” Abstract: IMVU is an avatar based instant messaging environment. It allows for participation of anyone from 13 years of age and older. There are well over 100 healthcare support groups in IMUV. Many are more informal than those within Second Life, SL, or listed in the American Self-Help Group Clearinghouse, AS-HC. The number of groups and their membership can be broken down into categories, with similar amounts to SL and AS-HC. However, there are some differences, higher Mental Health, lower Disabilities groups and membership, that may be due to to younger demographics of IMVU. There is a long tail effect with a few groups having large memberships, but the majority having only a few members. Group growth rates can also me determined with many starting around the same time, but growing at differing rates. ”

Check out his work here:

Also check out John’s aggregation of SL support group statistics here.

The future of Health Care and Virtual World are unquestionably tied. Mass amounts of people are seeking and receiving support in a variety of virtual environments. It is going to be interesting to see how these environments develop and the professionalization of health offerings in virtual environments and the 3D web.