Marco Leimeister, Jan, et al. "Do virtual communities matter for the social support of patients? Antecedents and effects of virtual relationships in online communities." Information Technology & People 21.4 (2008): 350-374.

This paper investigates the potential of online communities in providing environments conducive to establishing social relationships, particularly for cancer patients seeking social support. Through an online survey with 301 responses from members of German-speaking virtual patient communities, the study explores the antecedents and effects of virtual relationships in these communities. The findings reveal that virtual relationships are crucial for patients' social needs, significantly influenced by factors like general internet usage intensity and the perceived disadvantages of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). Interestingly, traditional determinants such as marital status and educational status had a minimal impact. The study underscores the importance of virtual relationships in offering emotional support and information exchange, which can significantly help patients cope with their illnesses.