Midwest rural-urban disparities in use of patient online services for COVID-19.
J Rural Health
; 38(4): 908-915, 2022 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2038119
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Rural populations are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We characterized urban-rural disparities in patient portal messaging utilization for COVID-19, and, of those who used the portal during its early stage in the Midwest.METHODS:
We collected over 1 million portal messages generated by midwestern Mayo Clinic patients from February to August 2020. We analyzed patient-generated messages (PGMs) on COVID-19 by urban-rural locality and incorporated patients' sociodemographic factors into the analysis.FINDINGS:
The urban-rural ratio of portal users, message senders, and COVID-19 message senders was 1.18, 1.31, and 1.79, indicating greater use among urban patients. The urban-rural ratio (1.69) of PGMs on COVID-19 was higher than that (1.43) of general PGMs. The urban-rural ratios of messaging were 1.72-1.85 for COVID-19-related care and 1.43-1.66 for other health care issues on COVID-19. Compared with urban patients, rural patients sent fewer messages for COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment but more messages for other reasons related to COVID-19-related health care (eg, isolation and anxiety). The frequent senders of COVID-19-related messages among rural patients were 40+ years old, women, married, and White.CONCLUSIONS:
In this Midwest health system, rural patients were less likely to use patient online services during a pandemic and their reasons for its use differ from urban patients. Results suggest opportunities for increasing equity in rural patient engagement in patient portals (in particular, minority populations) for COVID-19. Public health intervention strategies could target reasons why rural patients might seek health care in a pandemic, such as social isolation and anxiety.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Rural Health
Journal subject:
Nursing
/
Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jrh.12657
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