Trends and geographic differences in social work telehealth utilization

ABSTRACT

We plotted trends in social work telehealth use among Veterans in a U.S. national social work staffing program and examined the relationship between geographic factors (rurality and neighborhood disadvantage) and telehealth use (audio and video) using linear probability models. Social work telehealth use increased among Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no geographic differences in telephone telehealth use. Video telehealth use was less common among Veterans in isolated rural areas and among Veterans in highly disadvantaged areas. Outreach efforts can address barriers that Veterans who live in rural and disadvantaged areas may experience in using video telehealth.

KEYWORDS:

• Telemedicine
• rural population
• neighborhood characteristics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Office of Academic Affiliation Advanced Fellowship in Health Services Research and Development (3K112021B). The Social Work Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) Staffing Program, as well as an independent evaluation of it, was funded by the VHA Office of Rural Health and implemented by the VA National Social Work Program. Evaluation activities were also supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Health Services Research and Development and Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (PEC 18-012).