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Due to long-standing barriers to healthcare access in rural areas, telehealth has been promoted as an effective means of delivering healthcare services. However, there is a general absence of quantitative data showing how geographic residence and race affect telehealth adoption. This study examines variations in telehealth adoption based on race and geographic residence in Southern Illinois using a mail survey. It finds that residents of urban Carbondale, compared to those in rural Cairo, have better access to broadband and are more likely to use telehealth. Respondents significantly differ from each other based on their geographic location of residence and race when it came to using telehealth to save money on travel and to save money on childcare. A significant barrier to telehealth adoption identified across all groups is privacy protection concern. The findings highlight the crucial role of broadband infrastructure in healthcare access and the need for trust in telehealth systems to ensure data privacy. 

This study delves into the adoption and challenges of telehealth services in rural settings, examining racial and locational influences on usage. Employing qualitative methods, it draws on 30 detailed interviews with both healthcare providers and patients in two racially diverse, economically disadvantaged towns in Southern Illinois from fall 2021 to spring 2023. Our findings indicate that insufficient internet access and lack of necessary devices are significant factors in the reluctance of rural residents to embrace telehealth services. Additionally, this study reveals a major barrier: a deep-seated mistrust in the telehealth infrastructure's ability to safeguard private medical information. Notably, our results show that Black participants have heightened concerns regarding the health care industry's capacity to maintain the confidentiality of their medical data.