The twofold function of condom use – contraception and sexually transmitted disease protection – should be taken into account when understanding attitudes towards this practice. Emphasis on the interpretation of condom use as a protective practice conflicts with the norms of fidelity and...

The factors driving the disparity in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians continue to be poorly understood. Despite this, studies confirm that social connections are a very important part of Indigenous life, and it is likely these connections play an important role...

With the rapid growth of online social networking for health, health care systems are experiencing an inescapable increase in complexity. This is not necessarily a drawback; self-organising, adaptive networks could become central to future health care delivery. This paper considers whether...

Depression is the most common mental illness worldwide, and although aspects of the social environment, including social capital, have been linked to depression, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we assessed whether (1) network and psychosocial dimensions of...

The formulation and communication of fish advisories are highly complex because of the potential conflict between the nutritional and toxicological issues associated with fish consumption. Government and organization-sponsored fish advisories have had limited success in changing behaviors....

Researchers and policymakers from diverse fields are engaged in efforts to understand the biological and social causes of obesity in order to develop policies, interventions, and recommendations to stop or reverse increases in obesity. One potentially promising approach is to harness influence...

This paper examines the association of women’s social networks with the use of skilled birth attendants in uncomplicated pregnancy and childbirth in Matlab, Bangladesh. The Network-Episode Model was applied to determine if network structure variables (density/kinship homogeneity/strength of...

We tested whether friends’ and family members’ cardiovascular health events and also their own aspirin use are associated with the likelihood that an individual takes aspirin regularly. Analyses were based on longitudinal data on 2724 members of the Framingham Heart Study (based in...

Using data from a study of high risk adolescents in Southern California, U.S.A. (N=851), this study examined synergy between social network measures of social integration and peer influence in relation to past month cigarette smoking. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, results indicated that...

Research documents that interactions among experientially similar others (individuals facing a common stressor) shape health care behavior and ultimately health outcomes. However, we have little understanding of how ties among experientially similar others are formed, what resources and...