Social networks and knowledge-attitude-practice consistency model in cardiovascular disease-related communication in urban Taiyuan, Shanxi, China

Consistency of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAB) is a major issue in health care for both practitioners and researchers alike. This study examines the consistency of KAB in regard to health lifestyle as it relates to cardiovascular disease and the role of social networks in health communication. Data were collected through random sample survey in urban areas of Taiyuan, Shanxi province.The traditional dichotomous conceptualization of consistency simplifies the issue of an individual's status by viewing him or her from the standpoint of outsiders. This study, by incorporating the individual's perspective into the conceptual framework of consistency, proposes that between the poles of consistency and inconsistency, there are alternative consistencies, i.e., negotiated consistency and external consistency. If the individual's strategy of tackling inconsistency is directed at changing the inconsistent factor, it is "negotiated" consistency. If it is directed at changing other factors, it is "external" consistency.Research has found a high correlation between the consistency status of social networks and the consistency status of individuals. The majority of research focuses on the content of the social network while ignoring the structure. There has also been little research about the interaction between structure and content of social networks. This study addresses these issues by asking two questions: (1) what is the influence of density, one of the most important social network structural characteristics, on the relationship between the individual consistency status and the consistency status of social networks (2) whether density has different influences on the relationship between an individual's consistency status and social network consistency status across different types of consistency status of social networks.By re-conceptualizing the multiple natures of consistency and incorporating social network structure into the analytic framework, this study helps to shed light on the core issue of health communication---why inconsistency persists while people know very well that they are being "inconsistent". In the case of inconsistency, this study shows that the social network provides an environment for individuals to turn inconsistency into self-claimed "consistencies". However, density's effect on the relationship between individuals' consistency and social network's consistency is small although statistically significant. The possible reasons and implications are discussed.