Overview of barriers to healthcare access: Medical deserts and individual sandboxes

This mini-review examines review studies on barriers to healthcare access in "medical deserts"-regions with limited healthcare resources-and "individual sandboxes," personal or societal factors preventing care-seeking. Relevant reviews published after 2010 were included, identified through a search on PubMed. The selection resulted in a sample of 18 review studies. An overview of the review studies was conducted, thematically analyzed, and subsequently placed within a context of eHealth with a question, how can eHealth services solve the challenges, in what are called here, medical deserts and individual sandboxes. The data revealed geographical, individual, and resource-based barriers to healthcare access. In the context of eHealth solutions, their potential is particularly recognized in primary care, mental health, and culturally sensitive settings. For medical deserts, in addition to staff-attracting strategies such as incentives for healthcare workers, telemedicine solutions and AI-driven scheduling can improve service availability. In individual sandboxes, eHealth has a unique advantage in reducing participation barriers and addressing cultural needs, thereby enhancing healthcare inclusivity and accessibility. eHealth solutions hold significant promise in regular consultations and psychotherapy, as well as in addressing the healthcare needs of multicultural and diverse populations. AI assistance, then, offers significant potential to enhance the effectiveness of healthcare service provision in medical deserts, contingent upon financial feasibility. However, for these solutions to be effective, healthcare staff must receive education and training on how to integrate and utilize new-generation technologies in their daily practices, ensuring that they can fully develop and optimize their work.