The forming of opinions on the quality of care in local discussion networks

Alexis Ferrand (1)

1 CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019

Regulation of health systems implies controls on the quality of care. Apart of formal controls organized by professional associations or health organizations, patients, as clients, can play a role. But it needs that they evaluate and judge various dimensions of the quality of cares. And this is not simple for them due to the asymmetry of knowledge and legitimacy. We demonstrate that informal networks of discussion on health and cares exist – often, not always – and that they allow formation of opinion.
An empirical research compares in two cities networks of discussion about health among people. Items about opinions on the quality of care allow a description of references used by practitioners and by people to evaluate care. We examine the effects of belonging to various social milieus and to different local communities on the types of networks build and the types of opinions they convey. Doing so we propose new insights on the process by which quality of care is controlled by informal networks

Mots clés: Social network; discussion network; lay referral system; health system; locality

Mots clés: Réseaux sociaux; réseaux de discussion; système de conseils profane; système de santé; localité

Domaines: Sociologie

Alexis Ferrand. The forming of opinions on the quality of care in local discussion networks. XXI Sunbelt Conference, INSNA International Network of Social Networks Analysts, Budapest,, Feb 2001, Budapest, Hungary. ⟨halshs-00259388⟩