Editorial: The Impact of Social Connections on Patients’ Health

As social connections are intrinsic to the concept of person (van Zomeren, 2016), they are also a fundamental aspect of a patients’ life. Moreover, being a patient implies the presence of at least one factor whether a disease or health condition, that can make a patient vulnerable and in need of a supportive and empowering relationships. The support received from social connctions is critical to helping people to live a meaningful life, even moreso among people who are managing complex diseases and health conditions (Mazzoni et al., 2014; Bailo et al., 2019). In this sense, social connections are one of the most powerful modifiable factors at our disposal for promoting the physical and psychological health of patients.