How Does Interactive Social Support in Healthcare Communities Promote Customer Well-Being

Abstract

Abstract-This study developed the kinds of social support patients actually obtain on Internet. With data collected from published posts in online health care communities, the authors identify three kinds of support (emotional support, informational support, and companionship) that underlie online social support in health care. Theoretically, the authors constructed a conceptual model of the relationship between online social support and individual's quality of life. The model illustrated that informational, emotional and companionship support affect patients' quality of life in descending order of importance. In particular, online social support as a whole should be encouraged and received by users in online health care communities as they tend to be associated with higher patient's quality of life.