The contribution of ICTs and telemedicine to COVID-19 vaccination: Evidence from the United States

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q1 HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES

Health Policy and Technology Pub Date : 2025-02-03 DOI:10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.100980

M.Eugenia Fabra , Juan Jung , Raúl Katz

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

This paper explores the influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and telemedicine on COVID-19 vaccination decisions in the United States.

Method

Leveraging survey data from nearly 4,000 respondents collected in 2021, we apply Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze how factors such as vulnerability (measured as health status), ICT access and satisfaction with prior telemedicine experiences contribute to trust in telemedicine. This trust, in turn, shapes attitudes toward vaccination and ultimately influences vaccination decisions.

Results

Our results show that greater access to ICT enhances trust in telemedicine, leading to more positive attitudes towards vaccination and higher vaccination rates. However, these positive effects are not uniform across all population groups. Higher-income, older, and more educated individuals benefit significantly from telemedicine, while lower-income, younger, and less educated populations face barriers such as limited ICT access, economic constraints, and lower digital literacy, reducing the impact of telemedicine on their vaccination decisions.

Conclusions

The novelty of this study lies in its focus on the digital divide in healthcare, a relatively underexplored factor in vaccine hesitancy research. We provide new empirical evidence on the role of ICT and telemedicine in shaping health behaviors during a pandemic, emphasizing the need for targeted policies to address inequalities in digital access and healthcare. Policy interventions should aim to improve ICT infrastructure, promote digital literacy, and build trust in telemedicine, especially among disadvantaged groups, to ensure more equitable healthcare outcomes.

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信息通信技术和远程医疗对COVID-19疫苗接种的贡献：来自美国的证据

目的探讨信息通信技术（ICT）和远程医疗对美国COVID-19疫苗接种决策的影响。方法利用2021年收集的近4000名受访者的调查数据，我们应用结构方程模型（SEM）来分析脆弱性（以健康状况衡量）、ICT获取和对先前远程医疗体验的满意度等因素如何影响对远程医疗的信任。这种信任反过来又塑造了对疫苗接种的态度，并最终影响疫苗接种决策。结果信息通信技术的普及增强了人们对远程医疗的信任，从而使人们对疫苗接种持更积极的态度，提高了疫苗接种率。然而，这些积极影响并非在所有人群中都是一致的。高收入、年龄较大和受教育程度较高的个人从远程医疗中受益匪浅，而低收入、年轻和受教育程度较低的人群则面临信息通信技术获取受限、经济制约和数字素养较低等障碍，从而降低了远程医疗对其疫苗接种决策的影响。结论本研究的新颖之处在于其关注医疗保健中的数字鸿沟，这是疫苗犹豫研究中一个相对未被充分探索的因素。我们就大流行期间信息通信技术和远程医疗在塑造健康行为方面的作用提供了新的经验证据，强调需要制定有针对性的政策，解决数字获取和医疗保健方面的不平等问题。政策干预应旨在改善信息通信技术基础设施，促进数字扫盲，并建立对远程医疗的信任，特别是在弱势群体中，以确保更公平的医疗保健结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Health Policy and Technology Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

9.20

自引率

3.30%

发文量

审稿时长

88 days

期刊介绍： Health Policy and Technology (HPT), is the official journal of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine (FPM), a cross-disciplinary journal, which focuses on past, present and future health policy and the role of technology in clinical and non-clinical national and international health environments. HPT provides a further excellent way for the FPM to continue to make important national and international contributions to development of policy and practice within medicine and related disciplines. The aim of HPT is to publish relevant, timely and accessible articles and commentaries to support policy-makers, health professionals, health technology providers, patient groups and academia interested in health policy and technology. Topics covered by HPT will include: - Health technology, including drug discovery, diagnostics, medicines, devices, therapeutic delivery and eHealth systems - Cross-national comparisons on health policy using evidence-based approaches - National studies on health policy to determine the outcomes of technology-driven initiatives - Cross-border eHealth including health tourism - The digital divide in mobility, access and affordability of healthcare - Health technology assessment (HTA) methods and tools for evaluating the effectiveness of clinical and non-clinical health technologies - Health and eHealth indicators and benchmarks (measure/metrics) for understanding the adoption and diffusion of health technologies - Health and eHealth models and frameworks to support policy-makers and other stakeholders in decision-making - Stakeholder engagement with health technologies (clinical and patient/citizen buy-in) - Regulation and health economics