Patricia Jewett|Rachel I. Vogel|Rahel Ghebre|Jane Yuet Ching Hui|Helen Parsons|Arpit Rao|Smitha Sagaram|Anne Blaes
Telehealth in cancer care during COVID-19: disparities by age, race/ethnicity, and residential status
University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota|Baylor College of Medicine|University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota
telehealth may remain integral part cancer survivorship care sarscov2 pandemic telehealth may reduce travelwaiting times costs many patients may also create new barriers could exacerbate care disparities historically underserved populations manifesting differences overall care participation differential video versus phone use telehealthwe reviewed visits cancer survivors january december 2020 designated cancer center minnesota used descriptive statistics data visualization generalized estimating equation logistic regression models compare visit modalities trends time age urbanrural status raceethnicityamong 159301 visits including 33242 telehealth visits older ruraldwelling individuals underrepresented telehealth compared inperson care nonhispanic white individuals aged 1869 years urban residents used video 50 telehealth visits contrast aged 70 years rural residents patient groups color used video 3343 telehealth visits video use increased time everyone relative differences telehealth modalities persisted visits blackafrican american patients temporarily fell springsummer 2020our findings underscore reduced uptake telehealth especially video among potentially vulnerable patient populations future research evaluate reasons differential telehealth utilization whether visit modality inperson versus video versus phone affects cancer outcomesa longterm cancer care model integrated telehealth elements needs account specific barriers vulnerable populations