochemical network motifs. These network motifs are basic building blocks of molecular circuits underpinning a variety of cellular functions, including adaptation, homeostasis, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. For each motif, we present biological examples and models to illustrate how thresholds arise from specific network structures. Discussion and Conclusion: Integral feedback, feedforward, and transcritical bifurcation motifs can generate thresholds. Other motifs (e.g., proportional feedback and ultrasensitivity)produce responses where the slope in the low-dose region is small and stays close to the baseline. Feedforward control may lead to nonmonotonic or hormetic responses. We conclude that network motifs provide a basis for understanding thresholds for cellular responses. Computational pathway modeling of these motifs and their combinations occurring in molecular signaling networks will be a key element in new risk assessment approaches based on in vitro cellular assays. Citation: Zhang Q, Bhattacharya S, Conolly RB, Clewell HJ III, Kaminski NE, Andersen ME. 2014. Molecular signaling network motifs provide a mechanistic basis for cellular threshold responses. Environ Health Perspect 122:1261–1270; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408244 PMID:25117432

Real-time prediction of acute cardiovascular events using hardware-implemented Bayesian networks.

PubMed

Tylman, Wojciech; Waszyrowski, Tomasz; Napieralski, Andrzej; Kamiński, Marek; Trafidło, Tamara; Kulesza, Zbigniew; Kotas, Rafał; Marciniak, Paweł; Tomala, Radosław; Wenerski, Maciej

2016-02-01

This paper presents a decision support system that aims to estimate a patient׳s general condition and detect situations which pose an immediate danger to the patient׳s health or life. The use of this system might be especially important in places such as accident and emergency departments or admission wards, where a small medical team has to take care of many patients in various general conditions. Particular stress is laid on cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions, including those leading to sudden cardiac arrest. The proposed system is a stand-alone microprocessor-based device that works in conjunction with a standard vital signs monitor, which provides input signals such as temperature, blood pressure, pulseoxymetry, ECG, and ICG. The signals are preprocessed and analysed by a set of artificial intelligence algorithms, the core of which is based on Bayesian networks. The paper focuses on the construction and evaluation of the Bayesian network, both its structure and numerical specification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social network recruitment for Yo Puedo: an innovative sexual health intervention in an underserved urban neighborhood—sample and design implications.

PubMed

Minnis, Alexandra M; vanDommelen-Gonzalez, Evan; Luecke, Ellen; Cheng, Helen; Dow, William; Bautista-Arredondo, Sergio; Padian, Nancy S

2015-02-01

Most existing evidence-based sexual health interventions focus on individual-level behavior, even though there is substantial evidence that highlights the influential role of social environments in shaping adolescents' behaviors and reproductive health outcomes. We developed Yo Puedo, a combined conditional cash transfer and life skills intervention for youth to promote educational attainment, job training, and reproductive health wellness that we then evaluated for feasibility among 162 youth aged 16-21 years in a predominantly Latino community in San Francisco, CA. The intervention targeted youth's social networks and involved recruitment and randomization of small social network clusters. In this paper we describe the design of the feasibility study and report participants' baseline characteristics. Furthermore, we examined the sample and design implications of recruiting social network clusters as the unit of randomization. Baseline data provide evidence that we successfully enrolled high risk youth using a social network recruitment approach in community and school-based settings. Nearly all participants (95%) were high risk for adverse educational and reproductive health outcomes based on multiple measures of low socioeconomic status (81%) and/or reported high risk behaviors (e.g., gang affiliation, past pregnancy, recent unprotected sex, frequent substance use; 62%). We achieved variability in the study sample through heterogeneity in recruitment of the index participants, whereas the individuals within the small social networks of close friends demonstrated substantial homogeneity across sociodemographic and risk profile characteristics. Social networks recruitment was feasible and yielded a sample of high risk youth willing to enroll in a randomized study to evaluate a novel sexual health intervention.

Base structure consisting of an endothelialized vascular-tree network and hepatocytes for whole liver engineering.

PubMed

Shirakigawa, Nana; Takei, Takayuki; Ijima, Hiroyuki

2013-12-01

Reconstructed liver has been desired as a liver substitute for transplantation. However, reconstruction of a whole liver has not been achieved because construction of a vascular network at an organ scale is very difficult. We focused on decellularized liver (DC-liver) as an artificial scaffold for the construction of a hierarchical vascular network. In this study, we obtained DC-liver and the tubular network structure in which both portal vein and hepatic vein systems remained intact. Furthermore, endothelialization of the tubular structure in DC-liver was achieved, which prevented blood leakage from the tubular structure. In addition, hepatocytes suspended in a collagen sol were injected from the surroundings using a syringe as a suitable procedure for liver cell inoculation. In summary, we developed a base structure consisting of an endothelialized vascular-tree network and hepatocytes for whole liver engineering. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of excluding juveniles on apparent adult olive baboons (Papio anubis) social networks

PubMed Central

Fedurek, Piotr; Lehmann, Julia

2017-01-01

In recent years there has been much interest in investigating the social structure of group living animals using social network analysis. Many studies so far have focused on the social networks of adults, often excluding younger, immature group members. This potentially may lead to a biased view of group social structure as multiple recent studies have shown that younger group members can significantly contribute to group structure. As proof of the concept, we address this issue by investigating social network structure with and without juveniles in wild olive baboons (Papio anubis) at Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria. Two social networks including all independently moving individuals (i.e., excluding dependent juveniles) were created based on aggressive and grooming behaviour. We used knockout simulations based on the random removal of individuals from the network in order to investigate to what extent the exclusion of juveniles affects the resulting network structure and our interpretation of age-sex specific social roles. We found that juvenile social patterns differed from those of adults and that the exclusion of juveniles from the network significantly altered the resulting overall network structure. Moreover, the removal of juveniles from the network affected individuals in specific age-sex classes differently: for example, including juveniles in the grooming network increased network centrality of adult females while decreasing centrality of adult males. These results suggest that excluding juveniles from the analysis may not only result in a distorted picture of the overall social structure but also may mask some of the social roles of individuals belonging to different age-sex classes. PMID:28323851

The effect of excluding juveniles on apparent adult olive baboons (Papio anubis) social networks.

