Abstract
Access to good healthcare is a key determinant of health and those in the rural setting often struggle to access such healthcare. Telehealth is an evidence-based tool that can be used to bridge the gap of access to healthcare for rural health consumers. However, research has identified multiple barriers to its use for such populations. This review casts a broad net to capture documented barriers to the use of telehealth from both providers and health consumers in a variety of rural settings around the world. Utilising the Braun and Clarke method of thematic analysis, results were synthesised from a variety of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods papers. Results were grouped into three main themes. Under the theme of technology and tools, barriers included poor quality and unreliable telecommunication connections, unreliable power supplies and an additional strain on staffing levels and training availability. The theme of human factors produced results that pointed towards concerns around clinical safety, privacy, confidentiality and a preference for face-to-face conversations all as barriers. Under the final theme of understanding of telehealth barriers were discussed that included concerns around a lack of experience with telehealth for both providers and consumers as well as a lack of experience in the use of the associated technology for some rural consumers. This research represents a broad insight into such barriers, insight that can be utilised by health care planners to provide telehealth services that are as accessible as possible to rural communities.