SHAPING THE EVOLUTION OF THE INFORMATION FLOW: THE CENTRALIZING MECHANISMS IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN TOBACCO QUITLINE CONSORTIUM.

The research reported here is an analysis of the evolution of the relationships that comprise a single public health network, focusing especially on the position of the network administrative organization (Provan and Kenis, 2008) in the flow of knowledge among a large number of organizations providing similar services. Our study examines the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC), a multi-sector network that spans the US and Canada and whose members provide telephone-based tobacco cessation services to anyone interested in quitting smoking. Data were collected using web-based surveys at three different points of time.

Awareness of Evidence-Based Practices by Organizations in a Publicly Funded Smoking Cessation Network.

This research examines the awareness of evidence based practices by the public organizations that fund services in the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC). NAQC is a large, publicly funded, goal-directed "whole network," spanning both Canada and the U.S.

Drawbacks and benefits associated with inter-organizational collaboration along the discovery-development-delivery continuum: a cancer research network case study.

Background: The scientific process around cancer research begins with scientific discovery, followed by development of interventions, and finally delivery of needed interventions to people with cancer. Numerous studies have identified substantial gaps between discovery and delivery in health research. Team science has been identified as a possible solution for closing the discovery to delivery gap; however, little is known about effective ways of collaborating within teams and across organizations.

Network formation, governance, and evolution in public health: the North American Quitline Consortium case.

Background: Collaborative networks of health organizations have received a great deal of attention in recent years as a way of enhancing the flow of information and coordination of services. However, relatively little is known about how such networks are formed and evolve, especially outside a local, community-based setting. This article is an in-depth discussion of the evolution of the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC).

Research collaboration in the discovery, development, and delivery networks of a statewide cancer coalition.

This study examines and evaluates collaborative network involvement among 18 organizations within the Arizona Cancer Coalition. All were involved in one or more of three types of research activity: discovery, development, and delivery, consistent with the 3D continuum developed by the National Cancer Institute. Data were collected in 2007 using surveys of key informants in each organization.

Health care leadership academy: a statewide collaboration to enhance nursing leadership competencies.

Competency in leadership skills is necessary to manage in the current chaotic health care environment and proactively participate in the creation of a better environment. Although interest in pursuing a career in health care is growing, lack of leadership competence contributes to employee frustration and dissatisfaction, which directly and indirectly impacts the supply of health care workers. To addressthe lack of leadership competence and its disturbing consequences, the Arizona nursing community designed a model for nursing leadership and created a partnership to provide a high-quality, affordable leadership education program focused on enhancing the leadership competencies of frontline nursing supervisors.

Transdisciplinarity among tobacco harm-reduction researchers: a network analytic approach.

Progress in tobacco control and other areas of health research is thought to be heavily influenced by the extent to which researchers are able to work with each other not only within, but also across disciplines. This study provides an examination of the extent to which researchers in the area of tobacco harm reduction work together. Specifically, data were collected in 2005 from a national group of 67 top tobacco-control researchers from eight broadly defined disciplines representing 17 areas of expertise.

Health services delivery networks: what do we know and where should we be headed?

Networks of collaborating organizations have become critical mechanisms for the effective delivery of healthcare and related human services. Despite their importance, there is much about health networks that is not understood. The article by Huerta, Casebeer and VanderPlaat is an effort to discuss the importance of health services delivery networks and to point out ways in which such networks might best be studied.

Network structure and attitudes toward collaboration in a community partnership for diabetes control on the US-Mexican border.

Purpose: This study seeks to provide an examination of a health policy network operating in a single, small community along the US-Mexican border. The purpose of the paper is to discuss why and how this network evolved, and then to present findings on how the network was structured. Analysis will focus especially on agency involvement, or "embeddedness" in the network, and its relationship to attitudes held by network members regarding trust, reputation, and perceived benefit.

Building legitimacy and the early growth of health networks for the uninsured.

An integrated system of health care for serving the uninsured population of one community was followed from formation through early growth. Funding was provided through the Health Resources Services Administration's Community Access Program to bring together a diverse set of health care providers to form a collaborative network managed by a central administrative entity. Legitimacy building was critical for explaining how the network evolved and the effectiveness of the network in sustaining itself and building a patient base.

Network analysis as a tool for assessing and building community capacity for provision of chronic disease services.

A network analysis was conducted in spring 2000 by the Southwest Center for Health Promotion in the U.S.-Mexico border community of Douglas, Arizona.

Building community capacity around chronic disease services through a collaborative interorganizational network.

This article presents the findings of a study examining the evolution of a network of health and human service organizations operating in a rural community on the Southwest border. The aim of the network was to build the capacity of the community to provide chronic disease education, prevention, and treatment services by developing collaborative relationships among a broad range of organizations. The impetus for the effort was based on receipt of a Turning Point grant.

Collaboration and integration of community-based health and human services in a nonprofit managed care system.

This article reports the results of research on a single, urban system of health and human services delivery for clients with serious mental illness. The primary focus was to examine how collaboration and services integration among the more than 40 mostly nonprofit provider agencies were affected by the introduction of managed care. A critical factor in explaining the results was the role of the behavioral health authority in implementing and managing the system.