Community-Engineering Systematischer Aufbau und Betrieb Virtueller Communitys im Gesundheitswesen

Virtual communities offer anytime/anyplace access to information and multi-directional exchange with peers in similar situations. They can be beneficial for members and operators. VCs seem especially useful for chronically ill patients since they have strong information and interaction needs. Astonishingly few VCs can be found throughout the German healthcare system and literature neglects that VC could be created and operated systematically. This article presents an approach to community engineering that is grounded in literature on VCs and innovation research. It is the basis for piloting a VC for cancer patients in Germany. This approach and its underlying design elements and success factors are evaluated longitudinally considering user acceptance, perceived usefulness and emerging virtual social networks. The results show that successful community engineering is possible and the presented approach offers support for the systematic design, implementation and operation of virtual communities in general and in healthcare in particular.