Attitudes of rural communities towards the use of technology for health purposes in New Zealand: a focus group study

OBJECTIVES: Examine attitudes to using online health and wellness services, and determine what barriers may exist to this in two rural communities in New Zealand. DESIGN: A thematic analysis informed by a social constructivist paradigm explored the attitudes of youth and adults to give voice to these communities. Eighteen focus groups—nine in each region—were held for an hour each, with between three and nine participants in each group. SETTING: Two rural areas at the Northern and Southern ends of New Zealand were chosen. In each area, we partnered with a local health centre providing primary care services. Three localities were identified within each region where we conducted the data collection. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were youth aged 12–15 years, aged 16–20 years and adults over 21 years. Overall, 74 females and 40 males were recruited. Recruitment occurred through schools, community organisations or personal contacts of the facilitators, who were youth workers in their respective communities. Ethnicity of the participants was representative of each area, with a higher percentage of Māori participants in Northland. RESULTS: Eight themes were identified which described participants’ attitudes to technology use in healthcare. Themes covered accessibility, cost, independence, anonymity and awareness issues: technology makes health information easily accessible; access to technology can be limited in rural communities; technology can reduce the cost of healthcare but it is too expensive for some; technology increases independence and autonomy of people’s own health; independent healthcare decisions come with risks; anonymity encourages people to seek help online; technology can help raise awareness and provide peer-support for people with health issues; technology impacts on social relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Participants—particularly youth—were generally positive about the role of technology in healthcare delivery, and interested in ways technology could improve autonomy and access to health and wellness services.