The digital health divide: Understanding telehealth adoption across racial lines in rural Illinois

Due to long-standing barriers to healthcare access in rural areas, telehealth has been promoted as an effective means of delivering healthcare services. However, there is a general absence of quantitative data showing how geographic residence and race affect telehealth adoption. This study examines variations in telehealth adoption based on race and geographic residence in Southern Illinois using a mail survey. It finds that residents of urban Carbondale, compared to those in rural Cairo, have better access to broadband and are more likely to use telehealth. Respondents significantly differ from each other based on their geographic location of residence and race when it came to using telehealth to save money on travel and to save money on childcare. A significant barrier to telehealth adoption identified across all groups is privacy protection concern. The findings highlight the crucial role of broadband infrastructure in healthcare access and the need for trust in telehealth systems to ensure data privacy.