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Rural use of health service and telemedicine during COVID-19 : The role of access and eHealth literacy Rush, Kathy L.; Seaton, Cherisse L.; Li, Eric Ping Hung, 1978-; Oelke, Nelly; Pesut, Barbara

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a greater reliance on telemedicine, yet rural access, use, and satisfaction with telemedicine and the role of eHealth literacy are unknown. Using a cross-sectional design, 279 (70.6% female) western rural Canadians completed an online survey. The majority of participants reported access to telemedicine, but nearly 1/5 lacked access to online or virtual mental health services. The majority of participants had used health care services following the declared COVID-19 pandemic in North America, and just under half had used telemedicine. Telemedicine satisfaction scores were higher among participants who had used video (M=4.18) compared to those who used phone alone (M=3.79) (p=0.031). Telemedicine satisfaction and eHealth literacy were correlated (r=0.26, p=0.005). Participants did not want telemedicine to replace in-person consultations. Telemedicine practice requires that rural residents have the resources, ability and willingness to engage with remote care.

Item Metadata

Title
Rural use of health service and telemedicine during COVID-19 : The role of access and eHealth literacy
Creator
Rush, Kathy L.; Seaton, Cherisse L.; Li, Eric Ping Hung, 1978-; Oelke, Nelly; Pesut, Barbara
Contributor
BC Rural Health Network. Rural Coordination Centre of BC
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Date Issued
2021
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a greater reliance on telemedicine, yet rural access, use, and satisfaction with telemedicine and the role of eHealth literacy are unknown. Using a cross-sectional design, 279 (70.6% female) western rural Canadians completed an online survey. The majority of participants reported access to telemedicine, but nearly 1/5 lacked access to online or virtual mental health services. The majority of participants had used health care services following the declared COVID-19 pandemic in North America, and just under half had used telemedicine. Telemedicine satisfaction scores were higher among participants who had used video (M=4.18) compared to those who used phone alone (M=3.79) (p=0.031). Telemedicine satisfaction and eHealth literacy were correlated (r=0.26, p=0.005). Participants did not want telemedicine to replace in-person consultations. Telemedicine practice requires that rural residents have the resources, ability and willingness to engage with remote care.
Subject
COVID-19; eHealth literacy; Mental health; Telehealth; Telemedicine
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-06-28
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0398722
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78828
Affiliation
Health and Social Development, Faculty of (Okanagan); Nursing, School of (Okanagan)
Citation
Rush, K. L., Seaton, C., Li, E., Oelke, N. D., & Pesut, B. (2021). Rural use of health service and telemedicine during COVID-19: The role of access and eHealth literacy. Health Informatics Journal, 27(2), 146045822110200.
Publisher DOI
10.1177/14604582211020064
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Copyright Holder
Authors
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International