Journal of Rural Health 2022;38(3):512-518. [doi: 10.1111/jrh.12614]
Curtis, Megan E. | Clingan, Sarah E. | Guo, Huiying | Zhu, Yuhui | Mooney, Larissa J. | Hser, Yih-Ing
This CTN platform study aimed to examine characteristics associated with disparities in digital access (i.e., access to high speed Internet via a computer or smartphone) in American rural and urban households given that digital access has a direct impact on access to telemedicine-based services.
Using the 2019 American Community Survey, researchers from the Greater Southern California Node analyzed the proportions of geographic area, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status according to device and high-speed Internet access. Maximum likelihood logit estimators estimated how these factors influenced device and high-speed Internet access. Of 105,312,959 households, 32.29% were without a desktop or laptop computer with high-speed Internet (WDW), 21.51% were without a smartphone with a data plan for wireless Internet (WSW), and 14.02% were without any digital access (WDA). Nonmetropolitan households were significantly more likely to be WDA than metropolitan households. Relative to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, American Indian or Alaska Natives, or Hispanics were significantly more likely to be WDA. When compared to households with private health insurance coverage, households WDA were significantly more likely to have no insurance or public insurance coverage. Households with any digital access reported higher income and more family members living at home. Using the same predictors, similar findings were reported for households WDW or WSW.
Conclusions: Significant disparities in digital access exist among nonmetropolitan households, racial/ethnic minority households, and lower-income households. The lack of digital access has implications for the accessibility of health care services via telemedicine and thus could exacerbate health disparities.
Keywords: Minority groups | Rural | Smartphones | Telemedicine | Journal of Rural Health (journal)
Document No: 1471 ; PMID: 34355427 ; PMCID: PMC9827725
Submitted by: Stacy Calhoun, PhD, Greater Southern California Node (8/24/2021)
