Seeking Information: A Survey of Rural Spinal Patients' Internet Use and Pain Catastrophizing

Kelly A Thomas; Cara Sedney; Richard Gross

doi:10.1055/s-0041-1722837

Seeking Information: A Survey of Rural Spinal Patients' Internet Use and Pain Catastrophizing

J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2021 Apr;12(2):308-315. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1722837. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Authors

Kelly A Thomas¹, Cara Sedney², Richard Gross³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling, and Counseling Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States.
² West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States.
³ WVU Center for Integrative Pain Management, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States.

Abstract

Objective Clinicians are beginning to evaluate the effects that Internet use has on patients. The aim of this study is to provide descriptive information on patients' use of the Internet in regard to their spinal pain. Additionally, this study aims to examine the patient's type of Internet usage (information vs. support) and its relationship to pain-related distress. Materials and Methods This quantitative-descriptive, survey-based, correlational, cross-sectional design surveyed 143 spinal surgery patients from the Appalachian region. Participants were administered a demographic questionnaire, the pain catastrophizing scale, and an Internet Use and Spine Patients Questionnaire. Descriptive information on patient Internet use was collected through a retrospective recall of the participants' Internet use and was analyzed utilizing a frequency distribution. A Pearson ( r ) correlation was conducted to determine the relationship between Internet use and the severity of pain catastrophizing. Results Spinal surgery patients more frequently use the Internet for information than for support. For the individuals who do utilize the Internet for information, most are finding this tool to be somewhat helpful. For spinal patients who do use the Internet for support, there was a positively correlated relationship with magnification, helplessness, and overall pain catastrophizing. Conclusion Patients who present for spinal surgery are generally using the Internet to gain information on their diagnoses. Pain catastrophizing was elevated in relation to Internet use for support. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Keywords: Internet; information; pain catastrophizing; support.

Association for Helping Neurosurgical Sick People. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).