Social Networks as a Lifeline - Building a Support System

[Rachel Adam]

It seems that we hear quite a bit about the negative aspects, downfalls and dangers of social networking, especially around privacy concerns in health care. What many have neglected to acknowledge is the support system intrinsically found within the online health community and its critical role to the patient in terms of shared experience.

- Rachel

Social Networks a Lifeline for the Chronically Ill

The New York Times, By Claire Cain Miller

March 24, 2010

A former model who is now chronically ill and struggles just to shower says the people she has met online have become her family. A quadriplegic man uses the Web to share tips on which places have the best wheelchair access, and a woman with multiple sclerosis says her regular Friday night online chats are her lifeline.