BMJ  2004;328 (15 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7449.0-b

Do virtual communities help patients?

The effect of online support groups on health and use of healthcare resources remains unclear. Reviewing 45 publications focusing on virtual communities, Eysenbach and colleagues (p 1166) found that only six focused on peer to peer interventions, and most of the studies were of poor quality. There was no clear evidence of improvement of depression scores, healthcare use, and social support measures by participating in virtual communities, but there was also no evidence of negative or harmful effects. The absence of evidence does not mean that virtual communities have no effect, say the authors, but we need more evidence to assess if they can replace or complement face to face support groups.

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Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions

Gunther Eysenbach, John Powell, Marina Englesakis, Carlos Rizo, and Anita Stern
BMJ 2004 328: 1166. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]