Identifying Influence Agents That Promote Physical Activity Through the Simulation of Social Network Interventions: Agent-Based Modeling Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research
Thabo J van WoudenbergMoniek Buijzen

Abstract

Social network interventions targeted at children and adolescents can have a substantial effect on their health behaviors, including physical activity. However, designing successful social network interventions is a considerable research challenge. In this study, we rely on social network analysis and agent-based simulations to better understand and capitalize on the complex interplay of social networks and health behaviors. More specifically, we investigate criteria for selecting influence agents that can be expected to produce the most successful social network health interventions. The aim of this study was to test which selection criterion to determine influence agents in a social network intervention resulted in the biggest increase in physical activity in the social network. To test the differences among the selection criteria, a computational model was used to simulate different social network interventions and observe the intervention's effect on the physical activity of primary and secondary school children within their school classes. As a next step, this study relied on the outcomes of the simulated interventions to investigate whether social network interventions are more effective in some classes than others based ...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 19, 2020·Translational Behavioral Medicine·Guillaume ChevanceEric B Hekler
Sep 13, 2020·Health Education Research·Tyler ProchnowM Renee Umstattd Meyer
Aug 14, 2020·Journal of Physical Activity & Health·Tyler ProchnowMegan S Patterson
Nov 5, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Ruth SalwayRussell Jago
Feb 19, 2021·JMIR MHealth and UHealth·Carmen BenavidesNatalia Arias
Jun 22, 2021·Social Science & Medicine·So Mi Jemma ChoHyeon Chang Kim

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Software Mentioned

Python3
MyMovez
RStudio
NetworkX
igraph

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