Types of network-based interventions: a conceptual clarification

Open Access

|Jun 2025

Figures & Tables

Type of intervention	Psychosocial foundation	Network analysis strategies	Advantages
Social support and self-help	Use of own resources Empowerment Empathy	Support and multiplicity modalities	Subjective value
Selection of key players	Behavioral models Natural communication	Indicators of individual centrality (e.g., degree and betweenness)	Efficient dissemination Community setting Sustainability
Segmentation into natural groups	Social norms Social influence	Detection of cohesive subgroups (e.g., cliques, communities)	Modification of norms in natural groups Coverage Sustainability
Monitor inter-organizational networks	Social norms Collaboration among key players	Evaluation of core-periphery structures	Coordination of services Shared goals
Participatory uses of networks	Awareness Social comparison Self-efficacy	Visualization of personal and key player networks in community contexts	Generates a shared vision Induces behavioral change
Monitor program implementation	Relational basis for fidelity, fit, and effectiveness	Density of relationships among participants and science-practice chains	Make adjustments and improvements during implementation

	Academics and experts who design EBPs	Program facilitators	Participants	Organizations, services, and institutions	Other professionals
Academics and experts who design EBPs	Building models and “theories of change”	Adoption of EBP Transfer chains	Program evaluation	Training and capacity building	Preparing the community context
Program facilitators		Coordination of activities Exchange of best practices Consistency of implementation	Catalytic link to behavioral changes	Accessibility to services and continuity of care	Organizational integration of the program Local setting
Participants			Cohesion of the receiving social system and behavioral regulation Effectiveness of the intervention	Comprehensive need satisfaction	Access to complementary resources
Organizations, services, and institutions				Service networks Continuity of services	Synergies and resource leveraging
Other professionals					Networking

Uses	Description
Preparatory	Calculate properties of the pre-existing social structure in order to design relevant, appropriate, and potentially effective interventions
Substantive	Modify participants’ relationships through self-help groups, inter-organizational networks, and other interventions
Performative	Use network visualization to promote behavioral change, through awareness or social comparison
Translation	Reveal the interactions that take place among participants in a program, or between facilitators and other stakeholders

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/connections-2025-0002 | Journal eISSN: 2816-4245 | Journal ISSN: 0226-1766

Language: English

Page range: 15 - 24

Submitted on: May 4, 2024

Accepted on: Jan 16, 2025

Published on: Jun 19, 2025

Published by: International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA)

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

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© 2025 Isidro Maya-Jariego, published by International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.