Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Threats of a South Amazon riverine community from the perspective of Social Network Analysis: contributions to the Primary Health Care

Abstract This paper aimed to understand the information transmission process in a riverside community at the lower Madeira River, Southern Amazon, in Brazil, to help primary health care strategies. Data was collected during four expeditions using open interviews type conversations. Two sociograms were prepared. The results showed a dense network, with leader centrality and, clicks and dominance of weak ties. The analysis results were conjugated to the Matrix FOFA observing that the (i) group strength lies in the centrality, intermediation and proximity with the leader, density and cohesion; (ii) as for Opportunities, the community is open to external contacts; and (iii) as for Weakness, there is few autonomy, low resilience, community dependence on the leader, and (d) as for Threats there are the imposition of external models. The conclusions pointed that information flows from the leader, taking to the network low resilience ability facing external models. This kind of information is relevant for the planning, implementation, evaluation and possible revision of primary health care activities in communities sensible to changes determined by imposed models.