Social network analysis

Bunger, Alicia C.; Nooraie, Reza Yousefi

doi:10.4337/9781788975995.00033

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Consistent with the literature highlighting the benefits of having well-connected opinion managers delivering QI implementation (Bunger et al, 2023), we found that degree centrality facilitates progress from initial to full operation by maximizing social influence. In contrast, network density hinders progress during the early stages of implementation by isolating actors from other organizational units (Adler & Kwon, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…There is evidence that building groups or clusters of supportive individuals is one of the most effective networking strategies to facilitate implementation because it brings together influential individuals who have a common goal (Bunger et al, 2023). Importantly, our results highlight that this clustering phenomenon occurs dynamically through needs-driven relationship building, even when the QIC curriculum itself does not include networking training for QI project managers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

See 1 more Smart Citation

How social networks influence the local implementation of initiatives developed in quality improvement collaboratives in health care

Gillner,

Wild

2024

Health Care Manage Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Quality improvement collaboratives (QICs) have facilitated cross-organizational knowledge exchange in health care. However, the local implementation of many quality improvement (QI) initiatives continues to fail, signaling a need to better understand the contributing factors. Organizational context, particularly the role of social networks in facilitating or hindering implementation within organizations, remains a potentially critical yet underexplored area to addressing this gap. Purpose We took a dynamic process perspective to understand how QI project managers’ social networks influence the local implementation of QI initiatives developed through QICs. Methodology We explored the case of a QIC by triangulating data from an online survey, semistructured interviews, and archival documents from 10 organizations. We divided implementation into four stages and employed qualitative text analysis to examine the relationship between three characteristics of network structure (degree centrality, network density, and betweenness centrality) and the progress of each QI initiative. Results The progress of QI initiatives varied considerably among organizations. The transition between stages was influenced by all three network characteristics to varying degrees, depending on the stage. Project managers whose QI initiatives progressed to advanced stages of implementation had formed ad hoc clusters of colleagues passionate about the initiatives. Conclusion Implementing QI initiatives appears to be facilitated by the formation of clusters of supportive individuals within organizations; this formation requires high betweenness centrality and high network density. Practice Implications Flexibly modifying specific network characteristics depending on the stage of implementation may help project managers advance their QI initiatives, achieving more uniform results from QICs.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

How social networks influence the local implementation of initiatives developed in quality improvement collaboratives in health care

Gillner,

Wild

2024

Health Care Manage Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Social network analysis (SNA) is a powerful approach that provides a theoretical and analytical perspective to understand social relations and inform and evaluate network interventions. Network analysis can provide insight about the patterns of connectivity in social networks, the position and roles of influential actors, smaller embedded clusters, and the relationship between network characteristics and personal and contextual factors [ 25 ]. SNA has been used in before-after studies to gauge the influence of interventions intended to perturb or change existing social networks, or to create stronger ties among previously weakly linked network members.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SNA has been used in before-after studies to gauge the influence of interventions intended to perturb or change existing social networks, or to create stronger ties among previously weakly linked network members. SNA can help advance our understanding of how the implementation of systemic interventions can influence the dynamics of connectivity and formation of communities of support and influence and inform efforts to facilitate the implementation of organizational innovations [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building a communication and support network among quality improvement teams in nursing homes: a longitudinal study of the SCOPE trial

Yousefi Nooraie,

Qin,

Wagg

et al. 2024

Implement Sci Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background We applied a longitudinal network analysis approach to assess the formation of knowledge sharing and collaboration networks among care aide-led quality improvement (QI) teams in Canadian nursing homes participating in the Safer Care for Older Persons (in residential) Environments (SCOPE) trial which aimed to support unregulated front-line staff to lead unit-based quality improvement (QI) teams in nursing homes. We hypothesized that SCOPE's communicative and participatory nature would provide opportunities for peer support, knowledge sharing, and collaboration building among teams. Methods Fourteen QI teams in Alberta (AB) and seventeen QI teams in British Columbia (BC) participated in the study. Communications across nursing homes occurred through a series of 4 collaborative Learning Congresses (training sessions) over a 1-year period. The senior leaders of QI teams participated in two online network surveys about the communication/collaboration between teams in their province, 1 month after the first, and 6 months later, after the fourth Learning Congress. We developed communication and collaboration network maps pertaining to three time points: before SCOPE, at 2 months, and at 9 months. Results Over time, teams made significantly more new connections and strengthened existing ones, within and across regions. Geographic proximity and co-membership in organizational chains were important predictors of connectivity before and during SCOPE. Teams whose members were well connected at baseline disproportionately improved connectivity over time. On the other hand, teams that did not have prior opportunities to connect appeared to use SCOPE to build new ties. Conclusions Our findings suggest the importance of network-altering activities to the formation of collaboration networks among QI teams across nursing homes. Active strategies could be used to better connect less connected teams and facilitate collaboration among geographically proximate teams. These findings may inform the development of interventions to leverage existing networks and provide new networking opportunities to develop and sustain organizational improvements.

show abstract

“…(9,10) Network-altering interventions can restructure existing networks by facilitating and strengthening connections among network actors, by building bridges to connect separated groups or by changing the position of some actors in the network. (11,12,13) Interventions that facilitate information-sharing, peer support, and community formation may serve to change social network structures, even though network change was not the original intent of the intervention. (12,14) Some examples of (incidental) network-altering interventions are group training interventions, (15,16) and environmental facilitation of formal and informal communication among health care professionals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building a communication and support network among Quality Improvement teams in Nursing Homes: a longitudinal study of the SCOPE trial

Nooraie,

Qin,

Wagg

et al. 2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: We applied a longitudinal network analysis approach to assess the formation of knowledge sharing and collaboration networks among care aide-led quality improvement (QI) teams in Canadian nursing homes participating in the Safer Care for Older Persons (in residential) Environments (SCOPE) trial which aimed to support unregulated front-line staff to lead unit-based quality improvement (QI) teams in nursing homes. We hypothesized that, its communicative and participatory nature would provide opportunities for peer-support, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration-building among teams. Methods: Fourteen QI teams in Alberta (AB) and seventeen QI teams in British Columbia (BC) participated in the study. Communications across nursing homes occurred through a series of 4 collaborative Learning Congresses (training sessions) over a one-year period. The senior leaders of QI teams participated in two online network surveys about the communication/collaboration between teams in their province, one month after the first and six months later, after the fourth Learning Congress. We developed communication and collaboration network maps pertaining to three time points: before SCOPE, at two-months, and at 9 months. Results: Over time, teams made significantly more new connections and strengthened existing ones, within and across regions. Geographic proximity and co-membership in organizational chains were important predictors of connectivity before, and during SCOPE. Teams whose members were well connected at baseline disproportionately improved connectivity over time. On the other hand, teams that did not have prior opportunities to connect appeared to use SCOPE to build new ties. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the importance of network-building activities to the formation of collaboration networks, amongst QI teams across nursing homes. Active strategies could be used to better connect less connected teams and facilitate collaboration among geographically proximate teams. These findings may inform the development of interventions to leverage existing networks and provide new networking opportunities to develop and sustain organizational improvements.

show abstract

Social network analysis

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

How social networks influence the local implementation of initiatives developed in quality improvement collaboratives in health care

How social networks influence the local implementation of initiatives developed in quality improvement collaboratives in health care

Building a communication and support network among quality improvement teams in nursing homes: a longitudinal study of the SCOPE trial

Building a communication and support network among Quality Improvement teams in Nursing Homes: a longitudinal study of the SCOPE trial

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About