Telemedicine Use and Health-Related Concerns of Patients With Chronic Conditions During COVID-19: Survey of Members of Online Health Communities

Abstract

Background It has been widely communicated that individuals with underlying health conditions are at higher risk of severe disease due to COVID-19 than healthy peers. As social distancing measures continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, experts encourage individuals with underlying conditions to engage in telehealth appointments to maintain continuity of care while minimizing risk exposure. To date, however, little information has been provided regarding telehealth uptake among this high-risk population. Objective The aim of this study is to describe the telehealth use, resource needs, and information sources of individuals with chronic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary objectives include exploring differences in telehealth use by sociodemographic characteristics. Methods Data for this study were collected through an electronic survey distributed between May 12-14, 2020, to members of 26 online health communities for individuals with chronic disease. Descriptive statistics were run to explore telehealth use, support needs, and information sources, and z tests were run to assess differences in sociodemographic factors and information and support needs among those who did and did not use telehealth services. Results Among the 2210 respondents, 1073 (49%) reported engaging in telehealth in the past 4 months. Higher proportions of women engaged in telehealth than men (890/1781, 50% vs 181/424, 43%; P=.007), and a higher proportion of those earning household incomes of more than US $100,000 engaged in telehealth than those earning less than US $30,000 (195/370, 53% vs 241/530 45%; P=.003). Although 59% (133/244) of those younger than 40 years and 54% (263/486) of those aged 40-55 years used telehealth, aging populations were less likely to do so, with only 45% (677/1500) of individuals 56 years or older reporting telehealth use (P<.001 and P=.001, respectively). Patients with cystic fibrosis, lupus, and ankylosing spondylitis recorded the highest proportions of individuals using telehealth when compared to those with other diagnoses. Of the 2210 participants, 1333 (60%) participants either looked up information about the virus online or planned to in the future, and when asked what information or support would be most helpful right now, over half (1151/2210, 52%) responded “understanding how COVID-19 affects people with my health condition.” Conclusions Nearly half of the study sample reported participating in telehealth in the past 4 months. Future efforts to engage individuals with underlying medical conditions in telehealth should focus on outreach to men, members of lower-income households, and aging populations. These results may help inform and refine future health communications to further engage this at-risk population in telehealth as the pandemic continues.

Telemedicine and eHealth Literacy in the Era of COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Peripheral Clinic in Israel

“…Less than one half of them (45%) anticipated using telemedicine after the end of the pandemic. These findings are consistent with Sousa et al [ 35 ], who found that “patients were satisfied with communication with providers; however, one half evaluated the online visit as inferior when compared to in-person visits”, and also with Horrell et al [ 36 ], who found that 43% of the participants preferred to return to face-to-face, in-person meetings, whenever this would be possible in the post-COVID-19 era.…”

“…Women tend to search for more healthcare information than men and use telemedicine more, as per Horrell et al [36] who found that 50% of the women used telemedicine compared with 43% of the men, and expressed greater satisfaction with telemedicine [43]. On many occasions, it is the women in the family who are responsible for overall family health, so they are the ones who contact the physicians on behalf of other family members [45].…”

Utilization of Health Applications Among Patients Diagnosed with Chronic Diseases in Jazan, Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…A literature search for a comparable international investigation identified a US-based study that utilized an online survey in May 2020, which recruited 2210 respondents with chronic diseases, with 49% reporting engaging in telehealth. 17 Additionally, similar to our findings, it was noted that in their patient sample, the aging population was less likely to benefit from telehealth services.…”

The Influence of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Prevention and Vaccination Behaviors Among Chinese Children and Adolescents: Cross-sectional Online Survey Study

“…RenderX almost all families have access to the internet or a telephone in Wuhan and Shanghai [51], and quota sampling enhanced the representativeness of our sample to minimize selection bias, we are aware that our sample is not a probabilistic random sample of residents from the two cities. Similar to other online surveys [52], the response rate was below 10% in our study. Second, there may be recall bias due to the self-reported data.…”