Table 3.

Firth logistic regression analysis of correlation of telemedicine use for rural residents in Guangdong Province, China (N=2101).

Characteristic and category				Crude ORa (95% CI)		P valueb		aORc (95% CI)d		P valuee
Macrocontext factor
	Per-capita GDPf of each county (Chinese yuan renminbi)
		<25,000 (US $3623)	Refg		.78		N/Ah		.92
		≥25,000 (US $3623)	1.16 (0.41-3.22)		.78		0.95 (0.33-2.75)		.92
	Distance from village to the town hospital (km)
		<5.0	Ref		.94		N/A		.80
		≥5.0	0.96 (0.35-2.64)		.94		1.13 (0.40-3.29)		.80
	Distance from village to the most frequently visited county hospital (km)
		<35.0	Ref		.27		N/A		.15
		≥35.0	0.55 (0.19-1.58)		.27		0.43 (0.14-1.34)		.15
	Being close relative of the village doctor
		No	Ref		.62		N/A		.63
		Yes	0.49 (0.03-8.25)		.62		0.50 (0.03-8.41)		.63
	Number house calls by village doctors in the past year
		None	Ref		.27		N/A		.20
		1-3	1.58 (0.39-6.42)		.27		1.12 (0.24-5.31)		.20
		≥4	2.59 (0.80-8.41)		.27		2.69 (0.83-8.76)		.20
Household-level factor
	Family size (number of family members)
		1	Ref		.47		N/A		.76
		2	2.64 (0.14-50.91)		. 47		2.36 (0.12-46.06)		.76
		3-5	2.29 (0.12-44.27)		. 47		2.01 (0.10-39.65)		.76
		>5	4.81 (0.28-83.93)		. 47		3.42 (0.19-62.80)		.76
	Financial situation (wealth index)
		<20%	Ref		.09		N/A		.11
		20%-40%	4.48 (0.76-26.56)		.09		4.44 (0.74-26.31)		.11
		40%-60%	0.33 (0.01-8.00)		.09		0.29 (0.01-7.17)		.11
		60%-80%	1.00 (0.10-9.68)		.09		0.21 (0.09-8.33)		.11
		≥80%	4.34 (0.73-25.79)		.09		3.06 (0.49-19.30)		.11
	Family in poverty registration
		No	Ref		.54		N/A		.42
		Yes	1.45 (0.44-4.81)		.54		1.63 (0.49-5.53)		.42
Individual sociodemographic factor
	Householder
		No	Ref		.80		N/A		.86
		Yes	0.84 (0.21-3.32)		.80		5.53 (0.18-7.69)		.86
	Age (years)
		Continuous	0.98 (0.95-0.99)		.16		0.98 (0.25-1.01)		.15
	Sex
		Male	Ref		.86		N/A		.80
		Female	0.90 (0.27-3.03)		.86		0.85 (0.25-2.89)		.80
	Education level
		Junior high school or below	Ref		.50		N/A		.73
		Senior high school or above	1.48 (0.48-4.53)		.50		1.23 (0.38-4.01)		.73
	Use of any medical insurance programs
		No	Ref		.29		N/A		.27
		Yes	0.40 (0.07-2.18)		.29		2.64 (0.07-2.10)		.27
Access to digital health care
	Having smartphone or computer
		No	Ref		.08		N/A		.14
		Yes	4.43 (0.83-24.05)		.08		3.71 (0.64-21.32)		.14
	Can be connected to the internet
		No	Ref		.13		N/A		.22
		Yes	2.89 (0.73-11.36)		.13		2.46 (0.58-10.38)		.22
	Someone can help to use the internet in the family
		No	Ref		.65		N/A		.56
		Yes	1.27 (0.45-3.53)		.65		1.36 (0.48-3.90)		.56
Health needs and demand of family members
	Hypertension
		No	Ref		.06		N/A		.17
		Yes	0.38 (0.14-1.05)		.06		0.46 (0.15-1.40)		.17
	Diabetes
		No	Ref		.38		N/A		.26
		Yes	0.61 (0.20-1.82)		.38		0.49 (0.14-1.68)		.26
	Diarrhea in the past year
		No	Ref		.46		N/A		.36
		Yes	1.46 (0.53-4.06)		.46		1.63 (0.57-4.71)		.36
	Cough or runny nose in the past year
		No	Ref		.59		N/A		.46
		Yes	0.76 (0.27-2.10)		.59		0.67 (0.23-1.92)		.46
	Fever in the past 2 weeks
		No	Ref		.001		N/A		.001
		Yes	6.42 (2.10-19.69)		.001		6.96 (2.20-21.98)		.001
	Frequency of the county hospital visit in the past year
		None	Ref		.34		N/A		.60
		Once	0.68 (0.12-3.86)		.34		0.70 (0.12-4.01)		.60
		≥Twice	1.52 (0.49-4.76)		.34		1.62 (0.51-5.10)		.60
	Frequency of the town hospital visit in the past year
		None	Ref		.44		N/A		.48
		Once	2.41 (0.63-9.21)		.44		2.27 (0.59-8.76)		.48
		≥Twice	N/A		.44		1.26 (0.38-4.14)		.48
	Frequency of the village clinic visit in the past year
		None	Ref		.29		N/A		.41
		1-3 times	0.15 (0.01-2.51)		.29		0.17 (0.01-2.89)		.41
		≥3 times	0.57 (0.20-1.67)		.29		0.68 (0.23-2.01)		.41

^aOR: odds ratio.

^bP value for penalized likelihood-ratio test of univariate model.

^caOR: adjusted odds ratio.

^dAdjusted odds ratio: marginal effect adjusted for age and sex in the multivariate logistic model.

^eP value for likelihood-ratio test of multivariate model.

^fGDP: gross domestic product.

^gRef: Reference value.

^hN/A: not applicable.