Intra-Hospital Virtual Communities and Well-Being of Cancer Patients

Abstract

The use of social media in health is emerging as a means of bringing the various actors together with several benefits. In the specific case of cancer disease, these tools can help patients to improve their psychological well-being and their outcomes. As cancer is the cause of a quarter of deaths in Portugal, it is a pressing issue to understand which tools and information both patients and health professionals find most useful to build effective health social media. It was observed that there is a latent need for an oncology social environment, allowing greater well-being for patients and strengthening their relationship with health professionals and institutions, constituting an asset to the services provided. This chapter fills a gap in the bibliography by bringing together the views of both patients and health professionals from several areas, in close collaboration with the Francisco Gentil Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto, E.P.E.