Abstract
Background
The internet has revolutionized the way we live our lives. Over 60% of people nationally now have access to the internet. Healthcare is not immune to this phenomenon. We aimed to assess level of access to the internet within our practice population and gauge the level of internet use by these patients and ascertain what characteristics define these individuals.
Method
A questionnaire based study. Patients attending a mixture of trauma and elective outpatient clinics in the public and private setting were invited to complete a self-designed questionnaire. Details collected included basic demographics, education level, number of clinic visits, history of surgery, previous clinic satisfaction, body area affected, whether or not they had internet access, health insurance and by what means had they researched their orthopedic complaint.
Results
292 completed the questionnaire (146 M, 146 F). 17 were incomplete and excluded from final analysis. Multiple logistic regression found younger age (O.R. 2.22 in 20–35 age group), possession of health insurance (O.R. 2.65) and higher levels of education (O.R. 8.22 for tertiary education) were all significantly associated with a higher level of access to the internet. Among those with internet access, a second regression analysis showed that a positive history of surgery (O.R. 2.82) and possession of a trade qualification (O.R. 5.15) were the best predictors of internet use to research one's orthopedic condition.
Conclusion
Our study showed a level of access comparable with national statistics. It was consistent with previous studies showing younger and better educated had greater access. We believe that this shows there is a niche for increased information provision for those patients who require surgery, but we must be aware access is not available to everyone in the community.
