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This research explored the kinds of social support Chinese patients actually obtain on Internet when they encounter social exclusion because of a certain disease.With data collected from published posts in online health care communities,depth interviews,and online survey,the authors identified distinct categories of online social support for Chinese patients.More importantly,the authors showed how members could help others to improve their quality of life through their online activities in supporting others’ health care both physically and psychologically.Building on previous work in social support theory and quality of life practices,the authors identify three kinds of support (emotional support,informational support,and companionship) that underlie online social support in health care.Subsequently,the authors revealed eleven subcategories of online social support practices and linked these to patients’ quality of life.Theoretically,the authors constructed a conceptual model of the relationship between online social support and patients’ quality of life.The model illustrated that informational support,emotional support and companionship affect patients’ quality of life in descending order of importance.In particular,online social support as a whole should be encouraged and received by users in online health care communities as they tend to be associated with higher quality of life.Finally,practical implication is offered by showing its potential application to other health care settings.