Internet Use by People with Spinal Cord Injuries
from NeuroLogic
Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System

Technology, including computers, the internet and more accessible information sources has improved the lives of many people with disabilities. The availability of on-line shopping and information has been a benefit to many, especially for those with mobility limitations. It allows individuals to communicate, conduct business and find information without ever having to leave their homes.

To better meet the information and health care needs of its consumers, a project to explore Internet use by people with SCI was conducted at the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System (RMRSIS). A questionnaire was administered as part of the regular RMRSIS follow-up to collect data for the National SCI Model Systems database. The two-year study addressed ten research questions, including the following:

• What percentage of individuals with SCI own computers?
• What percentage of those who own a computer have access to the Internet?
• What are the reasons why people with SCI don't have access to or use computers?
• For those who use computers, what types of adaptive equipment do they require?
• Do people with SCI find the health/medical information on the internet useful?

There were 677 individuals who participated in the study --

• 44% had paraplegia
• 20% had high level tetraplegia (C1-4)
• the remaining 36% had low level tetraplegia (C5-8).
  
• Over 75% were men
  
• the average age of participants was 43, ranging from 16 to 78 years.
  
• over 50% had a high school education and
• more than 33% had college degrees or post-graduate education.

Outcomes of the project showed that over 80% owned a computer and of those, almost 90% had access to the Internet. Over 20% used adaptive equipment such as a brace or cuff, a touch pad, track ball or voice activation to assist them with computer use.

More than 37% used the internet to purchase and find information about adaptive equipment, while 17% used it to order medical supplies and prescriptions. Additional uses of the Internet included e-mail, searching for research and sports information and using it for work and school purposes.

Those who went online to seek health and medical information (42%) found the information to be useful, though men were 3 times more likely to have found it useful than women. Meanwhile, 89% were satisfied with the quality of the information and again, more men were satisfied with health information quality online than women.

Those individuals who did not own a computer - 20% of those who answered our survey - gave varied reasons. The most common was lack of interest (56%), while a small percentage cited cost, time, lack of space at their residence, and availability of a computer at work. However, not owning a computer did not mean individuals did not use them at all. Over 46% of those who did not own a computer had computer access through other means, such as using a computer at the library or using family and friends' computers.

Now that we have a better understanding of how our clients use computers, the RMRSIS can use information from this project to enhance its web site (www.craighospital.org) and its links to provide better access to the types of information requested by our consumers. This information will also help us explore ways to provide secure sites for providing health information to and obtaining information from RMRSIS clients.

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