Evaluating the User-Perceived Benefit of a Virtual Lung Cancer Patient Education and Support Community: LVNG With Lung Cancer

The accessibility and quality of network support for people living with lung cancer (PLW) and their support partners (SP) can vary. Virtual platforms provide unique opportunities for PLW/SP peer support and disease education. Using a novel dual approach, we determined the user-perceived impact of the AstraZeneca-sponsored Facebook community, 18 PLW and 2 SP were interviewed. Mean years since diagnosis was 2.75 (range, 0.08-17). Of the total expressions of benefit ( This analysis of the real-world impact of a virtual community provided insight into the benefit that members derive. We hypothesize that once members' emotional and educational needs were met, they were empowered and/or inspired to take positive actions leading to better health behaviors and increased quality of life-an outcome that may apply to other diseases.