Simone Sarti Scientific coordinator Professor Sarti specializes in social inequalities in health, social stratification, social change, and socio-cultural evolutionism. Marco Terraneo Head of Research Unit Professor Terreno focuses on health...
Read moreThe project
HEALthy Lifestyles in an Italian community: a Network Grounded approach
The project HEALING – HEAlthy Lifestyles in an Italian community: a Network Grounded approach is conducted by the University of Milan and the University of Milan Bicocca, and is funded by the Ministry of University and Research. It aims to expand knowledge on the interaction between social and relational characteristics and their mutual role in influencing certain health-risk behaviors. Specifically, the project will focus on:
- physical activity,
- diet,
- alcohol consumption,
- smoking,
- gambling.
The first four elements can be risk factors for various physical and mental health conditions, including a range of chronic-degenerative diseases, while gambling can become a behavioral issue falling within the realm of non-substance addictions.
The purpose of the project
The purpose of the HEALING project is to contribute to:
- Identify clusters of health-risk behaviors among interconnected individuals.
- Determine the relative contribution of structural factors and social networks in influencing health behaviors.
- Explore the dynamics of habit transmission among individuals.
The HEALING project, aimed at studying health behaviors and reconstructing the social networks of the individuals under examination, involves conducting a survey using a standardized questionnaire. This questionnaire will be administered to the entire population residing in a municipality in the province of Lodi, aged between 18 and 70 years. The objective is to gather information on socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and social connections of community members.
Following this, a series of in-depth interviews will be conducted with a subsample of respondents from the survey. The aim is to further explore specific social profiles and deepen understanding of the dynamics of interaction between social and relational characteristics, and their mutual role in influencing certain health-risk behaviors.
A detailed understanding of the relationship between static structural factors and dynamic relational factors could enhance the effectiveness of socio-health interventions and public health initiatives. For instance, this understanding could help identify influential individuals, opinion leaders, or network communities through which unhealthy practices spread (Kim et al., 2015).
The project is notably original because it seeks to deeply reconstruct the social networks of a local community (à la Tönnies, 1887) (Tönnies & Loomis, 1957) in order to investigate their health-risk behaviors, an unprecedented approach in Italy. Internationally, the most well-known case of this approach is the Framingham Heart Study, a socio-epidemiological study conducted in the United States on an entire community in Massachusetts (Christakis & Fowler, 2013).
The project is also relevant within the context of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), addressing two specific challenges: health, research, and innovation. Particularly, one of the “missions” of the PNRR focuses on health. The study’s results could prove useful for achieving a more effective implementation of “Health Houses” (Case della Salute), a significant objective of the PNRR. This could promote best practices to reduce health inequalities and improve the well-being of the population in local communities.
The project was funded under Decree D.D. No. 1109 of July 20, 2023, and was admitted to funding under the competitive call of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4 “Education and Research” – Component C2, Investment 1.1, “Fund for the National Research Program and Projects of National Interest (PRIN)” Directorate Decree No. 104 of February 2, 2022. This program finances public research projects aimed at strengthening national scientific foundations, also with a view to more effectively participating in European Framework Program initiatives. The funded projects are characterized by their originality, methodological adequacy, impact, and feasibility of the research project.