A comparative cross-sectional study on digital technology adoption and healthcare-seeking behaviour of rural households in South India

The rural healthcare system faces large gaps in terms of infrastructure, accessibility, and the lingering effects of socioeconomic inequality. Digital healthcare applications have emerged as a potential means of filling these gaps, making healthcare information, consultations, and services more accessible. However, there is a lack of evidence on how the adoption of digital technology affects the way in which individuals seek healthcare and their perceptions of their own health in rural settings. This study examines the differences in the ways in which individuals in rural South India utilize healthcare, interact with digital healthcare applications, are satisfied with digital healthcare applications, and perceive their own health status between adopters and nonadopters of digital technology. This study employs an analytical research design that uses a cross-sectional method. The research was conducted in four Indian states: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. A total of 2,872 households were surveyed, representing approximately 5% of the total eligible households. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured interview schedule. Ordinal logistic regression (OLR) is employed to examine the relationship between digital technology adoption and self-rated health status. The findings indicate that the adoption of digital technology is positively related to socioeconomic outcomes, including higher education, employment, and income. The choice of healthcare by the adopters differed across the states, where there was a greater preference for government healthcare facilities in Kerala and traditional medicine in Tamil Nadu and increased usage of private healthcare and telemedicine in other settings. The most widely used digital platform for health information is social media, whereas the utilization of digital health services remains relatively low. Satisfaction with digital health services is positive. Importantly, compared with nonadopters, the adopters of digital technology assess their health significantly better, which is a strong indication of an indirect relationship between access to digital technology and health. This study emphasizes the tremendous potential of digital health to enhance rural healthcare accessibility, but it also emphasizes the need to fill the digital divide by improving infrastructure, digital literacy, and policies to ensure equitable health outcomes.