(September 6, 2010 - Insidermedicine) 

Individuals are more likely to make changes to their health behaviors through the influence of close-knit groups rather than groups of loose acquaintances who are not as closely connected with each other, according to research published in the journal Science.

Here is some information about social networks:

•    Those based on long ties feature a large group of distantly connected individuals

•    Those based on dense clusters feature a more intimate group of individuals

•    It has long been though that social networks based on long ties produce more large-scale changes more quickly than dense clusters

A researcher from the  MIT Sloan School of Management  ran a series of experiments with over 1,500 members of an Internet-based health community who provided anonymous profiles and a series of health interests. The members were matched with each other based on health interest and these “health buddies” received emails regarding each others’ activities. The participants were placed in social networks based on either long ties or dense clusters, and the investigator then noted whether participants registered for an online health forum website offering ratings of health resources, based on the influence of their networks.

While 54% of those in the dense cluster networks registered for the health forum, only 38% of those in the long tie-based networks did so. In addition, those in the dense cluster networks joined four times as quickly. The more “health buddies” individuals had registered in a particular forum, the more these individuals were likely to participate regularly in the forum.

Today’s research demonstrates that the best way to get people to engage in a desired health-related activity, such as getting a vaccination, is to engage the cooperation of dense-cluster based networks, such as communities and groups that work closely together.