An exploration of information seeking behavior among persons living with spinal cord injury in Switzerland

Study design Observational study using data from the second community survey of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (Survey 2017). Objectives To examine information seeking of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Switzerland and its association with personal characteristics, quality of life, satisfaction with health, and healthcare services utilization. Setting Community. Methods Descriptive statistics were used to describe information needs, information sources, and health literacy of the participants. Linear, logistic, and Poisson regression analyses were used to assess the association of information-related variables with personal characteristics, quality of life, satisfaction with health, and healthcare services utilization. Results One quarter of the 1294 study participants (24.6%) reported having information needs. Most frequently mentioned were needs for medical information about SCI, complications and comorbidities (30.5%), and information on living with SCI (28.6%). The most often used sources of information were healthcare professionals (72.3%), the Internet (43.2%), and other people living with SCI (40.8%). Almost half of the participants (41.4%) were only somewhat or not at all confident in their ability to find information. Having information needs was associated with suboptimal outcomes. Conclusions This study confirms the importance of information for individuals living with SCI. By providing evidence on topics to be addressed and modalities of information delivery, our findings can help institutions in developing information to support individuals living with SCI in their daily activities. Information should cover all aspects of living with SCI, be relevant to and understandable for people of all backgrounds, and be made available online and offline.