Telehealth use and perceptions among prostate cancer survivors

Abstract

Background: Reasons underlying disparities in telehealth use among cancer survivors are unknown.

Methods: We surveyed a sociodemographically diverse population-based cohort of 487 prostate cancer survivors regarding their use and perceptions of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: Overall, only 28.5% of survivors had used telehealth at the time of survey and just 10% felt care through telehealth is comparable to that of an in-person visit. Still, over 55% felt telehealth is a good option for initial consultations or basic care and 15% felt more likely to use telehealth since the pandemic. After adjusting for other socioeconomic factors, survivors with lower education (≤high school vs. any college) had marginally lower use of telehealth (risk ratio [RR], 0.65 [95% CI, 0.42-1.01]) and lower probability of feeling more likely to use telehealth since the pandemic (RR, 0.39 [95% CI, 0.20-0.77]).

Conclusions: Differences in survivor perceptions of telehealth by education level highlight new insights underlying disparities in telehealth use and potential targets for interventions.

Keywords: cancer survivors; sociodemographic factors; telemedicine.