PubMed

Fedurek, Piotr; Lehmann, Julia

2017-01-01

In recent years there has been much interest in investigating the social structure of group living animals using social network analysis. Many studies so far have focused on the social networks of adults, often excluding younger, immature group members. This potentially may lead to a biased view of group social structure as multiple recent studies have shown that younger group members can significantly contribute to group structure. As proof of the concept, we address this issue by investigating social network structure with and without juveniles in wild olive baboons (Papio anubis) at Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria. Two social networks including all independently moving individuals (i.e., excluding dependent juveniles) were created based on aggressive and grooming behaviour. We used knockout simulations based on the random removal of individuals from the network in order to investigate to what extent the exclusion of juveniles affects the resulting network structure and our interpretation of age-sex specific social roles. We found that juvenile social patterns differed from those of adults and that the exclusion of juveniles from the network significantly altered the resulting overall network structure. Moreover, the removal of juveniles from the network affected individuals in specific age-sex classes differently: for example, including juveniles in the grooming network increased network centrality of adult females while decreasing centrality of adult males. These results suggest that excluding juveniles from the analysis may not only result in a distorted picture of the overall social structure but also may mask some of the social roles of individuals belonging to different age-sex classes.

Consensus between Pipelines in Structural Brain Networks

PubMed Central

Parker, Christopher S.; Deligianni, Fani; Cardoso, M. Jorge; Daga, Pankaj; Modat, Marc; Dayan, Michael; Clark, Chris A.

2014-01-01

Structural brain networks may be reconstructed from diffusion MRI tractography data and have great potential to further our understanding of the topological organisation of brain structure in health and disease. Network reconstruction is complex and involves a series of processesing methods including anatomical parcellation, registration, fiber orientation estimation and whole-brain fiber tractography. Methodological choices at each stage can affect the anatomical accuracy and graph theoretical properties of the reconstructed networks, meaning applying different combinations in a network reconstruction pipeline may produce substantially different networks. Furthermore, the choice of which connections are considered important is unclear. In this study, we assessed the similarity between structural networks obtained using two independent state-of-the-art reconstruction pipelines. We aimed to quantify network similarity and identify the core connections emerging most robustly in both pipelines. Similarity of network connections was compared between pipelines employing different atlases by merging parcels to a common and equivalent node scale. We found a high agreement between the networks across a range of fiber density thresholds. In addition, we identified a robust core of highly connected regions coinciding with a peak in similarity across network density thresholds, and replicated these results with atlases at different node scales. The binary network properties of these core connections were similar between pipelines but showed some differences in atlases across node scales. This study demonstrates the utility of applying multiple structural network reconstrution pipelines to diffusion data in order to identify the most important connections for further study. PMID:25356977

Bluetooth Low Energy Peripheral Android Health App for Educational and Interoperability Testing Purposes.

PubMed

Frohner, Matthias; Urbauer, Philipp; Sauermann, Stefan

2017-01-01

Based on recent telemonitoring activities in Austria for enabling integrated health care, the communication interfaces between personal health devices (e.g. blood pressure monitor) and personal health gateway devices (e.g. smartphone, routing received information to wide area networks) play an important role. In order to ease testing of the Bluetooth Low Energy interface functionality of the personal health gateway devices, a personal health device simulator was developed. Based on specifications from the Bluetooth SIG a XML software test configuration file structure is defined that declares the specific features of the personal health devices simulated. Using this configuration file, different scenarios are defined, e.g. send a single measurement result from a blood pressure reading or sending multiple (historic) weight scale readings. The simulator is intended to be used for educational purposes in lectures, where the number of physical personal health devices can be reduced and learning can be improved. It could be shown that this simulator assists the development process of mHealth applications by reducing the time needed for development and testing.

Social networks and mental health among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

PubMed

Odek, Willis Omondi

2014-01-01

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) in developing countries can live longer due to improved treatment access, and a deeper understanding of determinants of their quality of life is critical. This study assessed the link between social capital, operationally defined in terms of social networks (group-based and personal social networks) and access to network resources (access to material and non-material resources and social support) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among 554 (55% female) adults on HIV treatment through South Africa's public health system. Female study participants were involved with more group-based social networks but had fewer personal social networks in comparison to males. Access to network resources was higher among females and those from larger households but lower among older study participants. Experience of social support significantly increased with household economic status and duration at current residence. Social capital indicators were unrelated to HIV disease status indicators, including duration since diagnosis, CD4 count and viral load. Only a minority (13%) of study participants took part in groups formed by and for predominantly PLHIV (HIV support groups), and participation in such groups was unrelated to their mental or physical health. Personal rather than group-linked social networks and access to network resources were significantly associated with mental but not physical health, after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. The findings of limited participation in HIV support groups and that the participation in such groups was not significantly associated with physical or mental health may suggest efforts among PLHIV in South Africa to normalise HIV as a chronic illness through broad-based rather than HIV-status bounded social participation, as a strategy for deflecting stigma. Further research is required to examine the effects of HIV treatment on social networking and participation among PLHIV within both rural and other urban settings of South Africa.

A new role for primary care teams in the United States after “Obamacare:” Track and improve health insurance coverage rates

PubMed Central

DeVoe, Jennifer; Angier, Heather; Hoopes, Megan; Gold, Rachel

2017-01-01

Maintaining continuous health insurance coverage is important. With recent expansions in access to coverage in the United States after “Obamacare,” primary care teams have a new role in helping to track and improve coverage rates and to provide outreach to patients. We describe efforts to longitudinally track health insurance rates using data from the electronic health record (EHR) of a primary care network and to use these data to support practice-based insurance outreach and assistance. Although we highlight a few examples from one network, we believe there is great potential for doing this type of work in a broad range of family medicine and community health clinics that provide continuity of care. By partnering with researchers through practice-based research networks and other similar collaboratives, primary care practices can greatly expand the use of EHR data and EHR-based tools targeting improvements in health insurance and quality health care. PMID:28966926

["Healthy cities"--requirements and performance. Questionnaire results and a suggestion on quality monitoring (healthy-cities-barometer)].

