Florida Research Project Tackles Low Telehealth Access in Minority Populations

The University of North Florida is launching a project with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to examine how social determinants of health may be driving low telehealth access in underserved communities.

UNF researchers Cynthia Williams, MD, a health administration associate professor in the Brooks College of Health, and Richard Shang, MD, a management assistant professor in the Coggin College of Business, will be leading the project, titled “Telehealth Disparity: Investigating the Predictors for Low Utilization among Minority Populations.”

According to a press release, researchers “will examine cross-cultural factors, gender differences and other social factors that contribute to inequities in access and health outcomes.” This research “will inform socially and culturally sensitive interventions to promote equity in technology-enabled healthcare among minority populations.”

While the coronavirus pandemic caused a surge in connected health adoption, it also highlighted the challenges faced by underserved populations in accessing care through those technologies. Barriers include a distrust of the healthcare system, lack of access to broadband or cellular services, travel issues, lack of digital literacy and a lack of resources to acquire or use the technology.

The UNF project is one of 15 winners of Research Accelerator grants funded by the Gates Foundation and announced by the COVID-19 Research Consortium, the Health Care Cost Institute and Datavant. It’s also part of a wave of programs and studies aimed at not only identified the barrier to telehealth access, but addressing them.

Up the coast a bit, the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP) is in the midst of an 18-month telehealth study, led by researchers from the Department of Population Medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, to identify socioeconomic, racial and ethnic inequalities in telehealth use in the commonwealth and find ways to use connected health to bridge those gaps in care.

“While disparities in health care are not new, they have been profoundly exposed during this pandemic, where people of color and those living in low income communities have had worse outcomes than other populations,” MAHP President Lora Pellegrini said. “Our telehealth study seeks to analyze gaps in access to services for these populations and to offer recommendations to ensure equal access to telehealth services.”

“Telehealth has played a pivotal role in helping the commonwealth’s residents access health care during the pandemic, and it will continue to play an important role in the future for patients, particularly those with chronic conditions,” added David Seltz, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, a partner in the study. “It is imperative that we understand what barriers to utilization of telehealth services exist, especially for people of color, individuals with low income, and those with disabilities, so that we can work to eliminate disparities and ensure health equity across the board.”