Changes in Internet Use Over Time Among Individuals with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.
Stephanie K Rigot, Lynn A Worobey, Michael L Boninger and 4 others
PMID 34062118WHAT IT FOUND
Internet use among people with traumatic spinal cord injury rose from 77.7% in 2012 to 88.1% in 2018, and mobile internet use rose from 40.7% to 77.3%, though age, income, education and injury level gaps remained.
Key findings
01Total internet use increased from 77.7% in 2012 to 88.1% in 2018, a rise of 10.4 percentage points.
02Mobile internet use increased from 40.7% in 2012 to 77.3% in 2018, a rise of 36.6 percentage points, and participants were 13.72 times more likely to report mobile internet use in 2018 than in 2012.
03In 2018, gaps in internet use by age, income, education and SCI classification remained, and gaps in mobile internet use by age and race/ethnicity remained.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The analysis used 13,662 follow-up entries from 2012 to 2018, but many records were missing internet or demographic variables, and included versus excluded groups differed on year, age group, education, race/ethnicity, SCI classification and sex. The design was repeated cross-sectional, so different people were represented in different years rather than the same individuals tracked over time. The database could not tell whether people used only a desktop computer, only a mobile device, or both, and it captured only the primary mobile device. The sample came from spinal cord injury model system facilities and represented only 6% of the U.S. population with SCI, so it may not reflect all people with SCI. The questionnaire may lag behind technology changes, and other factors that affect internet use were not measured.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 88.1% internet use rate as proof that all patients have equal access. Age, income, education and SCI classification gaps remained in 2018.