Kolluri Shreya, Stead Thor S, Mangal Rohan K, Coffee R Lane, Littell Jonathan, Ganti Latha
Central Magnet School, Murfreesboro, TN, USA.
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Health Psychol Res. 2022 Aug 20;10(3):37445. doi: 10.52965/001c.37445. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced lockdown and social distancing measures that made new methods of healthcare essential. Telehealth was introduced as a temporary measure but is being considered as a more permanent form of healthcare, particularly in rural areas, to provide more equitable healthcare. A survey was conducted on 200 rural dwellers (residents) regarding their experience with rural healthcare, any barriers to adequate healthcare, and openness to telehealth. The results demonstrated interest in telehealth and predominately positive experiences with telehealth in the areas where there was need and lack of access to healthcare, more commonly expressed in the younger age group. Quality healthcare should be equitable and available for every individual irrespective of zip code or the county they live. Telehealth is capable of bridging the gap of lack of access and transportation for individuals in rural areas to meet their healthcare needs in a timely fashion in the coming years.
新冠疫情实施了封锁和社交距离措施，这使得新的医疗保健方法变得至关重要。远程医疗作为一项临时措施被引入，但目前正被视为一种更具永久性的医疗保健形式，尤其是在农村地区，以提供更公平的医疗服务。针对200名农村居民进行了一项调查，了解他们在农村医疗保健方面的经历、获得充分医疗保健的任何障碍以及对远程医疗的接受程度。结果显示，在有需求且难以获得医疗保健服务的地区，人们对远程医疗表现出兴趣，并且远程医疗的体验大多是积极的，这种情况在较年轻的年龄组中更为常见。优质的医疗保健应该对每个人都是公平且可及的，无论他们居住在哪个邮政编码区域或县。在未来几年，远程医疗能够弥合农村地区个人因难以获得医疗服务和交通不便而产生的差距，及时满足他们的医疗保健需求。
