Associations Between Sociodemographic Factors and Access to Select Digital Resources Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries in Nonmetropolitan Areas: A Cross-Sectional Study

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telehealth adoption, but disparities in digital access hinder its potential, especially for older adults in nonmetropolitan areas. This study examined associations between sociodemographic factors and access to select digital resources among nonmetropolitan Medicare beneficiaries. This cross-sectional study used the 2022 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Public Use File, including 1732 Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 in nonmetropolitan areas. The dependent variable of digital access was categorized as (1) access to both a computer/tablet and the internet, (2) access to either, and (3) access to neither. A survey-weighted multinomial logit model was conducted to examine associations between sociodemographic factors and digital access, with no access to either a computer/tablet or the internet as the reference category. Approximately 71.7% of nonmetropolitan beneficiaries had both computer/tablet and internet access, 14.4% had one or the other, and 13.9% had neither. About one-third of study beneficiaries lacked full digital access. Older age, male, minority race/ethnicity, lower education, and lower income were associated with reduced digital access among nonmetropolitan beneficiaries. Targeted interventions to expand digital access for these at-risk populations are needed.