ABSTRACT
Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a rapid adoption of telehealth consultations, potentially creating new barriers to healthcare access for racial/ethnic minorities. This systematic review explored the use of telehealth consultations for people from racial/ethnic minority populations in relation to health outcomes, access to care, implementation facilitators and barriers, and satisfaction with care.
Materials and Methods This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis and the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Five major databases were searched to identify relevant studies. Screening, full-text review, quality appraisal and data extraction were all completed independently and in duplicate. A convergent integrated approach to data synthesis was applied with findings reported narratively.
Results A total of 28 studies met the inclusion criteria. Telehealth-delivered interventions were mostly effective for the treatment/management of physical and mental health conditions including depression, diabetes and hypertension. In several studies, telehealth improved access to care by providing financial and time benefits to patients. Technological difficulties were the main barriers to effective telehealth consultation, although overall satisfaction with telehealth-delivered care was high.
Discussion Telehealth-delivered care for racial/ethnic minorities offers promise across a range of conditions and outcomes, particularly when delivered in the patient’s preferred language. However, telehealth may be problematic for some due to cost and limited digital and health literacy.
Conclusion The development and implementation of guidelines, policies and practices in relation to telehealth consultations for racial/ethnic minorities should consider the barriers and facilitators identified in this review to ensure existing health disparities are not exacerbated.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
None
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Yes
The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
n/a
All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived.
Yes
I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).
Yes
I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable.
Yes
Data Availability
Data is available upon request to authors