ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Access to the Internet is progressively growing and it is considered major information source, even about health. The number of chronic pain patients is increasing and the access to specialized assistance is still scarce. The web has the possibility of involving a large number of people, but there are still few studies exploring the relationship between pain and Internet. So, this study aimed at characterizing the universe faced by Brazilians when searching about pain in the Internet.
METHODS:
The study consisted of a documental analysis of the first Google web query page using eight keywords selected considering bibliographic references, Google Trends tool and different means of expression of the population ("pain", "chronic pain"; "I have pain"; "I feel pain"; "headache"; "back pain"; and "low back pain").
RESULTS:
The search has resulted in 64 valid results, classified in websites and Virtual Settlement. Among websites, the following pages were found: health portals (19); developed by specialists or medical societies (14); online newspapers and journals (19); and virtual libraries (2). In the Virtual Settlement category most prevalent were blogs (1), forums (3), Facebook pages (1), You Tube videos (1) and Wikipedia pages (4). There were also portals allowing interaction between users and webmasters.
CONCLUSION:
Internet has plenty of information about pain, which calls the attention to the importance of health professionals using the Internet as a partner to promote their patients' health and to teach them how to cope with its disadvantages.
Keywords:
Chronic pain; Empowerment; Internet