Strengthening rural healthcare outcomes through digital health: qualitative multi-site case study

Abstract

Background Rural populations experience ongoing health inequities with disproportionately high morbidity and mortality rates, but digital health in rural settings is poorly studied. Our research question was: How does digital health influence healthcare outcomes in rural settings? The objective was to identify how digital health capability enables the delivery of outcomes in rural settings according to the quadruple aims of healthcare: population health, patient experience, healthcare costs and provider experience. Methods A multi-site qualitative case study was conducted with interviews and focus groups performed with healthcare staff ( n = 93) employed in rural healthcare systems ( n = 10) in the state of Queensland, Australia. An evidence-based digital health capability framework and the quadruple aims of healthcare served as classification frameworks for deductive analysis. Theoretical analysis identified the interrelationships among the capability dimensions, and relationships between the capability dimensions and healthcare outcomes. Results Seven highly interrelated digital health capability dimensions were identified from the interviews: governance and management; information technology capability; people, skills, and behaviours; interoperability; strategy; data analytics; consumer centred care. Outcomes were directly influenced by all dimensions except strategy. The interrelationship analysis demonstrated the influence of strategy on all digital health capability dimensions apart from data analytics, where the outcomes of data analytics shaped ongoing strategic efforts. Conclusions The study indicates the need to coordinate improvement efforts targeted across the dimensions of digital capability, optimise data analytics in rural settings to further support strategic decision making, and consider how consumer-centred care could influence digital health capability in rural healthcare services. Digital transformation in rural healthcare settings is likely to contribute to the achievement of the quadruple aims of healthcare if transformation efforts are supported by a clear, resourced digital strategy that is fit-for-purpose to the nuances of rural healthcare delivery. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-024-11402-4.