Assessing Interorganizational Networks as a Dimension of Community Capacity: Illustrations From a Community Intervention to Prevent Lead Poisoning
- 1 December 2004
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Health Education & Behavior
- Vol. 31 (6), 808-821
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198104264220
Abstract
Network analysis is often cited as a method for assessing collaboration among organizations as an indicator of community capacity. The purpose of this study was to (1) document patterns of collaboration in organizational networks related to lead poisoning prevention in a Native American community and (2) examine measurement issues in using organizational network analysis to assess community capacity. Interviews were conducted with representatives from 22 tribes, government agencies, schools, and community-based organizations in northeastern Oklahoma. Intensity, density, and reliability were assessed for several stages of collaboration. Intensity and density were greater for similar types of organizations than for the network as a whole and decreased as stage of collaboration increased. Network data were more reliable when responses were dichotomized than when intensities were compared. Mean reliability scores across two respondents from the same organization ranged from 60% to 90%. Results from network studies may help communities learn how to strengthen organizational networks to enhance community capacity.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Four approaches to capacity building in health: consequences for measurement and accountabilityHealth Promotion International, 2000
- Evaluation of social network measurement instrumentsSocial Networks, 1999
- Social network analysis: A new methodology for counseling research.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1998
- Interorganizational Cooperation in Community Mental Health: A Resource-Based Explanation of Referrals and Case CoordinationMedical Care Research and Review, 1996
- A Preliminary Theory of Interorganizational Network Effectiveness: A Comparative Study of Four Community Mental Health SystemsAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1995
- Health Education and Community Empowerment: Conceptualizing and Measuring Perceptions of Individual, Organizational, and Community ControlHealth Education Quarterly, 1994
- Accuracy and reliability of self-reported data in interorganizational networksSocial Networks, 1993
- An interorganizational network approach to evaluating children's mental health service systemsNew Directions for Program Evaluation, 1992
- Collaborative Alliances: Moving from Practice to TheoryThe Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1991
- Network Data and MeasurementAnnual Review of Sociology, 1990