PubMed

Plümer, K D; Trojan, A

2004-03-01

The overall goal of the WHO Healthy Cities Project was to translate some key points of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) into reality such as public health policies, creating health-promoting environments, strengthening community action through active public participation (empowerment of communities) and equity in health at the local level. These should be anchored within the local political administrative system (PAS), which means health should be on the agenda of policymakers in all sectors. To figure out how far this has been attained after almost 15 years of "healthy cities" policy in Germany was the focal point of the first questioning of local project coordinators. A written questionnaire containing 128 items has been developed in collaboration with the Healthy Cities Network-Coordinator. The questionnaire consists of 78 standardised questions and some (23) open-ended questions for more specific qualitative information. Also included are 27 ten-point rating scales to evaluate the coordinators' view of some aspects of their healthy cities work and to assess its progress. Based on 30 questions of the questionnaire we generated six quality indices, summarised to a quality index for a monitoring model. 47 (90 %) project-coordinators from a list of 52 took part in the first German Healthy Cities survey in the spring 2002. Selected results of the network questioning concerning the local "healthy cities" offices, work priorities and methods demonstrate differences between East and West Germany and general weakpoints of the "healthy cities" projects. Data analysis based on six quality dimensions of the "Healthy Cities" work, Programme Equipment and Commitment (Structure), Concept Quality and Integration within the Network (Process), Self-reported Success and Integration within the City/Municipality (Outcome), revealed some weak points of the " Healthy Cities" work as follows: Basing on the six quality dimensions we present a monitoring model (Healthy-Cities Barometer) which can also be used for strategic controlling (benchmarking) within the German Healthy Cities Network. Based on the data we identified 13 Cities at an A-level (excellent), 22 Cities at a B-level (satisfactory) and 12 Cities at a C-level (INADEQUATE). The "Healthy-Cities Barometer" provides a surveillance instrument which - if constantly used over several years - could offer data for a longitudinal analysis of the Healthy Cities' development. With its help the Healthy Cities Network-Coordinator could gain more information for a better performance and a continuous quality improvement process of the local Healthy Cities projects.

Circumventing 'free care' and 'shouting louder': using a health systems approach to study eye health system sustainability in government and mission facilities of north-west Tanzania.

PubMed

Palmer, Jennifer J; Gilbert, Alice; Choy, Michelle; Blanchet, Karl

2016-09-09

Little is known about the contributions of faith-based organisations (FBOs) to health systems in Africa. In the specialist area of eye health, international and domestic Christian FBOs have been important contributors as service providers and donors, but they are also commonly critiqued as having developed eye health systems parallel to government structures which are unsustainable. In this study, we use a health systems approach (quarterly interviews, a participatory sustainability analysis exercise and a social network analysis) to describe the strategies used by eye care practitioners in four hospitals of north-west Tanzania to navigate the government, church mission and donor rules that govern eye services delivery there. Practitioners in this region felt eye care was systemically neglected by government and therefore was 'all under the NGOs', but support from international donors was also precarious. Practitioners therefore adopted four main strategies to improve the sustainability of their services: (1) maintain 'sustainability funds' to retain financial autonomy over income; (2) avoid granting government user fee exemptions to elderly patients who are the majority of service users; (3) expand or contract outreach services as financial circumstances change; and (4) access peer support for problem-solving and advocacy. Mission-based eye teams had greater freedom to increase their income from user fees by not implementing government policies for 'free care'. Teams in all hospitals, however, found similar strategies to manage their programmes even when their management structures were unique, suggesting the importance of informal rules shared through a peer network in governing eye care in this pluralistic health system. Health systems research can generate new evidence on the social dynamics that cross public and private sectors within a local health system. In this area of Tanzania, Christian FBOs' investments are important, not only in terms of the population health outcomes achieved by teams they support, but also in the diversity of organisational models they contribute to in the wider eye health system, which facilitates innovation.

Exploring patients' health information communication practices with social network members as a foundation for consumer health IT design.

PubMed

Valdez, Rupa Sheth; Brennan, Patricia Flatley

2015-05-01

There is a need to ensure that the growing number of consumer health information technologies designed to support patient engagement account for the larger social context in which health is managed. Basic research on how patients engage this larger social context is needed as a precursor to the development of patient-centered consumer health information technology (IT) solutions. The purpose of this study was to inform the broader design of consumer health IT by characterizing patients' existing health information communication practices with their social network members. This qualitative study took place between 2010 and 2012 in a Midwestern city. Eighteen patients with chronic conditions participated in a semi-structured interview that was analyzed using qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics. Emphasis was placed on recruiting a sample representing diverse cultural groups and including participants of low socioeconomic status. Participants' social networks included a wide range of individuals, spanning biological relatives, divinities, and second-degree relationships. Participants' rationales for health information communication reflected seven themes: (1) characteristics and circumstances of the person, (2) characteristics and circumstances of the relationship, (3) structure and composition of the social network, (4) content of the message, (5) orientation of the goal, (6) dimensions of the context, and (7) adaptive practices. This study demonstrates that patients' health information communication practices are multidimensional, engaging individuals beyond formal and informal caregivers and driven by characteristics of their personal lives and larger social contexts in addition to their health problem. New models of consumer health IT must be created to better align with the realities of patients' communication routines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agent-Based Modeling of China's Rural-Urban Migration and Social Network Structure.

