An unprecedented initiative in Brazil for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other onco-hematological manifestations, the collaborative social network Amar a Vida (https://connections.amaravida.com.br/homepage/login/) is the result of a partnership between Abrale (Brazilian Association of Lymphoma and Leukemia), IBM and the consultancy V&B Officeware. It was designed for patients, family members, doctors, health professionals and all those interested in the subject who seek an environment to exchange ideas, knowledge, indications, as well as show and discuss solutions for the different perspectives that involve serious illnesses.
In Brazil, according to the Ministry of Health, an average of 577,000 new cases of cancer is estimated in 2014. According to Abrale, about 10% of this total are from some type of blood cancer. Therefore, the idea of the Amar a Vida network is to demystify and clarify this type of disease.
As a proposal, the network encourages debates on the subject, raises awareness and alerts patients about the importance of certain care and treatments, in addition to opening space for discussion of topics that go beyond the diseases themselves, such as social, family and psychological aspects. . All this through communities created by the network's participants, which address the topics considered most relevant by the members themselves. Above all, Amar a Vida seeks to be an environment of hope and a place where patients can feel free to express their questions. Abrale supports the entire process by providing support for patients and their families and acting as a moderator for the network.
IBM donated the Connections software, a Social Business tool that connects people, entities and organizations in different situations and with different goals. The project is hosted on the IBM Softlayer cloud. V&B Officeware conceived the project and configured the platform for Abrale, an institution that achieved credibility by disseminating knowledge, offering support and mobilizing partners to achieve excellence and humanization in the comprehensive care of onco-hematologic patients.
“The Amar a Vida Network is a platform to help those who have to deal with the challenge of an oncological disease and assist in decision-making during this journey. Patients will be able to share their stories and have access to information on the topic. Doctors and health professionals will also have space to exchange knowledge within the network”, emphasizes Abrale's president, Merula Steagall.
“IBM's partnership to design the Amar a Vida Network is part of the Corporate Citizenship program, developed worldwide by the company. The initiative is based on solutions such as cloud computing, analytics, mobility and social media”, explains Alcely Barroso, Corporate Citizenship executive at IBM Brazil.
Amar a Vida was born with around 30 communities that explore different angles: All together against cancer; Pregnancy, Sexuality and Fertility; Palliative care; Food and cancer; Rights of Cancer Patients; Testimonies of overcoming; Mothers and Fathers of Patients Diagnosed with Cancer; Dealing with loss; Cancer and beauty; Myelodysplasia; Leukemia; Multiple Myeloma, Thalassemia; Myeloproliferatives; Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia, among others.
For the future, the idea is that the network is prepared to reach all of Latin America, thus involving the organizations affiliated to Alianza Latina.
EN 
PT 
