According to a recent NIH study, Spanish-speaking Americans are underserved by current telehealth platforms. The study concludes that an effective way for health care providers to promote more telehealth usage among Hispanics is to use platforms they already use (as opposed to the traditional “web portals” that most health care providers currently use).
Spanish-speaking Americans, unlike their English-speaking counterparts, frequently use WhatsApp. And, like their English-speaking counterparts, Spanish-speaking Americans are regular consumers of YouTube content. As such, the study concludes that an effective way of promoting telehealth usage within the Hispanic community is by way of Spanish-language video consultations on WhatsApp and Spanish-language content on YouTube.
WhatsApp is an excellent format for Spanish-language video consultations because the platform is stable, fast, and secure. What’s more, it allows doctors and patients to share images and documents seamlessly and securely while they chat.
YouTube is an excellent platform on which medical providers can post educational content that’s tailored to the Hispanic community. It’s a no-brainer…health care providers have been frequent publishers of English-language content on YouTube since its inception.
It’s worth noting that, although the NIH study doesn’t mention it, Instagram, like WhatsApp, is another platform that’s disproportionately popular among Spanish-speakers. Like WhatsApp and YouTube, IG can be an effective platform for breaking the Hispanic telehealth barrier.
