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Informal Networks in Disaster Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2016

Fadl Bdeir ,
John W Crawford  and
Liaquat Hossain Open the ORCID record for Liaquat Hossain [Opens in a new window]
Fadl Bdeir
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering and IT, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
John W Crawford
Affiliation:
Sustainable Systems, Rothamsted Research West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Liaquat Hossain*
Affiliation:
Library and Information Management Program, Division of Information and Technology Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Liaquat Hossain, PhD, Professor and Director, Library and Information Management Program, Division of Information and Technology Studies, Room 113, Runme Shaw Building, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (e-mail: lhossain@hku.hk).
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Abstract

Objective

Our study of informal networks aimed to explore information-sharing environments for the management of disaster medicine and public health preparedness. Understanding interagency coordination in preparing for and responding to extreme events such as disease outbreaks is central to reducing risks and coordination costs.

Methods

We evaluated the pattern of information flow for actors involved in disaster medicine through social network analysis. Social network analysis of agencies can serve as a basis for the effective design and reconstruction of disaster medicine response coordination structures. This research used new theoretical approaches in suggesting a framework and a method to study the outcome of complex inter-organizational networks in coordinating disease outbreak response. We present research surveys of 70 health professionals from different skill sets and organizational positions during the swine influenza A (H1N1) PDM09 2009 pandemic. The survey and interviews were designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data in order to build a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the inter-organizational networks that evolved during the pandemic.

Results

The degree centrality of the informal network showed a positive correlation with performance, in which the ego’s performance is related to the number of links he or she establishes informally—outside the standard operating structure during the pandemic. Informal networks facilitate the transmission of both strong (ie, infections, confirmed cases, deaths in hospital or clinic settings) and weak (ie, casual acquaintances) ties.

Conclusions

The results showed that informal networks promoted community-based ad hoc and formal networks, thus making overall disaster medicine and public health preparedness more effective. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:343–354)

Keywords

H1N1social networksinformal coordinationdisaster medicine
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , June 2017 , pp. 343 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

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