Disability and Telehealth: Healthcare Access and Motivations

There has been a rapid increase in telehealth adoption in recent years driven by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic yet, there is much we do not know about the experiences with telehealth by people with disabilities. It is also unclear how the increasing shift to telehealth alters healthcare access for socially and economically disadvantaged groups. This paper analyzes survey research data on telehealth use and compares telehealth use patterns across groups with different types of disabilities. Convenience sampling was used to collect data via an online survey from 326 adults with various disabilities. Participants were recruited through the Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC), a national network of people with disabilities in the United States developed and maintained by researchers at Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Findings from this study can help inform policy related to telehealth and telehealth access.