PubMed

Fu, Zhaohao; Hao, Lingxin

2018-01-15

We analyze China's rural-urban migration and endogenous social network structures using agent-based modeling. The agents from census micro data are located in their rural origin with an empirical-estimated prior propensity to move. The population-scale social network is a hybrid one, combining observed family ties and locations of the origin with a parameter space calibrated from census, survey and aggregate data and sampled using a stepwise Latin Hypercube Sampling method. At monthly intervals, some agents migrate and these migratory acts change the social network by turning within-nonmigrant connections to between-migrant-nonmigrant connections, turning local connections to nonlocal connections, and adding among-migrant connections. In turn, the changing social network structure updates migratory propensities of those well-connected nonmigrants who become more likely to move. These two processes iterate over time. Using a core-periphery method developed from the k -core decomposition method, we identify and quantify the network structural changes and map these changes with the migration acceleration patterns. We conclude that network structural changes are essential for explaining migration acceleration observed in China during the 1995-2000 period.

Agent-based modeling of China's rural-urban migration and social network structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Zhaohao; Hao, Lingxin

2018-01-01

We analyze China's rural-urban migration and endogenous social network structures using agent-based modeling. The agents from census micro data are located in their rural origin with an empirical-estimated prior propensity to move. The population-scale social network is a hybrid one, combining observed family ties and locations of the origin with a parameter space calibrated from census, survey and aggregate data and sampled using a stepwise Latin Hypercube Sampling method. At monthly intervals, some agents migrate and these migratory acts change the social network by turning within-nonmigrant connections to between-migrant-nonmigrant connections, turning local connections to nonlocal connections, and adding among-migrant connections. In turn, the changing social network structure updates migratory propensities of those well-connected nonmigrants who become more likely to move. These two processes iterate over time. Using a core-periphery method developed from the k-core decomposition method, we identify and quantify the network structural changes and map these changes with the migration acceleration patterns. We conclude that network structural changes are essential for explaining migration acceleration observed in China during the 1995-2000 period.

Youth's social network structures and peer influences: study protocol MyMovez project - Phase I.

PubMed

Bevelander, Kirsten E; Smit, Crystal R; van Woudenberg, Thabo J; Buijs, Laura; Burk, William J; Buijzen, Moniek

2018-04-16

Youth are an important target group for social network interventions, because they are particularly susceptible to the adaptation of healthy and unhealthy habits and behaviors of others. They are surrounded by 'social influence agents' (i.e., role models such as family, friends and peers) that co-determine their dietary intake and physical activity. However, there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive research on the implementation of a social network approach in health campaigns. The MyMovez research project aims to fill this gap by developing a method for effective social network campaign implementation. This protocol paper describes the design and methods of Phase I of the MyMovez project, aiming to unravel youth's social network structures in combination with individual, psychosocial, and environmental factors related to energy intake and expenditure. In addition, the Wearable Lab is developed to enable an attractive and state-of-the-art way of collecting data and online campaign implementation via social networks. Phase I of the MyMovez project consists of a large-scale cross-sequential cohort study (N = 953; 8-12 and 12-15 y/o). In five waves during a 3-year period (2016-2018), data are collected about youth's social network exposure, media consumption, socialization experiences, psychological determinants of behavior, physical environment, dietary intake (snacking and drinking behavior) and physical activity using the Wearable Lab. The Wearable Lab exists of a smartphone-based research application (app) connected to an activity tracking bracelet, that is developed throughout the duration of the project. It generates peer- and self-reported (e.g., sociometric data and surveys) and experience sampling data, social network beacon data, real-time physical activity data (i.e., steps and cycling), location information, photos and chat conversation data from the app's social media platform Social Buzz. The MyMovez project - Phase I is an innovative cross-sequential research project that investigates how social influences co-determine youth's energy intake and expenditure. This project utilizes advanced research technologies (Wearable Lab) that provide unique opportunities to better understand the underlying processes that impact youths' health-related behaviors. The project is theoretically and methodologically pioneering and produces a unique and useful method for successfully implementing and improving health campaigns.

Effects of bursting dynamic features on the generation of multi-clustered structure of neural network with symmetric spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning rule.

PubMed

Liu, Hui; Song, Yongduan; Xue, Fangzheng; Li, Xiumin

2015-11-01

In this paper, the generation of multi-clustered structure of self-organized neural network with different neuronal firing patterns, i.e., bursting or spiking, has been investigated. The initially all-to-all-connected spiking neural network or bursting neural network can be self-organized into clustered structure through the symmetric spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning for both bursting and spiking neurons. However, the time consumption of this clustering procedure of the burst-based self-organized neural network (BSON) is much shorter than the spike-based self-organized neural network (SSON). Our results show that the BSON network has more obvious small-world properties, i.e., higher clustering coefficient and smaller shortest path length than the SSON network. Also, the results of larger structure entropy and activity entropy of the BSON network demonstrate that this network has higher topological complexity and dynamical diversity, which benefits for enhancing information transmission of neural circuits. Hence, we conclude that the burst firing can significantly enhance the efficiency of clustering procedure and the emergent clustered structure renders the whole network more synchronous and therefore more sensitive to weak input. This result is further confirmed from its improved performance on stochastic resonance. Therefore, we believe that the multi-clustered neural network which self-organized from the bursting dynamics has high efficiency in information processing.

Effects of bursting dynamic features on the generation of multi-clustered structure of neural network with symmetric spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning rule

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Hui; Song, Yongduan; Xue, Fangzheng

In this paper, the generation of multi-clustered structure of self-organized neural network with different neuronal firing patterns, i.e., bursting or spiking, has been investigated. The initially all-to-all-connected spiking neural network or bursting neural network can be self-organized into clustered structure through the symmetric spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning for both bursting and spiking neurons. However, the time consumption of this clustering procedure of the burst-based self-organized neural network (BSON) is much shorter than the spike-based self-organized neural network (SSON). Our results show that the BSON network has more obvious small-world properties, i.e., higher clustering coefficient and smaller shortest path length than themore » SSON network. Also, the results of larger structure entropy and activity entropy of the BSON network demonstrate that this network has higher topological complexity and dynamical diversity, which benefits for enhancing information transmission of neural circuits. Hence, we conclude that the burst firing can significantly enhance the efficiency of clustering procedure and the emergent clustered structure renders the whole network more synchronous and therefore more sensitive to weak input. This result is further confirmed from its improved performance on stochastic resonance. Therefore, we believe that the multi-clustered neural network which self-organized from the bursting dynamics has high efficiency in information processing.« less

Factors influencing health care access perceptions and care-seeking behaviors of immigrant Latino sexual minority men and transgender individuals: baseline findings from the HOLA intervention study.

PubMed

Tanner, Amanda E; Reboussin, Beth A; Mann, Lilli; Ma, Alice; Song, Eunyoung; Alonzo, Jorge; Rhodes, Scott D

2014-11-01

Little is known about immigrant Latino sexual minorities’ health seeking behaviors. This study examined factors associated with perceptions of access and actual care behaviors among this population in North Carolina. A community-based participatory research partnership recruited 180 Latino sexual minority men and transgender individuals within preexisting social networks to participate in a sexual health intervention. Mixed-effects logistic regression models and GIS mapping examined factors influencing health care access perceptions and use of services (HIV testing and routine check-ups). Results indicate that perceptions of access and actual care behaviors are low and affected by individual and structural factors, including: years living in NC, reported poor general health, perceptions of discrimination, micro-, meso-, and macro-level barriers, and residence in a Medically Underserved Area. To improve Latino sexual minority health, focus must be placed on multiple levels, including: individual characteristics (e.g., demographics), clinic factors (e.g., provider competence and clinic environment), and structural factors (e.g., discrimination).

Factors influencing health care access perceptions and care-seeking behaviors of immigrant Latino sexual minority men and transgender individuals: Baseline findings from the HOLA intervention study

PubMed Central

Tanner, AE; Reboussin, BA; Mann, L; Ma, A; Song, E; Alonzo, J; Rhodes, SD

2014-01-01

Little is known about immigrant Latino sexual minorities' health seeking behaviors. This study examined factors associated with perceptions of access and actual care behaviors among this population in North Carolina. Methods A community-based participatory research partnership recruited 180 Latino sexual minority men and transgender individuals within preexisting social networks to participate in a sexual health intervention. Mixed-effects logistic regression models examined factors influencing health care access perceptions and use of services (HIV testing and routine check-ups). Results Results indicate that perceptions of access and actual care behaviors are low and affected by individual and structural factors, including: years living in NC, reported poor general health, perceptions of discrimination, micro-, meso-, and macro-level barriers, and residence in a Medically Underserved Area. Discussion To improve Latino sexual minority health, focus must be placed on multiple levels, individual characteristics (e.g., demographics), clinic factors (e.g., provider competence and clinic environment), and structural factors (e.g., discrimination). PMID:25418235

Communication about childhood obesity on Twitter.

PubMed

Harris, Jenine K; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Tabak, Rachel G; Ruhr, Lindsay R; Maier, Ryan C

2014-07-01

Little is known about the use of social media as a tool for health communication. We used a mixed-methods design to examine communication about childhood obesity on Twitter. NodeXL was used to collect tweets sent in June 2013 containing the hashtag #childhoodobesity. Tweets were coded for content; tweeters were classified by sector and health focus. Data were also collected on the network of follower connections among the tweeters. We used descriptive statistics and exponential random graph modeling to examine tweet content, characteristics of tweeters, and the composition and structure of the network of connections facilitating communication among tweeters. We collected 1110 tweets originating from 576 unique Twitter users. More individuals (65.6%) than organizations (32.9%) tweeted. More tweets focused on individual behavior than environment or policy. Few government and educational tweeters were in the network, but they were more likely than private individuals to be followed by others. There is an opportunity to better disseminate evidence-based information to a broad audience through Twitter by increasing the presence of credible sources in the #childhoodobesity conversation and focusing the content of tweets on scientific evidence.

Development of the brain's structural network efficiency in early adolescence: A longitudinal DTI twin study.

PubMed

Koenis, Marinka M G; Brouwer, Rachel M; van den Heuvel, Martijn P; Mandl, René C W; van Soelen, Inge L C; Kahn, René S; Boomsma, Dorret I; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E

2015-12-01

The brain is a network and our intelligence depends in part on the efficiency of this network. The network of adolescents differs from that of adults suggesting developmental changes. However, whether the network changes over time at the individual level and, if so, how this relates to intelligence, is unresolved in adolescence. In addition, the influence of genetic factors in the developing network is not known. Therefore, in a longitudinal study of 162 healthy adolescent twins and their siblings (mean age at baseline 9.9 [range 9.0-15.0] years), we mapped local and global structural network efficiency of cerebral fiber pathways (weighted with mean FA and streamline count) and assessed intelligence over a three-year interval. We find that the efficiency of the brain's structural network is highly heritable (locally up to 74%). FA-based local and global efficiency increases during early adolescence. Streamline count based local efficiency both increases and decreases, and global efficiency reorganizes to a net decrease. Local FA-based efficiency was correlated to IQ. Moreover, increases in FA-based network efficiency (global and local) and decreases in streamline count based local efficiency are related to increases in intellectual functioning. Individual changes in intelligence and local FA-based efficiency appear to go hand in hand in frontal and temporal areas. More widespread local decreases in streamline count based efficiency (frontal cingulate and occipital) are correlated with increases in intelligence. We conclude that the teenage brain is a network in progress in which individual differences in maturation relate to level of intellectual functioning. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inference and Analysis of Population Structure Using Genetic Data and Network Theory

