title: Attitudes toward medical and mental health care delivered via telehealth applications among rural and urban primary care patients.
abstract: Adequate health care services are often not available in rural and remote areas, and this problem is expected to grow worse in the near future. "Telehealth" interventions represent a strategy for addressing access to care problems. We examined and compared attitudes toward medical and mental health care delivered via telehealth applications among adult rural (n = 112) and urban (n = 78) primary care patients. We also examined attitudes toward telehealth applications among a subset of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)--a group likely in need of specialized services. Both urban and rural patients were receptive to receiving medical and psychiatric services via telehealth. There were few meaningful differences across variables between urban and rural patients, and there were no meaningful differences by PTSD status. These findings support the feasibility of telehealth applications, particularly for rural patients who may not otherwise receive needed services.
authors.affiliation: Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. grubaugh@musc.edu
authors.forename: Anouk L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Grubaugh
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Cain
authors.forename: Jon D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Elhai
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Patrick
authors.forename: B Christopher
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Frueh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care; D019114:Remote Consultation; D012424:Rural Population; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population