LAUSR

OBJECTIVE To investigate the changes in total internet and mobile internet use over time and determine how demographic characteristics are related to changes in internet and mobile internet use among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of multicenter cohort study. SETTING National SCI Database. PARTICIPANTS Persons with traumatic SCI with follow-up data collected between 2012 and 2018 (n=13,622). INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Proportion of sample reporting internet use at all or through a mobile device over time and specifically in 2018. RESULTS The proportion of internet users increased from 77.7% in 2012 to 88.1% in 2018. Older participants (p<0.001), those with lower annual income (p<0.001), less education (p<0.001), non-White race or Hispanic ethnicity (p<0.001), motor incomplete tetraplegia (p=0.004), or males (p=0.035) were less likely to use internet from 2012 to 2018. By 2018, there were no longer differences in internet use based upon race/ethnicity (p=0.290) or sex (p=0.066). Mobile internet use increased each year (52.4% to 87.7% of internet users from 2012 to 2018), with a participant being 13.7 times more likely to use mobile internet in 2018 than 2012. Older age (p<0.001), income less than $50,000 (p<0.001), high school diploma or less (p=0.011), or non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity (p=0.001) were associated with less mobile internet use over time. By 2018 there were no differences in mobile internet use by education (p=0.430) and only participants with incomes greater than $75,000/year had greater odds of mobile internet use (p=0.016). CONCLUSIONS Disparities associated with internet access are decreasing likely due to mobile device use. Increased internet access offers an important opportunity to provide educational and training materials to frequently overlooked groups of individuals with SCI.