Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40692185›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association2025

Use of telehealth did not mitigate persistent disparities in prenatal care access among American Indian women in North Dakota.

Tara Stiller, Anna Charlotta Kihlstrom, Nishat Sultana, Grace Njau, Matthew Schmidt, Anastasia Stepanov, Andrew D Williams

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
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

7 authors.

Tara StillerDepartment of Indigenous Health, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
Anna Charlotta KihlstromDepartment of Indigenous Health, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
Nishat SultanaPublic Health Program, Department of Population Health, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
Grace NjauNorth Dakota Department of Health & Human Services, Bismarck, North Dakota, USA.
Matthew SchmidtNorth Dakota Department of Health & Human Services, Bismarck, North Dakota, USA.
Anastasia StepanovNorth Dakota Department of Health & Human Services, Bismarck, North Dakota, USA.
Andrew D WilliamsDepartment of Indigenous Health, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0411-3171

Funding

Stress and Health in American Indian PregnanciesP20GM139759 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA · PI STEELE, JOEL SUMMER · 2021 to 2025
$8.3M
Health DisparitiesNational Institutes of Health National Institute of General Medical Sciences P20GM139759NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM139759North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention G21.255 - COVID-19
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn North Dakota (ND), American Indian (AI) women face a persistent disparity in prenatal care (PNC) access compared to other women. During the COVID pandemic, the expansion of telehealth emerged as a potential solution to disparate access to health care. We examined whether telehealth use mitigated disparities in PNC in ND.

methodsData were drawn from the 2020 to 2021 ND Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (weighted n = 10,189). PNC initiation >13 weeks gestation or not receiving PNC was considered "late/no PNC." Maternal race/ethnicity was self-reported. Use of telehealth for prenatal visits was self-reported and categorized as "any telehealth use" versus "no telehealth use." Those not using telehealth self-reported eight barriers to telehealth (e.g., lacking internet, no appointments). Logistic regression estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for late/no PNC among AI and other race/ethnicity women compared to White women. Models included maternal sociodemographic and health factors. Chi-square was used to examine prevalence of telehealth barriers by race/ethnicity.

resultsCompared to White women, AI/AN women were twice as likely to receive late/no PNC (OR: 2.40; 95% CI, 1.08, 5.35). When telehealth was accounted for, the AI-White disparity was lowered by only 2% (OR: 2.35; 95% CI, 1.05, 5.26). Compared to White and other race/ethnicity women, a higher prevalence of AI/AN women reported a lack of telehealth appointments (p < 0.01), no computers (p < 0.01), no phones (p < 0.01), and no physical space (p < 0.01) as barriers to telehealth. DISCUSSION: The use of telehealth did not mitigate PNC disparities in ND. Infrastructure investments and culturally safe initiatives are needed to improve PNC access for AI/AN women.

Indexed as

Healthcare DisparitiesHealth Services AccessibilityIndians, North AmericanPrenatal CareTelemedicineAdultCOVID-19FemaleHumansNorth DakotaPregnancyYoung Adulthealth equityIndigenousmaternal healthrural health care barrierstelehealth

Identifiers

PMID40692185
PMCPMC12958325

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.