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2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Digital Equity as a Pathway to Academic and Health Success – Lessons from Higher Education and Telehealth Initiatives

For many students and families, the digital divide is more than an inconvenience, it is a barrier to learning, health, and opportunity. In today’s classrooms, lack of laptops or reliable broadband access can mean falling behind in coursework. In many communities, the same lack of access can mean missing a doctor’s appointment or vital health information. This study examines how digital equity initiatives can simultaneously enhance academic success and health outcomes through integrated education and telehealth interventions. Guided by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework and Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory, the research analyzes a cross-sector digital inclusion initiative that provided laptops, broadband connectivity, and digital literacy training to underserved students and community residents. The paper follows a mixed-method approach which provides insights into digital equity. Data collection was facilitated through various means including questionnaire, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, stakeholder feedback and resident narratives. Quantitative analysis dealing with the numeric while qualitative framework employs an interpretive approach by exploring the effects of digital equity projects on academic engagement and health care outcome.
Observations indicate that improved access to digital resources increases student engagement, participation in telehealth services, and overall satisfaction with learning and health support programs. Findings reveal that broadband access was a statistically significant indicator of educational engagement with a P-value of 0.029 while access to laptop devices fell into a marginal range of 0.072. This indicates an obvious distinction between the necessity of a connection and the presence of a device. Further findings also show that students with broadband connections are significantly more likely to engage in telehealth services compared to those without such access. Students equipped with broadband internet are 5.23 times more likely to employ telehealth services than other students who lack such access, confirming that the presence of broadband multiplies telehealth use chances.

Authors
  1. Oluwafisayo Jessica Adeolu Morgan State University [biography]
  2. Oyinkansola Aladeokin Morgan State University [biography]
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