Disparities in digital access among American rural and urban households and implications for telemedicine-based services.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To examine characteristics associated with disparities in digital access (i.e., access to high-speed Internet via a computer or smartphone) in American rural and urban households given that digital access has a direct impact on access to telemedicine-based services.

Methods

Using the 2019 American Community Survey, we analyzed the proportions of geographic area, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status according to device and high-speed Internet access. Maximum likelihood logit estimators estimated how these factors influenced device and high-speed Internet access.

Findings

Of 105,312,959 households, 32.29% were without a desktop or laptop computer with high-speed Internet (WDW), 21.51% were without a smartphone with a data plan for wireless Internet (WSW), an

SUBMITTER: Curtis ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9827725 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature