A qualitative study on the use of personal information technology by persons with spinal cord injury

Purpose: Previous work has shown that information technology (IT), such as personal computers and other digital devices (e.g. tablets, laptops, etc.), software, online resources and hand-held communication tools (e.g. cellphones), has benefits for health and well-being for persons with chronic health conditions. To date, the ways that persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) use IT in their daily activities has not been fully explored. Thus, the purpose of the study was to obtain an in-depth perspective of how people with SCI regularly use IT to gain insight on ways IT can be used to support health and well-being in the community for this population. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community-dwelling persons with SCI (N=10) who identified themselves as frequent-or-daily-users of IT. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify the ways that persons with SCI use personal IT. Results: Ten themes related to IT use were identified: (1) Modifications allowing access to IT; (2) Convenience of IT and its perceived value; (3) IT as a scheduler/planner; (4) Challenges; (5) Contributions of IT to participation; (6) Access to information; (7) Influence of IT on well-being; (8) IT as a connector; (9) Issues of IT acquisition; and (10) Desires for future devices/technology. Conclusions: The findings suggest that IT use by people with SCI contributes to general health and well-being, by increasing access to SCI-related health information and opportunity for social participation. Despite the benefits offered by IT, persons with SCI have identified a degree of skepticism about the reliability and applicability of the health information they find online. Future work on developing and implementing IT for health and well-being post-SCI should take into account consumers' perspectives to facilitate uptake.