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Social network type and long-term condition management support: a cross-sectional study in six European countries

Social network type and long-term condition management support: a cross-sectional study in six European countries
Social network type and long-term condition management support: a cross-sectional study in six European countries

Background: Network types and characteristics have been linked to the capacity of inter-personal environments to mobilise and share resources. The aim of this paper is to examine personal network types in relation to long-term condition management in order to identify the properties of network types most likely to provide support for those with a long-term condition. Method: A cross-sectional observational survey of people with type 2 diabetes using interviews and questionnaires was conducted between April and October 2013 in six European countries: Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Norway, United Kingdom, and Netherlands. 1862 people with predominantly lower socio-economic status were recruited from each country. We used k-means clustering analysis to derive the network types, and one-way analysis of variance and multivariate logistic regression analysis to explore the relationship between network type socio-economic characteristics, self-management monitoring and skills, well-being, and network member work. Results: Five network types of people with long-term conditions were identified: restricted, minimal family, family, weak ties, and diverse. Restricted network types represented those with the poorest self-management skills and were associated with limited support from social network members. Restricted networks were associated with poor indicators across self-management capacity, network support, and well-being. Diverse networks were associated with more enhanced self-management skills amongst those with a long-term condition and high level of emotional support. It was the three network types which had a large number of network members (diverse, weak ties, and family) where healthcare utilisation was most likely to correspond to existing health needs. Discussion: Our findings suggest that type of increased social involvement is linked to greater self-management capacity and potentially lower formal health care costs indicating that diverse networks constitute the optimal network type as a policy in terms of the design of LTCM interventions and building support for people with LTCs.

1932-6203
1-15
Vassilev, Ivaylo
d76a5531-4ddc-4eb2-909b-a2a1068f05f3
Rogers, Anne
105eeebc-1899-4850-950e-385a51738eb7
Kennedy, Anne
e059c1c7-d6d0-41c8-95e1-95e5273b07f8
Wensing, Michel
8702046c-6c87-404a-81a7-fcfcdebfb9cc
Koetsenruijter, Jan
51d2c2c2-cdb2-4df1-8071-aeb911501773
Orlando, Rosa
cc20c869-ca7f-4518-ad2d-0fa56caa3c86
Portillo, Maria Carmen
8f2c87fc-b785-4578-9c51-052f62689d28
Culliford, David
25511573-74d3-422a-b0ee-dfe60f80df87
Vassilev, Ivaylo
d76a5531-4ddc-4eb2-909b-a2a1068f05f3
Rogers, Anne
105eeebc-1899-4850-950e-385a51738eb7
Kennedy, Anne
e059c1c7-d6d0-41c8-95e1-95e5273b07f8
Wensing, Michel
8702046c-6c87-404a-81a7-fcfcdebfb9cc
Koetsenruijter, Jan
51d2c2c2-cdb2-4df1-8071-aeb911501773
Orlando, Rosa
cc20c869-ca7f-4518-ad2d-0fa56caa3c86
Portillo, Maria Carmen
8f2c87fc-b785-4578-9c51-052f62689d28
Culliford, David
25511573-74d3-422a-b0ee-dfe60f80df87

Vassilev, Ivaylo, Rogers, Anne, Kennedy, Anne, Wensing, Michel, Koetsenruijter, Jan, Orlando, Rosa, Portillo, Maria Carmen and Culliford, David (2016) Social network type and long-term condition management support: a cross-sectional study in six European countries. PLoS ONE, 11 (8), 1-15, [e0161027]. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161027).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Network types and characteristics have been linked to the capacity of inter-personal environments to mobilise and share resources. The aim of this paper is to examine personal network types in relation to long-term condition management in order to identify the properties of network types most likely to provide support for those with a long-term condition. Method: A cross-sectional observational survey of people with type 2 diabetes using interviews and questionnaires was conducted between April and October 2013 in six European countries: Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Norway, United Kingdom, and Netherlands. 1862 people with predominantly lower socio-economic status were recruited from each country. We used k-means clustering analysis to derive the network types, and one-way analysis of variance and multivariate logistic regression analysis to explore the relationship between network type socio-economic characteristics, self-management monitoring and skills, well-being, and network member work. Results: Five network types of people with long-term conditions were identified: restricted, minimal family, family, weak ties, and diverse. Restricted network types represented those with the poorest self-management skills and were associated with limited support from social network members. Restricted networks were associated with poor indicators across self-management capacity, network support, and well-being. Diverse networks were associated with more enhanced self-management skills amongst those with a long-term condition and high level of emotional support. It was the three network types which had a large number of network members (diverse, weak ties, and family) where healthcare utilisation was most likely to correspond to existing health needs. Discussion: Our findings suggest that type of increased social involvement is linked to greater self-management capacity and potentially lower formal health care costs indicating that diverse networks constitute the optimal network type as a policy in terms of the design of LTCM interventions and building support for people with LTCs.

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Accepted/In Press date: 28 July 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 August 2016
Published date: 18 August 2016

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 412538
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/412538
ISSN: 1932-6203
PURE UUID: 92f2df79-af9e-4738-874a-00c5edddf507
ORCID for Ivaylo Vassilev: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2206-8247
ORCID for Anne Kennedy: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4570-9104
ORCID for Rosa Orlando: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7097-5431
ORCID for David Culliford: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1663-0253

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Date deposited: 20 Jul 2017 16:30
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:51

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Contributors

Author: Ivaylo Vassilev ORCID iD
Author: Anne Rogers
Author: Anne Kennedy ORCID iD
Author: Michel Wensing
Author: Jan Koetsenruijter
Author: Rosa Orlando ORCID iD
Author: Maria Carmen Portillo
Author: David Culliford ORCID iD

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