Prestige, Popularity, and Homophily in a Network of HIV/AIDS Organizations in Santiago, Chile

• In Event: So Far, So Good, Part 1: Organizational Communication Research Escalator

Abstract

Public health communication initiatives are usually collaborative enterprises where several organizations coordinate efforts. Indeed, increasingly we see in the literature calls for collaboration (Bratch, 2001) and community involvement (Ford & Yep, 2003) in preventive health efforts. However, as Backer and Rogers (1993) pointed out, little is known about the organizational aspects of health communication initiatives, and even less is known about the role of interorganizational relations in the development and application of health programs. Following a field network approach (Knoke & Kenis, 2002), this research studies interorganizational collaboration among 22 HIV/AIDS organizations in Santiago, Chile. Findings reveal that the network is not homophilous and that the organizations perceived as having greater technical capacity and access to at-risk populations are the most popular in the network. Organizations perceived as having more monetary resources are not central to the network.

Author

• Macarena Pena-y-Lillo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign