title: Leadership networks in Catholic parishes: implications for implementation research in health.
abstract: Through two case studies of Catholic parishes in Massachusetts, this study explores the implications of leader-centered versus distributed leadership in Catholic parishes for the implementation of evidence-based health interventions. The two parishes involved in the study differ from each other in several ways. In the first, parishioners are less engaged in leadership activities at the decision-making level in the parish. A small group of lay volunteers work with the parish priest and other ordained leaders on parish activities. In the second parish, a large and active lay volunteer leadership have forged an organizational structure that allows more independence from the pastor's direct oversight. In this parish, lay volunteer leaders are the prime drivers of organizational programs and events. In 2012-2013, three types of networks were assessed at each parish: discussion, collaboration, and outside-of-parish ties. The contrasts between each parish include differences in density of collaboration, in frequency of discussion, and network centrality of the respective parish priests. We further identified key actors in the network structures at each parish. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding organizational capacity in the context of health program implementation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, United States. Electronic address: rosalyn.negron@umb.edu.
authors.forename: Rosalyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Negrón
authors.affiliation: Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, United States.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leyva
authors.affiliation: Community Health Program, Tufts University, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, United States.
authors.forename: Hosffman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ospino
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tom
authors.affiliation: Gastón Institute for Latino Public Policy and Community Development, University of Massachusetts Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rustan
mesh_terms: D002410:Catholicism; D003142:Communication; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology; D012106:Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012931:Social Environment; D014838:Volunteers
keywords: Evidence-based interventions; Faith-based organizations; Leadership networks; Social network analysis; USA