Using SNA to map participation and non-participation in vulnerable populations: Oral presentation

The pursuit of equality in health is an overriding goal and principle in Danish health policy. Inequality in health prevails especially among population groups with low education and income levels. Many municipalities have therefore been focusing on deprived areas attempting to fight inequality in health. This has led to the implementation of various health promoting activities within these areas. Community health promotion requires the participation of local leadership and social networks to facilitate the transmission and uptake of interventions for the overall population to achieve social change. This approach is based on an understanding of local residential areas as homogeneous (Barnes 1954). There is, however, a lack of knowledge of whether this seems to be the case and on the actual coverage of these health promotion initiatives. Non-participants appear to have greater clinical need or risk factors suggesting that a differential uptake may lead to sub-optimal health gain and contribute to inequalities via the inverse care law (Dryden et al 2012).

One of the most striking features of social networks is homophily; the tendency for people to affiliate and associate with others like themselves. Thus, understanding the impact of social networks on health requires not only understanding how networks function, but also how they are formed, which raises the issue of role potentially played by selection and homophily (McPherson et al. 2006). Drawing on data from an explorative empirical investigation of social networks in a deprived area, the study aimed at identifying social networks of residents who participated in various community-based activities as well as informal groups. Fisher’s (1982) theoretical definition of relation was used and a scheme for coding respondents on the adequacy of their social support was constructed. Data showed that the area was characterised by a variety of cultural backgrounds, and ways of living everyday life. Participation in the activities driven at the municipal level was among the relatively resourceful ethnic Danes. The paper discusses the difficulties in knowing whether networks influence (health related) behaviour or whether people choose friends who engage in behaviours they want to emulate.