BMC Public Health
Volume 18, Issue 1, 2018

Personal social networks and organizational affiliation of South Asians in the United States (Article) (Open Access)

Kandula N.R.* , Cooper A.J. , Schneider J.A. , Fujimoto K. , Kanaya A.M. , Van Horn L. , Dekoning L. , Siddique J.
  • a Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, Northwestern University, 420 E. Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
  • b Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
  • c Department of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
  • d Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
  • e Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
  • f Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
  • g Department of Pathology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AL, Canada
  • h Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States

Abstract

Background: Understanding the social lives of South Asian immigrants in the United States (U.S) and their influence on health can inform interpersonal and community-level health interventions for this growing community. This paper describe the rationale, survey design, measurement, and network properties of 700 South Asian individuals in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) social networks ancillary study. Methods: MASALA is a community-based cohort, established in 2010, to understand risk factors for cardiovascular disease among South Asians living in the U.S. Survey data collection on personal social networks occurred between 2014 and 2017. Network measurements included size, composition, density, and organizational affiliations. Data on participants' self-rated health and social support functions and health-related discussions among network members were also collected. Results: Participants' age ranged from 44 to 84 (average 59 years), and 57% were men. South Asians had large (size=5.6, SD=2.6), kin-centered (proportion kin=0.71, SD=0.28), and dense networks. Affiliation with religious and spiritual organizations was perceived as beneficial to health. Emotional closeness with network members was positively associated with participants' self-rated health (p-value <0.001), and networks with higher density and more kin were significantly associated with health-related discussions. Discussion: The MASALA networks study advances research on the cultural patterning of social relationships and sources of social support in South Asians living in the U.S. Future analyses will examine how personal social networks and organizational affiliations influence South Asians' health behaviors and outcomes. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02268513. © 2018 The Author(s).

Author Keywords

Social support Health-related decision making Social networks Health Asian American self-rated health

Index Keywords

human middle aged Asia Cohort Studies statistics and numerical data Aged organization social support ethnology Surveys and Questionnaires United States Humans migrant psychology Asian Americans male Emigrants and Immigrants Asian American Aged, 80 and over female very elderly questionnaire adult atherosclerosis cohort analysis Organizational Affiliation
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85041629516&doi=10.1186%2fs12889-018-5128-z&partnerID=40&md5=f84ff2135d1debb241e0e703b815e833
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-5128-z
ISSN: 14712458
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English