Open AccessMediating engagement in a social network intervention for people living with a long‐term condition: A qualitative study of the role of facilitation
Author(s) -
James Elizabeth,
Kennedy Anne,
Vassilev Ivaylo,
Ellis Jaimie,
Rogers Anne
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
health expectations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.314
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1369-7625
pISSN - 1369-6513
DOI - 10.1111/hex.13048
Subject(s) - facilitation , psychology , thematic analysis , psychological intervention , context (archaeology) , social network (sociolinguistics) , qualitative research , social support , social psychology , social engagement , applied psychology , social facilitation , sociology , computer science , social media , paleontology , social science , neuroscience , psychiatry , world wide web , biology
Background Successful facilitation of patient‐centred interventions for self‐management support has traditionally focussed on individual behaviour change. A social network approach to self‐management support implicates the need for facilitation that includes an orientation to connecting to and mobilizing support and resources from other people and the local environment. Objective To identify the facilitation processes through which engagement with a social network approach to self‐management is achieved. Method Thematic analysis was used to analyse data from a longitudinal study design using quasi‐ethnographic methods comprising non‐participant observation, video and qualitative interviews involving 30 participants living with a long‐term condition recruited from a marginalized community. Results Findings centred on three themes about the social network approach facilitation processes: reversing the focus on the self by bringing others into view; visualization and reflection as a mediator of positive disruption and linking to new connections; personalized matching of valued activities as a means of realizing preference elicitation. Discussion and conclusions Engagement processes with a social network approach illuminated the relevance of cognizance of an individual's immediate social context and forefronting social participation with others as the bases of self‐management support of a long‐term condition. This differs from traditional guided facilitation of health behaviour interventions that frame health as a matter of personal choice and individual responsibility.