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Annals of Family Medicine 3:443-448 (2005)
© 2005 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
doi: 10.1370/afm.344
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Social Network Analysis as an Analytic Tool for Interaction Patterns in Primary Care Practices

John Scott, MD, PhD1,2, Alfred Tallia, MD, MPH1,2, Jesse C. Crosson, PhD1,2,4, A. John Orzano, MD, MPH1,2, Christine Stroebel, MPH1,2, Barbara DiCicco-Bloom, RN, PhD1,2, Dena O’Malley, BA1,2, Eric Shaw, PhD1,2 and Benjamin Crabtree, PhD1,2,3

1 Department of Family Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
2 Center for Research in Family Practice and Primary Care, Cleveland, Ohio
3 Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
4 University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: John G. Scott, MD, PhD, Department of Family Medicine, One Worlds Fair Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873, scottjg{at}umdnj.edu

PURPOSE Social network analysis (SNA) provides a way of quantitatively analyzing relationships among people or other information-processing agents. Using 2 practices as illustrations, we describe how SNA can be used to characterize and compare communication patterns in primary care practices.

METHODS Based on data from ethnographic field notes, we constructed matrices identifying how practice members interact when practice-level decisions are made. SNA software (UCINet and KrackPlot) calculates quantitative measures of network structure including density, centralization, hierarchy and clustering coefficient. The software also generates a visual representation of networks through network diagrams.

RESULTS The 2 examples show clear distinctions between practices for all the SNA measures. Potential uses of these measures for analysis of primary care practices are described.

CONCLUSIONS SNA can be useful for quantitative analysis of interaction patterns that can distinguish differences among primary care practices.

Key Words: Evaluation studies • health care delivery • health services research • social networks




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TRACK Comments:

Read all TRACK Comments

Studying What We Value
David Katerndahl
Annals of Family Medicine, 27 Sep 2005 [Full text]
A novel approach for unlocking the black box
Mark Unverzagt
Annals of Family Medicine, 29 Sep 2005 [Full text]
Social Network Analysis - Bauble or Gem?
Colin P. Bradley
Annals of Family Medicine, 8 Oct 2005 [Full text]
A tool worth testing
Anton J Kuzel
Annals of Family Medicine, 30 Oct 2005 [Full text]

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