Review of social networks of professionals in healthcare settings—where are we and what else is needed?

作者：Huajie Hu, Yu Yang, Chi Zhang, Cong Huang, Xiaodong Guan, Luwen Shi · 发表于：Globalization and Health · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1186/s12992-021-00772-7 · 被引用次数：25 · 研究领域：Healthcare Systems and Technology、Social Media in Health Education、Interprofessional Education and Collaboration

BACKGROUND: Social Network Analysis (SNA) demonstrates great potential in exploring health professional relationships and improving care delivery, but there is no comprehensive overview of its utilization in healthcare settings. This review aims to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the use of SNA in understanding health professional relationships in different countries. METHODS: We conducted an umbrella review by searching eight academic databases and grey literature up to April 30, 2021, enhanced by citation searches. We completed study selection, data extraction and quality assessment using predetermined criteria. The information abstracted from the reviews was synthesized quantitatively, qualitatively and narratively. RESULTS: Thirteen reviews were included in this review, yielding 330 empirical studies. The degree of overlaps of empirical studies across included reviews was low (4.3 %), indicating a high diversity of included reviews and the necessity of this umbrella review. Evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), particularly Asian countries, was limited. The earliest review was published in 2010 and the latest in 2019. Six reviews focused on the construction or description of professional networks and seven reviews reported factors or influences of professional networks. We synthesized existing literature on social networks of health care professionals in the light of (i) theoretical frameworks, (ii) study design and data co...