Telehealth to increase healthcare access; perspectives of people who use drugs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

People who use drugs (PWUD) often face restricted healthcare access despite their heightened healthcare needs. Factors such as stigma, mistrust of the healthcare system, competing priorities, and geographical barriers pose significant healthcare access challenges. Telehealth offers an innovative solution to expand healthcare access for better inclusion of underserved populations in healthcare. We aimed to explore PWUDs' perceptions of telehealth as a healthcare delivery modality.

Methods

We utilized purposive sampling to recruit participants (N = 57) for nine focus group discussions (FGDs) in Athens, Greece. Eligibility criteria required participants to be at least 18 years, with current or prior injection drug use, and current internet access. The FGDs followed a

SUBMITTER: Papalamprakopoulou Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11490127 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature