Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41425859›Full record

ArticleCogent gerontology2024

Can telemedicine reach rural, older veterans on the edge of or caught in the digital divide? - Unique considerations for two distinct populations.

Kathryn A Nearing, Eileen M Dryden, Camilla B Pimentel, Laura M Kernan, Stephanie Hartz, Lynette Kelley, Hillary D Lum, William W Hung, Meaghan A Kennedy, Lauren R Moo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cogent gerontology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing 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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. "Kind of Feel Like the Lone Outpost": A Qualitative Exploration of Barriers to Professional Development for Rural Primary Care Providers at the Veterans Health Administration.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
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

10 authors.

Kathryn A NearingEastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Aurora, CO, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1922-7320
Eileen M DrydenCenter for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA.
Camilla B PimentelCenter for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, USA.
Laura M KernanDepartment of Orthopaedics, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire, Lebanon.
Stephanie HartzEastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Aurora, CO, USA.
Lynette KelleyEastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Aurora, CO, USA.
Hillary D LumDivision of Geriatric Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA.
William W HungBronx Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Meaghan A KennedyNew England Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.
Lauren R MooNew England Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2951-8674

Funding

HSRD VA I01 HX001710
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

GRECC Connect, a national program with interprofessional teams at urban-based VA medical facilities, partner with VA community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) to provide geriatric specialty care via telemedicine to rural, older Veterans. Our QI project explored factors affecting program uptake. February-May 2020 we conducted 50 interviews with CBOC staff across the US; 60-80% of patients were rural/highly rural older Veterans. CBOC staff described social determinants of health negatively impacting telemedicine access. Patients on the edge of the digital divide were at risk of diminished access due to changes in physical, cognitive or emotional health and/or socio-economic status. CBOC staff also described highly rural Veterans caught in the digital divide, without access to reliable internet, devices or computer knowledge/skills; included in this subgroup were Veterans staff described as 'off the grid' due to histories of trauma resulting in mental/physical health challenges, distrust of institutions and technology, and desire for geographic/social isolation. This work differentiated rural, older Veterans GRECC Connect served through telemedicine, from those CBOC partners struggled to reach, even by phone. This digital divide may grow given the aging population. Unique contextual factors influencing telemedicine use among older adult populations are important to elucidate to inform structural supports for enhanced access.

Indexed as

digital dividegeriatricsruralsocial determinants of healthTelemedicineVeterans

Identifiers

PMID41425859
PMCPMC12716358

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.