Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Lim, Caroline

Abstract

Background: Immigrants in the United States continue to face barriers in accessing healthcare services which are rooted in systemic inequities, cultural disconnects, and language-related challenges. The growing presence of telehealth services has offered new opportunities to expand access, but it has also highlighted new barriers which are language proficiency and digital literacy which could increase the gap in services for already marginalized populations. These barriers are factors that influence outcomes such as delayed care, reduced preventative care, and overall poorer health outcomes. The Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Service Use (Andersen, 1995) provides a useful framework in understanding how predisposing, enabling, and need based factors like language proficiency and digital literacy influence usage of telehealth services among immigrants in the United States. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine whether English language proficiency and digital literacy are associated with the use of telehealth services among immigrants in the United States. Also, the study seeks to understand the lived experiences of immigrants who have navigated telehealth services before. The goal being to identify additional challenges and opportunities to improve usage and access of telehealth services. Methods: This study suggest a mixed-methods design guided by the Andersen Behavioral Model. Quantitative data will be collected from 150 immigrants using a self-report survey that includes demographic items, language proficiency scale, telehealth usage, and the Digital Health Care Literacy Scale (DHCLS). Participants will be recruited using convenience and snowball sampling through community organizations and social media platforms. Following the survey, about 10 participants will be selected to participate in a semi-structured in-depth interview to provide a deeper insight into their personal experiences with telehealth. The quantitative data will be analyzed through descriptive statistics and analysis while the qualitative data will be subject to thematic analysis to understand and make sense of the findings.

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