Networking Tactics for Online eHealth Campaigns and Intervention Studies: Preliminary Results from a Case Study on Nutritional Support for Cancer Patients

The present work is concerned with a particular type of online collaborative engagements, namely the management of e-Health campaigns and online intervention studies. In order to establish the baseline, the paper critically reviews prominent tactics facilitated by Social Networking Services (SNS) and social web sites and contrasts them against the specific requirements of targeted online e-Health campaigns and intervention studies. Based on this analysis, the paper describes a web-based system that accommodates functionality and services to enable expert-patient collaboration and co-engagement in building online campaigns and conducting intervention studies. The value and benefits of this approach are illustrated using a case study of cancer patients searching for online nutritional support and collaborating with healthcare providers and other patients.