Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of our sample sorted by participants’ use of telehealth services during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
| Variable | Accessed telehealth services (n=596) | Did not access telehealth services (n=773) | Overall (N=1369) | |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 46.2 (16.1) | 43.6 (17.0) | 44.7 (16.7) | |
| Age group (years), n (%) | ||||
|
|
18-25 | 76 (12.8) | 156 (20.2) | 232 (16.9) |
|
|
26-40 | 166 (27.9) | 206 (26.6) | 372 (27.2) |
|
|
41-55 | 152 (25.5) | 192 (24.8) | 344 (25.1) |
|
|
56-90 | 202 (33.9) | 219 (28.3) | 421 (30.8) |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
|
|
Male | 146 (24.5) | 287 (37.1) | 433 (31.6) |
|
|
Female | 433 (72.7) | 478 (61.8) | 911 (66.5) |
|
|
Other/prefer not to say | 17 (2.9) | 8 (1) | 25 (1.8) |
| Highest level of education completed, n (%) | ||||
|
|
High school or less | 68 (11.4) | 130 (16.8) | 198 (14.5) |
|
|
Certificate I-IV | 67 (11.2) | 73 (9.4) | 140 (10.2) |
|
|
University education | 461 (77.3) | 570 (73.7) | 1031 (75.3) |
| Number of chronic health conditionsa, n (%) | ||||
|
|
0 | 239 (40.1) | 436 (56.4) | 675 (49.3) |
|
|
1 | 188 (31.5) | 220 (28.5) | 408 (29.8) |
|
|
≥2 | 169 (28.4) | 117 (15.1) | 286 (20.9) |
| Mental health history, n (%) | ||||
|
|
Depression | 278 (46.6) | 193 (25.0) | 471 (34.4) |
|
|
Anxiety | 302 (50.7) | 232 (30) | 534 (39) |
| Self-reported general health, n (%) | ||||
|
|
Poor | 37 (6.2) | 9 (1.2) | 46 (3.4) |
|
|
Fair | 111 (18.6) | 76 (9.8) | 187 (13.7) |
|
|
Good | 226 (37.9) | 237 (30.7) | 463 (33.8) |
|
|
Very Good | 172 (28.9) | 321 (41.5) | 493 (36) |
|
|
Excellent | 50 (8.4) | 130 (16.8) | 180 (13.1) |
| Socioeconomic status, mean IRSADb quintile (SD) | 3.7 (1.4) | 3.7 (1.4) | 3.7 (1.4) | |
| Remoteness, n (%) | ||||
|
|
Major cities | 438 (73.5) | 589 (76.2) | 1027 (75) |
|
|
Other | 158 (26.5) | 184 (23.8) | 342 (25) |
| Adequate health literacyc, n (%) | 505 (90.3) | 665 (91.7) | 1170 (91.1) | |
| eHealth literacyd, mean (SD) | 4.2 (0.7) | 4.1 (0.7) | 4.2 (0.7) | |
| Patient activatione, mean (SD) | 74.7 (13.2) | 75.0 (13.4) | 74.9 (13.3) | |
| Cancelled/postponed an appointmentf, n (%) | 147 (24.7) | 125 (16.2) | 272 (19.9) | |
| Chose not to see a health professionalg, n (%) | 115 (19.3) | 104 (13.5) | 219 (16) | |
| Could not access telehealth servicesh, n (%) | 12 (2) | 7 (0.9) | 19 (1.4) | |
aChronic health conditions included respiratory disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
bIRSAD: Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage. In the IRSAD quintile [13], a score of 1 represents most disadvantaged and a score of 5 represents most advantaged.
cHealth literacy was assessed using the Newest Vital Sign [10]. Data were missing for 85 (6.2%) participants percent due to technical errors with the Qualtrics online platform.
deHealth [11] literacy was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. A higher score reflects a higher level of eHealth literacy.
eResults are based on the Consumer Health Activation Index [12]. A score of 0-79 indicates low activation, 80-94 indicates moderate activation, and 95-100 indicates high activation.
fRespondents who cancelled/postponed an appointment in the last 4 weeks because of COVID-19.
gRespondents who felt the need to see a health professional in the last 4 weeks, but chose not to.
hRespondents who needed access to a telehealth service in the last 4 weeks, but could not.