Sociodemographic Determinants of Telehealth Visits: A Comparison of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders with Other Services.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Discrimination has wide-ranging implications, affecting patients' trust in healthcare professionals and their intentions to seek care. It can cause barriers that can affect access to care, especially among racial and ethnic minority groups in mental healthcare settings. Hence, we aim to examine the relationship between racial discrimination and reasons for using telehealth services.

Method: Using the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS-6), we isolated 6017 participants who reported on discrimination inquiry. The primary dependent variable in this study is self-reported discrimination in healthcare, while the main independent variable is the reason for the most recent telehealth visit, and several socio-demographic variables were included as covariates, including age, sex, education, income, and marital status. Descriptive statistics were generated, and multivariable regression analysis was estimated as well, with a p-value < 0.05.

Results: Non-Hispanic Black individuals had significantly higher odds of reporting discrimination compared to non-Hispanic White individuals (crude OR: 11.85, 95% CI: 7.67-18.309). Similarly, Hispanic individuals (crude OR: 4.626, 95% CI: 2.899-7.384) and individuals of other racial backgrounds (crude OR: 6.883, 95% CI: 4.04-11.729) had significantly increased odds of experiencing discrimination.

Conclusions: The findings of this study offer critical insights into the determinants of perceived discrimination within telehealth services. Given the sustained integration of telehealth into healthcare delivery, it is imperative to develop and implement targeted strategies that provide education and resources to promote health equity among Non-Hispanic Black patients.