{"id":94830,"date":"2012-11-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2012\/11\/26\/rural-e-patients-face-access-challenges\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:17:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:17:37","slug":"rural-e-patients-face-access-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2012\/11\/26\/rural-e-patients-face-access-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural e-patients face access challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David Gorn, a reporter for California Healthline, contacted me after the release of the Pew Internet\/California HealthCare Foundation&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2012\/Mobile-Health.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mobile Health 2012<\/a>\u00a0report and asked if there were interesting findings on rural Americans. Indeed there are and I wish I&#8217;d thought to include them since they tell an important story about who is still cut off from online health resources.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I provided the data for Gorn&#8217;s story, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.californiahealthline.org\/features\/2012\/smartphones-might-aid-health-effort-in-rural-california.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smartphones Might Aid Health Effort in Rural California<\/a>,&#8221; and now I&#8217;m sharing the data here, too, since I think there are important realities to discuss when we look at technology trends in health: rural residents lag behind suburbanites and urbanites.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So there&#8217;s no confusion, here is the exact question wording and results for each group:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <b>Do you use the internet, at least occasionally?\/Do you send or receive email, at least occasionally?\/Do you access the internet on a cell phone, tablet or other mobile handheld device, at least occasionally?<\/b>\u00a0(We now combine all three to come up with our estimate of internet users &#8212; for more on this decision, see\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2012\/Counting-internet-users\/Counting-internet-users.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this short report<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>81% of urban adults use the internet <\/li>\n<li>84% of suburban adults use the internet <\/li>\n<li>74% of rural adults use the internet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: this represents a statistically significant difference for urban\/suburban vs. rural residents.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <b>Do you have a cell phone&#8230; or a Blackberry or iPhone or other device that is also a cell phone?<\/b> <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>85% of urban adults have a cell phone <\/li>\n<li>86% of suburban adults have a cell phone <\/li>\n<li>77% of rural adults have a cell phone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Again, a statistically significant difference for urban\/suburban vs. rural.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <b>Some cell phones are called &#8220;smartphones&#8221; because of certain features they have. Is your cell phone a smartphone, such as an iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Windows phone, or are you not sure?<\/b> <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>56% of urban cell phone owners say they have a smartphone <\/li>\n<li>57% of suburban cell phone owners say they have a smartphone <\/li>\n<li>38% of rural cell phone owners say they have a smartphone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, that is a statistically significant difference for urban\/suburban vs. rural.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <b>Do you ever use your cell phone to look for health or medical information online?<\/b> <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>32% of urban cell phone owners say yes <\/li>\n<li>32% of suburban cell phone owners say yes <\/li>\n<li>18% of rural cell phone owners say yes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yep, statistically significant difference for urban\/suburban vs. rural.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <b>Do you receive any text updates or alerts about health or medical issues, such as your doctors or pharmacists?<\/b> <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>10% of urban cell phone owners <\/li>\n<li>10% of suburban cell phone owners <\/li>\n<li>11% of rural cell phone owners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: no statistically significant differences.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <b>On your cell phone, do you happen to have any software applications or \u201capps\u201d that help you track or manage your health, or not?<\/b> <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>12% of urban cell phone owners <\/li>\n<li>11% of suburban cell phone owners <\/li>\n<li>11% of rural cell phone owners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: no statistically significant differences. And there are no statistical differences among groups when it comes to the types of health apps they have on their phones.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, this isn&#8217;t &#8220;news&#8221; to anyone who has been following the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/blog\/expanding-broadband-and-protecting-voice-service-rural-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FCC&#8217;s rural broadband initiative<\/a>\u00a0or Pew Internet&#8217;s previous reporting on the digital divide. But I think the data is an important reminder for anyone interested in the impact of the internet on health and health care. Imagine being a newly-diagnosed patient in a rural area, where you don&#8217;t have access to all the information and community that many of us take for granted. How would your life be different?<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <em>Join\u00a0the <a href=\"http:\/\/e-patients.net\/archives\/2012\/11\/rural-e-patients-face-access-challenges.html#comments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">discussion <\/a>on e-patients.net<\/em> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rural residents in the U.S. lag behind those in suburban and urban areas when it comes to technology 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