Editing Virtual community (section)

===On health===
[[File:Virtual reality PTSD therapy.jpg|alt=an image of  an ongoing virtual therapy session for PTSD|thumb|A Virtual  therapy session for PTSD]]
Recent studies have looked into development of health related communities and their impact on those already suffering health issues. These forms of social networks allow for open conversation between individuals who are going through similar experiences, whether themselves or in their family.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eysenbach|first=G|year=2008|title=The Impact of the Internet on Cancer Outcomes|journal=CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians|volume=53|issue=6|pages=356–371|doi=10.3322/canjclin.53.6.356|pmid=15224975|citeseerx=10.1.1.526.4309|s2cid=10192148}}</ref> Such sites have so grown in popularity that now many health care providers form groups for their patients by providing web areas where one may direct questions to doctors. These sites prove especially useful when related to rare medical conditions. People with rare or debilitating disorders may not be able to access support groups in their physical community, thus online communities act as primary means for such support. Online health communities can serve as supportive outlets as they facilitate connecting with others who truly understand the disease, as well as offer more practical support, such as receiving help in adjusting to life with the disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135106113/patients-with-rare-diseases-connect-online|title=Web Communities Help Patients With Rare Diseases|website=NPR.org|publisher=NPR|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018152136/http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135106113/patients-with-rare-diseases-connect-online|url-status=live}}</ref> Each patient on online health communities are on there for different reasons, as some may need quick answers to questions they have, or someone to talk to.Involvement in social communities of similar health interests has created a means for patients to develop a better understanding and behavior towards treatment and health practices.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Neal|first1=L.|last2=Lindgagarrd|first2=G.|last3=Oakley|first3=K.|last4=Hansen|first4=D.|last5=Kogan|first5=S.|last6=Leimeister|first6=J.M.|last7=Selker|first7=T.|year=2006|title=Online Health Communities|journal=CHI|pages=444–447|url=http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb7/ibwl/leimeister/pub/JML_109.pdf|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-date=12 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712151749/http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb7/ibwl/leimeister/pub/JML_109.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Cocciolo|first1=A.|last2=Mineo|first2=C.|last3=Meier|first3=E.|title=Using Online Social Networks to Build Healthy Communities: A Design-based Research Investigation|pages=1–10|url=http://www.thinkingprojects.org/bhc_paper.pdf|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-date=15 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015141134/http://www.thinkingprojects.org/bhc_paper.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of these users could have very serious life-threatening issues which these personal contexts could become very helpful to these users, as the issues are very complex.<ref name="Huh-2016">{{Cite journal|last1=Huh|first1=Jina|last2=Kwon|first2=Bum Chul|last3=Kim|first3=Sung-Hee|last4=Lee|first4=Sukwon|last5=Choo|first5=Jaegul|last6=Kim|first6=Jihoon|last7=Choi|first7=Min-Je|last8=Yi|first8=Ji Soo|date=1 October 2016|title=Personas in online health communities|journal=Journal of Biomedical Informatics|language=en|volume=63|pages=212–225|doi=10.1016/j.jbi.2016.08.019|pmid=27568913|pmc=5268468|issn=1532-0464}}</ref> Patients increasingly use such outlets, as this is providing personalized and emotional support and information, that will help them and have a better experience.<ref name="Huh-2016"/> The extent to which these practices have effects on health are still being studied.

Studies on health networks have mostly been conducted on groups which typically suffer the most from extreme forms of  diseases, for example cancer patients, HIV patients, or patients with other life-threatening diseases. It is general knowledge that one participates in online communities to interact with society and develop relationships.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cocciolo|first1=A.|last2=Mineo|first2=C.|last3=Meier|first3=E.|title=Using Online Social Networks to Build Healthy Communities: A Design-based Research Investigation|pages=1–10|url=http://www.thinkingprojects.org/bhc_paper.pdf|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-date=15 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015141134/http://www.thinkingprojects.org/bhc_paper.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>  Individuals who suffer from rare or severe illnesses are unable to meet physically because of distance or because it could be a risk to their health to leave a secure environment. Thus, they have turned to the internet.

Some studies have indicated that virtual communities can provide valuable benefits to their users. Online health-focused communities were shown to offer a unique form of emotional support that differed from event-based realities and informational support networks. Growing amounts of presented material show how online communities affect the health of their users.  Apparently the creation of health communities has a positive impact on those who are ill or in need of medical information.<ref>{{cite book|title=Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Communities and Technologies|pages=31–40|publisher=ACM|location=New York|year=2009|doi=10.1145/1556460.1556466|isbn=9781605587134|series=C&T '09|citeseerx=10.1.1.589.9656|chapter=Supportive communication, sense of virtual community and health outcomes in online infertility groups|last1=Welbourne|first1=Jennifer L.|last2=Blanchard|first2=Anita L.|last3=Boughton|first3=Marla D.|s2cid=8243700}}</ref>