The Power and Support from a Net for Rehabilitation Courses for People with Multiple Sclerosis
Heikkinen Maire
- An independent consultant, retired, Pähkinämäenkatu 2 E 26, FIN-33840 Tampere maire.heikkinen@gmail.com
Abstract
Rehabilitation courses for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have evolved from traditional face-to-face courses to courses on the Internet. The Finnish MS Society has arranged these courses and this paper presents a study concerning two of them. The study concentrates on the feasibility of the Internet for rehabilitation and it focuses on virtual communities, sociability, and socio-technical capital. The results show that the Internet is a feasible tool for MS rehabilitation courses – with some restrictions. This investigation offers new ways and practical instructions in organizing an MS rehabilitation course. The findings can also be significant for Internet-based rehabilitation of other long-term diseases. ICT can work besides traditional rehabilitation method to improve the quality of life of people with chronic illnesses.