HONOLULU — The “digital divide” separating society's haves and have-nots may not be as deep as many fear, according to a study of 120 parents of adolescent patients and the patients themselves.
In a survey, more than 60% of parents and adolescents of low socioeconomic status from one Boston pediatric practice indicated a willingness to contact physicians via e-mail if given the option, according to Dr. Tarissa Mitchell of Boston Medical Center.
Among respondents, 66% said they had access to e-mail and/or computers at home. But only 19% of the parents had their health care provider's e-mail address, and only 3% had ever used e-mail to contact their provider.
Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Shikha G. Anand of the Whittier Street Health Center, Roxbury, Mass., conducted a convenience sample survey over a 4-month period at a community health center of 120 parents of adolescent patients and the adolescent patients.
All adolescent patients surveyed were above the age of 13. At that center, five pediatric providers serve 3,876 low socioeconomic status children, 84% of whom are publicly insured and 82% of whom self-identify as black or Hispanic.
Compared with respondents without e-mail availability at home, those with home e-mail availability were significantly more willing to contact their physicians: 77% vs. 33%. And respondents who used e-mail more frequently also were significantly more willing to contact their provider this way. For example, among respondents whose e-mail was always on, 89% were willing to e-mail their physicians. This declined to 60% among respondents who used e-mail only weekly and to 43% of those who used e-mail monthly or less frequently than that, Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Anand wrote in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
Only 13% of the respondents stated that they would never use e-mail. The most common reason given was a desire to telephone the office, but they also cited lack of access to e-mail, difficulty with the English language, concerns over bothering the doctor with e-mails, and an expectation of slower response time.
In addition, 33% of the entire survey population expressed concern that e-mail may not be private and could be reviewed by individuals other than their health care provider.
Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Anand stated that they had no conflicts of interest related to this presentation.