Factors affecting cancer patients' electronic communication with providers: Implications for COVID-19 induced transitions to telehealth.
Qiwei L Wu, Richard L Street
PMID 33036815WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer survivors who already sought health information online or tracked health data were more likely to message providers.
Better past communication also mattered, but age, gender, race and health status did not once technology use was considered.
Key findings
01Cancer survivors who sought health information online were more likely to use electronic communication with providers.
02In the first model, education was the only demographic or health factor that predicted electronic communication.
03About 42% of respondents had not used any electronic communication with providers in the past year.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Cross-sectional survey, so associations cannot show causation. Did not assess live telehealth visits or attitudes toward synchronous visits; findings are about asynchronous e-communication. Did not measure internet access or quality. Exploratory secondary analysis of 2018 pre-COVID data, not COVID-era telehealth. Outcome was self-reported texting, emailing, and sharing information, not clinical outcomes. Sample was mostly female (58%) and White (81.1%), and many reported good to excellent health, so it may not represent sicker or less digitally connected cancer patients.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that helping patients use online health information will cause them to use telehealth. The study is cross-sectional and did not assess live telehealth visits, internet access, or cancer outcomes.