Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34435965›Full record

ReviewJournal of medical Internet research2021

Telehealth Interventions and Outcomes Across Rural Communities in the United States: Narrative Review.

Michael Butzner, Yendelela Cuffee

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 165 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
165citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

165 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Hospital Care at Home for Adults Living in Rural Settings: A Qualitative Evaluation.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026
    Trial
  10. Evaluating A Brief Telehealth Positive Parenting Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026
    Trial
  11. Family Check-Up Online: Effects of a Virtual Randomized Trial on Parent Stress, Parenting, and Child Outcomes in Early Adolescence.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026
    Trial
  12. Impact of Ostomy Self-Management Telehealth training for rural cancer survivors on health care utilization and economic outcomes in the United States.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2025
    Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

105 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Michael Butzner *Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-6015-7910
Yendelela Cuffee *Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7150-0086

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn rural communities, there are gaps in describing the design and effectiveness of technology interventions for treating diseases and addressing determinants of health.

objectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate literature on current applications, therapeutic areas, and outcomes of telehealth interventions in rural communities in the United States.

methodsA narrative review of studies published on PubMed from January 2017 to December 2020 was conducted. Key search terms included telehealth, telemedicine, rural, and outcomes.

resultsAmong 15 included studies, 9 studies analyzed telehealth interventions in patients, 3 in health care professionals, and 3 in both patients and health care professionals. The included studies reported positive outcomes and experiences of telehealth use in rural populations including acceptability and increased satisfaction; they also noted that technology is convenient and efficient. Other notable benefits included decreased direct and indirect costs to the patient (travel cost and time) and health care service provider (staffing), lower onsite health care resource utilization, improved physician recruitment and retention, improved access to care, and increased education and training of patients and health care professionals.

conclusionsTelehealth models were associated with positive outcomes for patients and health care professionals, suggesting these models are feasible and can be effective. Future telehealth interventions and studies examining these programs are warranted, especially in rural communities, and future research should evaluate the impact of increased telehealth use as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19TelemedicineHumansPandemicsRural PopulationSARS-CoV-2United StateseHealthhealth care accessibilityhealth outcomesrural healthsocial determinants of healthtelehealthtelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID34435965
PMCPMC8430850

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.