SOCIAL NETWORKS AND HEALTH DECISIONS: A CASE OF TWO VILLAGES OF TAMIL NADU

A common question always had been of interest to understand as to how people make decisions. It is well known that decisions are not made in isolation but they are the products of influence and confluence of social correlates. Studies of some Sociologists report that often decisions are made in consultation with their community members. This understanding shifts the focus from individuals ‘choice’ to socially constructed patterns of decisions, including the consultation with others (Pescosolido, 1992). Therefore, one can conclude that even health issues have been decided in consultation with the community members. Community is an interactive agency and it is a part of social network. Social networks provide the mechanism through which individuals learn to hand their problematic issues. Therefore, it will be of interest to understand the extent of social network influence on health issues of rural population of Tamil Nadu. In this paper our a presentation of field information on the processes involved in the health care decisions of rural population of Tamil Nadu is presented.