Abstract

Objective

Widespread technological changes, like the rapid uptake of telehealth in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, risk creating or widening racial/ethnic disparities. We conducted a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of internet users to evaluate whether there were racial/ethnic disparities in self-reported telehealth use early in the pandemic.

Materials and Methods

The Pew Research Center fielded the survey March 19–24, 2020. Telehealth use because of the pandemic was measured by asking whether respondents (N = 10 624) “used the internet or e-mail to connect with doctors or other medical professionals as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.” We conducted survey-weighted logistic regressions, adjusting for respondents’ socioeconomic characteristics and perceived threat of the pandemic to their own health (eg, no threat, minor, major).

Results

Approximately 17% of respondents reported using telehealth because of the pandemic, with significantly higher unadjusted odds among Blacks, Latinos, and those identified with other race compared to White respondents. The multivariable logistic regressions and sensitivity analyses show Black respondents were more likely than Whites to report using telehealth because of the pandemic, particularly when perceiving the pandemic as a minor threat to their own health.

Discussion

Black respondents are most likely to report using telehealth because of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when they perceive the pandemic as a minor health threat.

Conclusion

The systemic racism creating health and health care disparities has likely raised the need for telehealth among Black patients during the pandemic. Findings suggest opportunities to leverage a broadly defined set of telehealth tools to reduce health care disparities postpandemic.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19大流行期间自我报告的远程医疗使用中的种族和种族差异：3月下旬对美国互联网用户调查的第二分析。

摘要

目的

广泛的技术变革，例如在COVID-19大流行期间在美国迅速采用远程医疗，造成或加剧种族/族裔差异的风险。我们对全国范围的互联网用户进行了一次具有代表性的全国性调查，以进行二次分析，以评估在大流行早期自我报告的远程医疗使用中是否存在种族/种族差异。

材料和方法

皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center）于2020年3月19日至24日对调查进行了调查。通过询问受访者（N = 10 624）是否“以互联网或电子邮件的形式与医生或其他医疗专业人员联系”来衡量因大流行而导致的远程医疗使用。冠状病毒爆发的结果。” 我们进行了调查加权逻辑回归，根据受访者的社会经济特征和对大流行对其自身健康的威胁（例如，无威胁，未成年人，主要威胁）进行了调整。

结果

约有17％的受访者因大流行而使用远程医疗，与白人受访者相比，黑人，拉丁裔和其他种族的未调整几率明显更高。多变量logistic回归和敏感性分析表明，由于大流行，黑人受访者比白人更有可能报告使用远程医疗，尤其是当认为大流行对自身健康构成次要威胁时。

讨论区

由于COVID-19大流行，尤其是当黑人受访者认为大流行对健康构成轻微威胁时，他们最有可能报告使用远程医疗。

结论

造成健康和医疗保健差异的系统性种族主义很可能在大流行期间增加了黑人患者对远程医疗的需求。研究结果表明，有机会利用广泛定义的远程医疗工具来减少大流行后的医疗保健差距。