Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. To reduce person-to-person contact, the COVID pandemic has driven a massive shift to virtual care. Defined as the use of technology synchronous or asynchronous to support communication between health care providers and patients, rural-urban differences in virtual care are relatively unexplored.
The 2-fold purpose of this study was to examine rural and urban virtual care access, use, and satisfaction during the pandemic and to identify any unmet needs. This study was a cross-sectional online survey exploring virtual care among rural and urban adults in summer using a combination of fixed and open-ended response options. Quantitative data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, and qualitative data were analyzed using inductive thematic content analysis.
Overall, , The self-reported need for mental health programs and services increased during the pandemic, compared with prior for both rural and urban participants. Among virtual care users, interest in its continuation was high. When describing unmet needs, participants described a 1 lack of access to care, 2 limited health promotion and prevention options, and 3 lack of mental health service options. The increased demand for and use of virtual care may reflect increased availability and a lack of alternatives due to limited in-person services during the COVID pandemic, so a balance between virtual care and in-person care is important to consider postpandemic.
Further, ensuring availability of high-speed internet and education to support patients will be important for providing accessible and effective virtual care, especially for rural residents. Respecting no geographic boundaries, the pandemic has impacted both rural and urban populations. However, the pandemic was superimposed on well known urban-rural health and health service disparities.
Compared with their urban counterparts, rural dwellers experience poorer health and health behaviors, more chronic conditions, and shorter life expectancies and higher mortality rates [ 2 ]. These health inequities are systemic and avoidable differences in health that are caused by the unfair distribution of resources, wealth, and power in society [ 3 ] and reflect social and structural determinants of health, such as educational, financial, social, and geographical difficulties [ 4 , 5 ].