PubMed Central

Greenbaum, Gili; Templeton, Alan R.; Bar-David, Shirli

2016-01-01

Clustering individuals to subpopulations based on genetic data has become commonplace in many genetic studies. Inference about population structure is most often done by applying model-based approaches, aided by visualization using distance-based approaches such as multidimensional scaling. While existing distance-based approaches suffer from a lack of statistical rigor, model-based approaches entail assumptions of prior conditions such as that the subpopulations are at Hardy-Weinberg equilibria. Here we present a distance-based approach for inference about population structure using genetic data by defining population structure using network theory terminology and methods. A network is constructed from a pairwise genetic-similarity matrix of all sampled individuals. The community partition, a partition of a network to dense subgraphs, is equated with population structure, a partition of the population to genetically related groups. Community-detection algorithms are used to partition the network into communities, interpreted as a partition of the population to subpopulations. The statistical significance of the structure can be estimated by using permutation tests to evaluate the significance of the partition’s modularity, a network theory measure indicating the quality of community partitions. To further characterize population structure, a new measure of the strength of association (SA) for an individual to its assigned community is presented. The strength of association distribution (SAD) of the communities is analyzed to provide additional population structure characteristics, such as the relative amount of gene flow experienced by the different subpopulations and identification of hybrid individuals. Human genetic data and simulations are used to demonstrate the applicability of the analyses. The approach presented here provides a novel, computationally efficient model-free method for inference about population structure that does not entail assumption of prior conditions. The method is implemented in the software NetStruct (available at https://giligreenbaum.wordpress.com/software/). PMID:26888080

Inference and Analysis of Population Structure Using Genetic Data and Network Theory.

PubMed

Greenbaum, Gili; Templeton, Alan R; Bar-David, Shirli

2016-04-01

Clustering individuals to subpopulations based on genetic data has become commonplace in many genetic studies. Inference about population structure is most often done by applying model-based approaches, aided by visualization using distance-based approaches such as multidimensional scaling. While existing distance-based approaches suffer from a lack of statistical rigor, model-based approaches entail assumptions of prior conditions such as that the subpopulations are at Hardy-Weinberg equilibria. Here we present a distance-based approach for inference about population structure using genetic data by defining population structure using network theory terminology and methods. A network is constructed from a pairwise genetic-similarity matrix of all sampled individuals. The community partition, a partition of a network to dense subgraphs, is equated with population structure, a partition of the population to genetically related groups. Community-detection algorithms are used to partition the network into communities, interpreted as a partition of the population to subpopulations. The statistical significance of the structure can be estimated by using permutation tests to evaluate the significance of the partition's modularity, a network theory measure indicating the quality of community partitions. To further characterize population structure, a new measure of the strength of association (SA) for an individual to its assigned community is presented. The strength of association distribution (SAD) of the communities is analyzed to provide additional population structure characteristics, such as the relative amount of gene flow experienced by the different subpopulations and identification of hybrid individuals. Human genetic data and simulations are used to demonstrate the applicability of the analyses. The approach presented here provides a novel, computationally efficient model-free method for inference about population structure that does not entail assumption of prior conditions. The method is implemented in the software NetStruct (available at https://giligreenbaum.wordpress.com/software/). Copyright © 2016 by the Genetics Society of America.

Statistical analysis of modal properties of a cable-stayed bridge through long-term structural health monitoring with wireless smart sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asadollahi, Parisa; Li, Jian

2016-04-01

Understanding the dynamic behavior of complex structures such as long-span bridges requires dense deployment of sensors. Traditional wired sensor systems are generally expensive and time-consuming to install due to cabling. With wireless communication and on-board computation capabilities, wireless smart sensor networks have the advantages of being low cost, easy to deploy and maintain and therefore facilitate dense instrumentation for structural health monitoring. A long-term monitoring project was recently carried out for a cable-stayed bridge in South Korea with a dense array of 113 smart sensors, which feature the world's largest wireless smart sensor network for civil structural monitoring. This paper presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of the modal properties including natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes of the monitored cable-stayed bridge. Data analyzed in this paper is composed of structural vibration signals monitored during a 12-month period under ambient excitations. The correlation between environmental temperature and the modal frequencies is also investigated. The results showed the long-term statistical structural behavior of the bridge, which serves as the basis for Bayesian statistical updating for the numerical model.

Managing cancer care through service delivery networks: The role of professional collaboration in two European cancer networks.

PubMed

Prades, Joan; Morando, Verdiana; Tozzi, Valeria D; Verhoeven, Didier; Germà, Jose R; Borras, Josep M

2017-01-01

Background The study examines two meso-strategic cancer networks, exploring to what extent collaboration can strengthen or hamper network effectiveness. Unlike macro-strategic networks, meso-strategic networks have no hierarchical governance structures nor are they institutionalised within healthcare services' delivery systems. This study aims to analyse the models of professional cooperation and the tools developed for managing clinical practice within two meso-strategic, European cancer networks. Methods Multiple case study design based on the comparative analysis of two cancer networks: Iridium, in Antwerp, Belgium and the Institut Català d'Oncologia in Catalonia, Spain. The case studies applied mixed methods, with qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews ( n = 35) together with case-site observation and material collection. Results The analysis identified four levels of collaborative intensity within medical specialties as well as in multidisciplinary settings, which became both platforms for crosscutting clinical work between hubs' experts and local care teams and the levers for network-based tools development. The organisation of clinical practice relied on professional-based cooperative processes and tiers, lacking vertical integration mechanisms. Conclusions The intensity of professional linkages largely shaped the potential of meso-strategic cancer networks to influence clinical practice organisation. Conversely, the introduction of managerial techniques or network governance structures, without introducing vertical hierarchies, was found to be critical solutions.

Link Prediction in Evolving Networks Based on Popularity of Nodes.

PubMed

Wang, Tong; He, Xing-Sheng; Zhou, Ming-Yang; Fu, Zhong-Qian

2017-08-02

Link prediction aims to uncover the underlying relationship behind networks, which could be utilized to predict missing edges or identify the spurious edges. The key issue of link prediction is to estimate the likelihood of potential links in networks. Most classical static-structure based methods ignore the temporal aspects of networks, limited by the time-varying features, such approaches perform poorly in evolving networks. In this paper, we propose a hypothesis that the ability of each node to attract links depends not only on its structural importance, but also on its current popularity (activeness), since active nodes have much more probability to attract future links. Then a novel approach named popularity based structural perturbation method (PBSPM) and its fast algorithm are proposed to characterize the likelihood of an edge from both existing connectivity structure and current popularity of its two endpoints. Experiments on six evolving networks show that the proposed methods outperform state-of-the-art methods in accuracy and robustness. Besides, visual results and statistical analysis reveal that the proposed methods are inclined to predict future edges between active nodes, rather than edges between inactive nodes.

