ACCEPTANCE AND UTILITY OF ASYSTEMATICALLY DESIGNEDVIRTUAL COMMUNITY FORCANCER PATIENTS

Virtual Communities (VCs) offer ubiquitous access to information andexchange possibilities for people in similar circumstances. This is especially valuable forpatients with chronic / life-threatening diseases as they exhibit strong needs forinformation and interaction. Grounded on the preceding findings of the analysis on theuser-centric construction of the VC krebsgemeinschaft.de, this article describes theevaluation of the underlying design elements and success factors by assessing theuser’s acceptance and usage of the site.[...]