ArticlePloS one2012
Social network analysis in healthcare settings: a systematic scoping review.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 264 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interorganizational Networks in Physical Activity Promotion: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Use of social network analysis in the development, dissemination, implementation, and sustainability of health behavior interventions for adults: A systematic review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2019Pooled it
- Applications of network analysis to routinely collected health care data: a systematic review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2018Pooled it
- Use of social network analysis methods to study professional advice and performance among healthcare providers: a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Bridges, brokers and boundary spanners in collaborative networks: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2013Pooled it
- Social Network Analysis of the Effects of a Social Media-Based Weight Loss Intervention Targeting Adults of Low Socioeconomic Status: Single-Arm Intervention Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Integrated solutions for sustainable fall prevention in primary care, the iSOLVE project: a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation design.Implementation science : IS · 2017Trial
- Gathering opinion leader data for a tailored implementation intervention in secondary healthcare: a randomised trial.BMC medical research methodology · 2014Trial
- Article
- Multidimensional advice networks in primary health care.Primary health care research & development · 2026Article
- Understanding Collaborative CT and MRI Utilization Through Network Analysis: Retrospective Study Using Administrative Claims Data.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
- Centralized equipment allocation in a large tertiary hospital: Operational and economic outcomes of a hub-based coordination model.Medicine · 2026Article
- Networked Behaviors Associated With a Large-Scale Secure Messaging Network: Cross-Sectional Secondary Data Analysis.JMIR medical informatics · 2025Article
- A Scoping Review of Multilevel Patient-Sharing Network Measures in Health Services Research.Medical care research and review : MCRR · 2025Article
- Exploring network relations between healthcare access and utilisation in individuals with rare diseases.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Social network analysis of key stakeholders in Brucellosis prevention in Western Iran.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- Network analysis of chronic disease among middle-aged and older adults in China: a nationwide survey.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- A novel social-network-analysis-based approach for analyzing complex network of actors involved in accessibility of anti-cancer medications in Iran.Health research policy and systems · 2024Article
- Variation in patient-sharing network characteristics of health care professionals treating different mental and substance use disorder patient sub-groups in primary care.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2024Article
- Exploring the use of social network analysis methods in process improvement within healthcare organizations: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocial network analysis (SNA) has been widely used across a range of disciplines but is most commonly applied to help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of decision making processes in commercial organisations. We are utilising SNA to inform the development and implementation of tailored behaviour-change interventions to improve the uptake of evidence into practice in the English National Health Service. To inform this work, we conducted a systematic scoping review to identify and evaluate the use of SNA as part of an intervention to support the implementation of change in healthcare settings. METHODS AND
findingsWe searched ten bibliographic databases to October 2011. We also searched reference lists, hand searched selected journals and websites, and contacted experts in the field. To be eligible for the review, studies had to describe and report the results of an SNA performed with healthcare professionals (e.g. doctors, nurses, pharmacists, radiographers etc.) and others involved in their professional social networks. We included 52 completed studies, reported in 62 publications. Almost all of the studies were limited to cross sectional descriptions of networks; only one involved using the results of the SNA as part of an intervention to change practice.
conclusionsWe found very little evidence for the potential of SNA being realised in healthcare settings. However, it seems unlikely that networks are less important in healthcare than other settings. Future research should seek to go beyond the merely descriptive to implement and evaluate SNA-based interventions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.