Do existing mechanisms contribute to improvements in care coordination across levels of care in health services networks? Opinions of the health personnel in Colombia and Brazil.

PubMed

Vargas, Ingrid; Mogollón-Pérez, Amparo Susana; De Paepe, Pierre; da Silva, Maria Rejane Ferreira; Unger, Jean Pierre; Vázquez, María Luisa

2015-05-29

The fragmentation of healthcare provision has given rise to a wide range of interventions within organizations to improve coordination across levels of care, primarily in high income countries but also in some middle and low-income countries. The aim is to analyze the use of coordination mechanisms in healthcare networks and its implications for the delivery of health care. This is studied from the perspective of health personnel in two countries with different health systems, Colombia and Brazil. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive-interpretative study was conducted, based on a case study of healthcare networks in two municipalities in each country. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a three stage theoretical sample of a) health (112) and administrative (66) professionals of different care levels, and b) managers of providers (42) and insurers (14). A thematic content analysis was conducted, segmented by cases, informant groups and themes. The results show that care coordination mechanisms are poorly implemented in general. However, the results are marginally better in certain segments of the Colombian networks analyzed (ambulatory centres with primary and secondary care co-location owned by or tied to the contributory scheme insurers, and public providers of the subsidized scheme); and in the network of the state capital in Brazil. Professionals point to numerous problems in the use of existing mechanisms, such as the insufficient recording of information in referral forms, low frequency and level of participation in shared clinical sessions, low adherence to the few available clinical guidelines and the lack of or inadequate referral of patients by the patient referral centres, particularly in the Brazilian networks. The absence or limited use of care coordination mechanisms leads, according to informants, to the inadequate follow-up of patients, interruptions in care and duplication of tests. Professionals use informal strategies to try to overcome these limitations. The results indicate not only the limited implementation of mechanisms for coordination across care levels, but also a limited use of existing mechanisms in the healthcare networks analyzed. This has a negative impact on coordination, efficiency and quality of care. Organizational changes are required in the networks and healthcare systems to address these problems.

Efficacy of community-based physiotherapy networks for patients with Parkinson's disease: a cluster-randomised trial.

PubMed

Munneke, Marten; Nijkrake, Maarten J; Keus, Samyra Hj; Kwakkel, Gert; Berendse, Henk W; Roos, Raymund Ac; Borm, George F; Adang, Eddy M; Overeem, Sebastiaan; Bloem, Bastiaan R

2010-01-01

Many patients with Parkinson's disease are treated with physiotherapy. We have developed a community-based professional network (ParkinsonNet) that involves training of a selected number of expert physiotherapists to work according to evidence-based recommendations, and structured referrals to these trained physiotherapists to increase the numbers of patients they treat. We aimed to assess the efficacy of this approach for improving health-care outcomes. Between February, 2005, and August, 2007, we did a cluster-randomised trial with 16 clusters (defined as community hospitals and their catchment area). Clusters were randomly allocated by use of a variance minimisation algorithm to ParkinsonNet care (n=8) or usual care (n=8). Patients were assessed at baseline and at 8, 16, and 24 weeks of follow-up. The primary outcome was a patient preference disability score, the patient-specific index score, at 16 weeks. Health secondary outcomes were functional mobility, mobility-related quality of life, and total societal costs over 24 weeks. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered, number NCT00330694. We included 699 patients. Baseline characteristics of the patients were comparable between the ParkinsonNet clusters (n=358) and usual-care clusters (n=341). The primary endpoint was similar for patients within the ParkinsonNet clusters (mean 47.7, SD 21.9) and control clusters (48.3, 22.4). Health secondary endpoints were also similar for patients in both study groups. Total costs over 24 weeks were lower in ParkinsonNet clusters compared with usual-care clusters (difference euro727; 95% CI 56-1399). Implementation of ParkinsonNet networks did not change health outcomes for patients living in ParkinsonNet clusters. However, health-care costs were reduced in ParkinsonNet clusters compared with usual-care clusters. ZonMw; Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research; Dutch Parkinson's Disease Society; National Parkinson Foundation; Stichting Robuust. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disseminating Innovations in Teaching Value-Based Care Through an Online Learning Network.

PubMed

Gupta, Reshma; Shah, Neel T; Moriates, Christopher; Wallingford, September; Arora, Vineet M

2017-08-01

A national imperative to provide value-based care requires new strategies to teach clinicians about high-value care. We developed a virtual online learning network aimed at disseminating emerging strategies in teaching value-based care. The online Teaching Value in Health Care Learning Network includes monthly webinars that feature selected innovators, online discussion forums, and a repository for sharing tools. The learning network comprises clinician-educators and health system leaders across North America. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of all webinar presenters and the active members of the network, and we assessed program feasibility. Six months after the program launched, there were 277 learning community members in 22 US states. Of the 74 active members, 50 (68%) completed the evaluation. Active members represented independently practicing physicians and trainees in 7 specialties, nurses, educators, and health system leaders. Nearly all speakers reported that the learning network provided them with a unique opportunity to connect with a different audience and achieve greater recognition for their work. Of the members who were active in the learning network, most reported that strategies gleaned from the network were helpful, and some adopted or adapted these innovations at their home institutions. One year after the program launched, the learning network had grown to 364 total members. The learning network helped participants share and implement innovations to promote high-value care. The model can help disseminate innovations in emerging areas of health care transformation, and is sustainable without ongoing support after a period of start-up funding.

Predictors of Facebook User Engagement With Health-Related Content for Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: Content Analysis.

