title: Sociospatial knowledge networks: appraising community as place.
abstract: This article introduces a new theory of geographical analysis, sociospatial knowledge networks, for examining and understanding the spatial aspects of health knowledge (i.e., exactly where health beliefs and knowledge coincide with other support in the community). We present an overview of the theory of sociospatial knowledge networks and an example of how it is being used to guide an ongoing ethnographic study of health beliefs, knowledge, and knowledge networks in a rural community of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans at high risk for, but not diagnosed with, type 2 diabetes mellitus. We believe that the geographical approach to understanding health beliefs and knowledge and how people acquire health information presented here is one that could serve other communities and community health practitioners working to improve chronic disease outcomes in diverse local environments.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7460, USA.
authors.forename: Anne H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Skelly
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Arcury
authors.forename: Wilbert M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Gesler
authors.forename: Altha J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cravey
authors.forename: Molly C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dougherty
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Washburn
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nash
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D019058:Community Networks; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health; D012944:Social Support; D015144:Southeastern United States; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*