Attitudes of rural communities towards the use of technology for health purposes in New Zealand: a focus group study

Abstract

ObjectivesExamine attitudes to using online health and wellness services, and determine what barriers may exist to this in two rural communities in New Zealand.DesignA thematic analysis informed by a social constructivist paradigm explored the attitudes of youth and adults to give voice to these communities. Eighteen focus groups—nine in each region—were held for an hour each, with between three and nine participants in each group.SettingTwo rural areas at the Northern and Southern ends of New Zealand were chosen. In each area, we partnered with a local health centre providing primary care services. Three localities were identified within each region where we conducted the data collection.ParticipantsParticipants were youth aged 12–15 years, aged 16–20 years and adults over 21 years. Overall, 74 females and 40 males were recruited. Recruitment occurred through schools, community organisations or personal contacts of the facilitators, who were youth workers in their respective communities. Ethnicity of the participants was representative of each area, with a higher percentage of Māori participants in Northland.ResultsEight themes were identified which described participants’ attitudes to technology use in healthcare. Themes covered accessibility, cost, independence, anonymity and awareness issues: technology makes health information easily accessible; access to technology can be limited in rural communities; technology can reduce the cost of healthcare but it is too expensive for some; technology increases independence and autonomy of people’s own health; independent healthcare decisions come with risks; anonymity encourages people to seek help online; technology can help raise awareness and provide peer-support for people with health issues; technology impacts on social relationships.ConclusionsParticipants—particularly youth—were generally positive about the role of technology in healthcare delivery, and interested in ways technology could improve autonomy and access to health and wellness services.

An integrated review of the barriers and facilitators for accessing and engaging with mental health in a rural setting

“…Babbage et al . (2020) also examined attitudes towards using online health and well‐being services. Babbage et al .…”

“…Babbage et al . (2020) found that younger men and women were more likely to use digital technology than older participants. However, in some rural location’s, Internet access is poor and is a limiting factor in using online health activities as the expense to use satellite access is prohibitive.…”

An Integrative Review of Contemporary Perspectives on Videoconference-Based Therapy—Prioritising Indigenous and Ethnic Minority Populations in the Global South

“…The final results included a methodologically diverse dataset comprising 12 quantitative studies, six qualitative studies, eight mixed methods, 15 review articles and two book chapters. Despite our intentional search strategy, we located only one article from Aotearoa New Zealand (Babbage et al, 2020 ) and two articles from Australia (Dham et al, 2018 ; Simpson et al, 2015 ). This reflects the limited degree of contemporary evidence-based discourse in the context of the Global South, whilst the significant majority of articles reported on research conducted in the Global North.…”

“…In a study of clients living in rural and remote areas (Dham et al, 2018 ), high patient satisfaction with online therapy was reported, and accessibility was identified as one of the most significant benefits for socially isolated individuals. Similarly, a survey of rural New Zealanders identified strong support for distanced mental healthcare amongst rural communities (Babbage et al, 2020 ). In contrast to these optimistic client perspectives, a study of attitudes towards telehealth care amongst rural mental health professionals identified a consistent degree of scepticism regarding the efficacy of telehealth care (McClellan et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Given our research team’s location in Aotearoa New Zealand, we recognised a need for a review of the literature that was mindful of the needs and nuances of mental health practice in the Global South. Although there already exists some insight into the nature of online therapy practice here in Aotearoa New Zealand (Babbage et al, 2020 ; Samuels, 1999 ), a significant majority of literature in this area focuses on outcomes and experiences across globally disparate contexts (Christensen et al, 2020 ; Connolly et al, 2020 ). As is the case around the world (Watson et al, 2019 ), indigenous and ethnic minority populations in the Global South are consistently overrepresented in negative mental health statistics, an enduring consequence of systemic inequality (Williams et al, 2018 ).…”