Advancing telehealth equity through digital health care literacy: Perspectives of speech-language pathologists in the US

PURPOSE: This study explores the impact of digital health care literacy of individuals with communication disorders on speech-language pathologists' intention to use telehealth. METHOD: A convergent mixed methodology design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 183 speech-language pathologists representing clinical, educational, and medical settings across the USA, while qualitative insights were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 25 participants. RESULT: > .05). Qualitative findings illuminated four interrelated themes, among these, organisational support and client characteristics emerged as particularly prominent factors influencing telehealth success. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that while speech-language pathologists recognise the value of telehealth, its effective implementation is constrained by digital health care literacy and technological readiness of clients.