Rural disparities in telemedicine use among cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors

null

Min Jee Lee

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL

Min Jee Lee , Meng-Han Tsai

Organizations

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta, GA

Research Funding

No funding received
None.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in the delivery of healthcare across the world, including the widespread adoption of telemedicine. This study examined the prevalence of telemedicine use by rurality and determined whether rurality was associated with its use among cancer survivors in the United States (US). Methods: The 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was used to examine the use of telemedicine among cancer survivors during the pandemic. Our primary outcome is telemedicine use and rurality is our main exposure of interest. Other covariates of interest include demographics, health-related factors (# of comorbidities, self-rated health), and types of cancer history. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the mentioned association. Results: Among 27,500 eligible cancer survivors, 51.6% (14,140 participants) of them reported telemedicine use. The use of telemedicine varied by rurality, with 41.4% of rural cancer survivors using telemedicine compared to 58.4% of cancer survivors in large central metropolitan areas (p < 0.001). Rural cancer survivors had significantly lower odds of using telemedicine during the pandemic compared to metropolitan cancer survivors. Cancer survivors residing in rural were 0.58 times less likely (95% CI, 0.43 to 0.78) and cancer survivors residing in medium and small metropolitan areas were 0.72 times less likely (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.93) to report telemedicine use compared to cancer survivors residing in large central metropolitan areas. Conclusions: Significant rural disparities in telemedicine use were evident among cancer survivors. Rural cancer survivors were less likely to use telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure equitable access to telemedicine, continued reimbursement for telemedicine services, but additional efforts are needed to improve access to and utilization of healthcare for rural cancer survivors.

Disclaimer

This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org

Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Publication Only

Session Title

Publication Only: Care Delivery and Regulatory Policy

Track

Care Delivery and Quality Care

Sub Track

Telemedicine/Remote Care

Citation

J Clin Oncol 41, 2023 (suppl 16; abstr e13686)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.e13686

Abstract #

e13686

Abstract Disclosures

Similar Abstracts

First Author: Youmin Cho

Abstract

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Rural cancer care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic for patients with early-stage cancer.

First Author: Izumi Okado

Abstract

2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium

Telehealth use among cancer survivors.

First Author: Melinda Laine Hsu