2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Economic Payoff of Broadband Infrastructure on Telehealth Adoption and Healthcare Cost Savings: A Strategic Literature Review

Broadband infrastructure underpins contemporary telehealth, yet its economic value and educational implications are not well understood. This strategic literature review synthesizes 101 peer reviewed studies that link broadband availability, telehealth adoption, and healthcare cost outcomes in underserved and low access settings. Using a PRISMA guided search protocol and a structured coding template, the review maps how often broadband is measured, characterizes dominant telehealth modalities, summarizes cost related outcomes, and classifies both the strength of the broadband telehealth linkage and the direction of impact on underserved communities. Empirical evidence shows that adequate broadband is associated with higher telehealth utilization, reduced patient travel and time costs, and, in many contexts, lower use of high-cost acute care. At the same time, broadband is rarely modelled explicitly, formal cost benefit analyses are uncommon, and equity impacts are mixed.
The novelty of this work lies in combining economic and equity focused synthesis with an explicit framing of broadband enabled telehealth as a socio technical infrastructure problem for engineers and computing professionals. The paper translates the evidence base into design, policy, and curricular implications that can be embedded in engineering and computing programs, including case-based learning, project work, and capstone experiences around broadband constrained telehealth systems. In doing so, it offers the engineering education community a data informed context for teaching systems design, economic analysis, and equity centered innovation.

Authors

Johnson Boluwatife Odumosu Morgan State University
Julius Ogaga Etuke http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2710-2803 Morgan State University [biography]

Julius Ogaga Etuke is a seasoned civil engineer and Ph.D. Candidate in Civil Engineering at Morgan State University, where his research focuses on sustainable and resilient infrastructure engineering. With over 15 years of consulting and project leadership experience, primarily in Nigeria's infrastructure landscape, he brings a robust, practical perspective to academic inquiry. His doctoral research is at the cutting edge of transportation resilience, integrating virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), climate adaptation modeling, and data-driven solutions to improve disaster preparedness and risk mitigation in complex transportation systems. As a COREN-registered engineer and member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, his work emphasizes impactful research and consultancy that bridges structural design principles with urgent sustainability and resilience challenges.
Dr. Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E. Morgan State University [biography]

Dr. Oludare Owolabi, a professional engineer in Maryland, joined the Morgan State University faculty in 2010. He is the director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development, Smart Innovation and Resilient Engineering Research Lab, Department of Civil Engineering at Morgan State University
Dr. Uttam Gaulee http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3010-2812
Samuel Fakolade Morgan State University [biography]

Samuel Fakolade is a PhD researcher at Morgan State University, Maryland, specializing in civil engineering, infrastructure systems, and transportation engineering, with interdisciplinary research interests in digital equity and public service systems. His work focuses on digital health equity, telehealth systems, broadband accessibility, and technology adoption in underserved communities. His research examines household telehealth adoption, broadband-enabled healthcare access, and digital laptop adoption disparities in HBCU anchor communities. He uses data-driven approaches and systematic review methods to study how infrastructure and connectivity influence access to healthcare and education. With a professional background in structural engineering, infrastructure inspection, and construction project coordination, he combines practical engineering experience with policy-focused research. His broader academic interests include healthcare accessibility, digital inclusion, and equitable infrastructure development.
Dr. Olushola V. Emiola-Owolabi http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-8521-5769 Morgan State University [biography]

Olushola Emiola-Owolabi is an engineering pedagogy specialist, researching active learning in engineering classrooms and specializing in qualitative methods research on teaching and learning – particularly in remote synchronous learning environments.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026