Abstract
Introduction: Telehealth use has rapidly expanded health care access and reshaped patient-provider interactions. Evidence shows that telehealth can be influenced by communication quality between patients and providers. However, little is known about how patient-provider communication relates to telehealth use among minority ethnic populations.
Purpose: This study was to examine associations between patient-centered communication and telehealth use in Asian Americans.
Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey 6 data. A total of 265 adults who identified as Asian American were included. Telehealth use was assessed by asking respondents if they used telehealth in the past 12 months. Patient-centered communication was assessed by seven items. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regressions were used for data analysis.
Results: A half of the sample were men (53%), with a mean age 41 (±4.6). Providers’ recommendation was the most common reason (65%) for choosing to use telehealth. Less than half (42%) reported telehealth use within the last year. The mean score of patient-centered communication was higher among telehealth users compared to non-users (20.6 vs. 13.1, p< .001). The adjusted logistic regression model identified that individuals with better communication with providers tended to use telehealth more (AOR=1.02, 95% CI:1.01-1.05). In addition, individuals diagnosed with depression (AOR=4.66, 95% CI:1.45-14.97) and those who resided in the West region were more likely to use telehealth (AOR=3.42, 95% CI:1.39-8.43). In contrast, men (AOR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.12-0.54) and individuals with an income of $20,000-$35,999 (AOR=0.13, 95% CI: 0.02-0.84) were less likely to use telehealth.
Conclusion/Implications for Nursing Practice: The study findings highlight that not only recommendations of providers but quality communication with patients may enhance telehealth use, while persistent disparities exist in telehealth use. To ensure equitable telehealth delivery, nurses need to assess and mitigate any barriers to quality communication between patients and providers in telehealth. Also, telehealth-specific communication strategies tailored to individuals who tend to use telehealth less should be developed and implemented. Future research using mixed methods and longitudinal designs is recommended to clarify causal pathways of telehealth use.
Notes
References:
Adepoju, O. E., Chae, M., Ojinnaka, C. O., Shetty, S., & Angelocci, T. (2022). Utilization gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic: Racial and ethnic disparities in telemedicine uptake in federally qualified health center clinics. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(5), 1191–1197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07304-4
Andreadis, K., Muellers, K., Ancker, J. S., Horowitz, C., Kaushal, R., & Lin, J. J. (2023). telemedicine impact on the patient-provider relationship in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical Care, 61(Suppl 1), S83–S88. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0000000000001808
Bustamante, A. V., Martínez, L. E., Jalal, S., Benitez Santos, N., Félix Beltrán, L., Rich, J., & Anaya, Y. B. (2023). Racial and ethnic disparities in telehealth use before and after California's stay-at-home order. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1222203. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1222203
Chang, E., Penfold, R. B., & Berkman, N. D. (2024). Patient characteristics and telemedicine use in the US, 2022. JAMA Network Open, 7(3), e243354. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3354
Moser, R. P., Trivedi, N., Murray, A., Jensen, R. E., Willis, G., & Blake, K. D. (2022). Patient-centered communication (PCC) scale: Psychometric analysis and validation of a health survey measure. PloS One, 17(12), e0279725. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279725
National Cancer Institute. (2024). Patterns and predictors of telehealth use among US adults in 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) briefs number 53. https://hints.cancer.gov/docs/Briefs/HINTS_Brief_53.pdf
Paik, K. E., Hicklen, R., Kaggwa, F., Puyat, C. V., Nakayama, L. F., Ong, B. A., Shropshire, J. N. I., & Villanueva, C. (2023). Digital determinants of health: Health data poverty amplifies existing health disparities-A scoping review. PLOS Digital Health, 2(10), e0000313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000313
Saeed, S. A., & Masters, R. M. (2021). Disparities in health care and the digital divide. Current Psychiatry Reports, 23(9), 61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-021-01274-4
Sigma Membership
Beta Beta (Dallas)
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Secondary Analysis
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Primary Care, Public and Community Health, Patient-Professional Relations, Oral Communication, Patient Experience, Medical Care Use, Telemedicine, Patient-Centered Care
Recommended Citation
Shin, Chanam; Guffey, Thomas; and Kim, Mijin, "Patient-Provider Communication Matters in Telehealth Use" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 256.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/256
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-05
Patient-Provider Communication Matters in Telehealth Use
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Introduction: Telehealth use has rapidly expanded health care access and reshaped patient-provider interactions. Evidence shows that telehealth can be influenced by communication quality between patients and providers. However, little is known about how patient-provider communication relates to telehealth use among minority ethnic populations.
Purpose: This study was to examine associations between patient-centered communication and telehealth use in Asian Americans.
Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey 6 data. A total of 265 adults who identified as Asian American were included. Telehealth use was assessed by asking respondents if they used telehealth in the past 12 months. Patient-centered communication was assessed by seven items. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regressions were used for data analysis.
Results: A half of the sample were men (53%), with a mean age 41 (±4.6). Providers’ recommendation was the most common reason (65%) for choosing to use telehealth. Less than half (42%) reported telehealth use within the last year. The mean score of patient-centered communication was higher among telehealth users compared to non-users (20.6 vs. 13.1, p< .001). The adjusted logistic regression model identified that individuals with better communication with providers tended to use telehealth more (AOR=1.02, 95% CI:1.01-1.05). In addition, individuals diagnosed with depression (AOR=4.66, 95% CI:1.45-14.97) and those who resided in the West region were more likely to use telehealth (AOR=3.42, 95% CI:1.39-8.43). In contrast, men (AOR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.12-0.54) and individuals with an income of $20,000-$35,999 (AOR=0.13, 95% CI: 0.02-0.84) were less likely to use telehealth.
Conclusion/Implications for Nursing Practice: The study findings highlight that not only recommendations of providers but quality communication with patients may enhance telehealth use, while persistent disparities exist in telehealth use. To ensure equitable telehealth delivery, nurses need to assess and mitigate any barriers to quality communication between patients and providers in telehealth. Also, telehealth-specific communication strategies tailored to individuals who tend to use telehealth less should be developed and implemented. Future research using mixed methods and longitudinal designs is recommended to clarify causal pathways of telehealth use.
Description
We examined associations between patient-centered communication and telehealth use in Asian Americans by using the Health Information National Trends Survey 6 data. Patient-centered communication was positively associated with telehealth use, while disparities exist in telehealth use. To ensure equitable telehealth delivery, nurses need to assess and mitigate barriers to quality patient-provider communication and should develop and implement telehealth-specific communication strategies.