PubMed

Card, Kiffer George; Lachowsky, Nathan; Hawkins, Blake W; Jollimore, Jody; Baharuddin, Fahmy; Hogg, Robert S

2018-04-06

Social media is used by community-based organizations (CBOs) to promote the well-being of gay and bisexual men (GBM). However, few studies have quantified which factors facilitate the diffusion of health content tailored for sexual minorities. The aim of this study was to identify post characteristics that can be leveraged to optimize the health promotion efforts of CBOs on Facebook. The Facebook application programming interface was used to collect 5 years' of posts shared across 10 Facebook pages administered by Vancouver-based CBOs promoting GBM health. Network analysis assessed basic indicators of network structure. Content analyses were conducted using informatics-based approaches. Hierarchical negative binomial regression of post engagement data was used to identify meaningful covariates of engagement. In total, 14,071 posts were shared and 21,537 users engaged with these posts. Most users (n=13,315) engaged only once. There was moderate correlation between the number of posts and the number of CBOs users engaged with (r=.53, P<.001). Higher user engagement was positively associated with positive sentiment, sharing multimedia, and posting about pre-exposure prophylaxis, stigma, and mental health. Engagement was negatively associated with asking questions, posting about dating, and sharing posts during or after work (versus before). Results highlight the existence of a core group of Facebook users who facilitate diffusion. Factors associated with greater user engagement present CBOs with a number of strategies for improving the diffusion of health content. ©Kiffer George Card, Nathan Lachowsky, Blake W Hawkins, Jody Jollimore, Fahmy Baharuddin, Robert S Hogg. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 06.04.2018.

Creating a center for global health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

PubMed

Haq, Cynthia; Baumann, Linda; Olsen, Christopher W; Brown, Lori DiPrete; Kraus, Connie; Bousquet, Gilles; Conway, James; Easterday, B C

2008-02-01

Globalization, migration, and widespread health disparities call for interdisciplinary approaches to improve health care at home and abroad. Health professions students are pursuing study abroad in increasing numbers, and universities are responding with programs to address these needs. The University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison schools of medicine and public health, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and the division of international studies have created an interdisciplinary center for global health (CGH). The CGH provides health professions and graduate students with courses, field experiences, and a new Certificate in Global Health. Educational programs have catalyzed a network of enthusiastic UW global health scholars. Partnerships with colleagues in less economically developed countries provide the foundation for education, research, and service programs. Participants have collaborated to improve the education of health professionals and nutrition in Uganda; explore the interplay between culture, community development, and health in Ecuador; improve animal health and address domestic violence in Mexico; and examine successful public health efforts in Thailand. These programs supply students with opportunities to understand the complex determinants of health and structure of health systems, develop adaptability and cross-cultural communication skills, experience learning and working in interdisciplinary teams, and promote equity and reduce health disparities at home and abroad. Based on the principles of equity, sustainability, and reciprocity, the CGH provides a strong foundation to address global health challenges through networking and collaboration among students, staff, and faculty within the UW and beyond.

Data Extraction and Management in Networks of Observational Health Care Databases for Scientific Research: A Comparison of EU-ADR, OMOP, Mini-Sentinel and MATRICE Strategies

PubMed Central

Gini, Rosa; Schuemie, Martijn; Brown, Jeffrey; Ryan, Patrick; Vacchi, Edoardo; Coppola, Massimo; Cazzola, Walter; Coloma, Preciosa; Berni, Roberto; Diallo, Gayo; Oliveira, José Luis; Avillach, Paul; Trifirò, Gianluca; Rijnbeek, Peter; Bellentani, Mariadonata; van Der Lei, Johan; Klazinga, Niek; Sturkenboom, Miriam

2016-01-01

Introduction: We see increased use of existing observational data in order to achieve fast and transparent production of empirical evidence in health care research. Multiple databases are often used to increase power, to assess rare exposures or outcomes, or to study diverse populations. For privacy and sociological reasons, original data on individual subjects can’t be shared, requiring a distributed network approach where data processing is performed prior to data sharing. Case Descriptions and Variation Among Sites: We created a conceptual framework distinguishing three steps in local data processing: (1) data reorganization into a data structure common across the network; (2) derivation of study variables not present in original data; and (3) application of study design to transform longitudinal data into aggregated data sets for statistical analysis. We applied this framework to four case studies to identify similarities and differences in the United States and Europe: Exploring and Understanding Adverse Drug Reactions by Integrative Mining of Clinical Records and Biomedical Knowledge (EU-ADR), Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP), the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Mini-Sentinel, and the Italian network—the Integration of Content Management Information on the Territory of Patients with Complex Diseases or with Chronic Conditions (MATRICE). Findings: National networks (OMOP, Mini-Sentinel, MATRICE) all adopted shared procedures for local data reorganization. The multinational EU-ADR network needed locally defined procedures to reorganize its heterogeneous data into a common structure. Derivation of new data elements was centrally defined in all networks but the procedure was not shared in EU-ADR. Application of study design was a common and shared procedure in all the case studies. Computer procedures were embodied in different programming languages, including SAS, R, SQL, Java, and C++. Conclusion: Using our conceptual framework we found several areas that would benefit from research to identify optimal standards for production of empirical knowledge from existing databases.an opportunity to advance evidence-based care management. In addition, formalized CM outcomes assessment methodologies will enable us to compare CM effectiveness across health delivery settings. PMID:27014709

All in the Family: The Link between Kin Network Bridging and Cardiovascular Risk among Older Adults*

PubMed Central

Goldman, Alyssa

2016-01-01

While considerable work has examined the association between social relationships and health, most of this research focuses on the relevance of social network composition and quality of dyadic ties. In this study, I consider how the social network structure of ties among older adults’ close family members may affect cardiovascular health in later life. Using data from 938 older adults that participated in Waves 1 and 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), I test whether older adults who occupy bridging positions among otherwise disconnected or poorly connected kin in their personal social network are more likely to present elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker for cardiovascular risk. Results indicate that occupying a bridging position among family members is significantly associated with elevated CRP. This effect is unique to bridging kin network members. These findings suggest that ties among one’s closest kin may generate important resources and norms that influence older adults’ health, such that bridging kin network members may compromise physical wellbeing. I discuss these results in the context of prior work on social support, family solidarity, and health in later life. PMID:27566043