Potentials and Benefits of Patient Communities from a German Perspective

Virtual Communities (VCs) offer ubiquitous access to information and exchange possibilities for people in similar circumstances. This is especially valuable for patients with chronic / life-threatening diseases as they exhibit strong needs for information and interaction. Grounded on the preceding findings of the analysis on the user-centric construction of the VC krebsgemeinschaft.de (an online community for cancer patients in the German-speaking internet) and the evaluation of the underlying design elements we summarise our findings on potentials and benefits of patient communities in Germany.     «

Virtual Communities (VCs) offer ubiquitous access to information and exchange possibilities for people in similar circumstances. This is especially valuable for patients with chronic / life-threatening diseases as they exhibit strong needs for information and interaction. Grounded on the preceding findings of the analysis on the user-centric construction of the VC krebsgemeinschaft.de (an online community for cancer patients in the German-speaking internet) and the evaluation of the underlying d...     »