Beyond Access: Telehealth Readiness, Trust, and Early Use Among Jordanian Patients with Chronic Illness

Background: Telehealth has expanded access to care for people with chronic diseases, but little is known about how patients in Jordan become activated, motivated, and ready to use these services, particularly during early adoption. Aim: To explore how patients with chronic diseases in Jordan describe their initial activation, readiness, and experiences with telehealth services. Methods: This exploratory qualitative study used interviews with 14 purposively selected adults with chronic diseases from three hospitals in Jordan. Data was analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-step thematic analysis. Results: Four interrelated themes emerged. First, patients valued telehealth for preserving independence and ensuring continuity of care, particularly by reducing reliance on family members for transportation to health facilities. Second, readiness was shaped by geography, mobility, and finances. Although telehealth reduced transport costs and lost wages, patients still had to pay for devices and internet access, creating an economic paradox for poorer patients. Third, participation was supported by families but hindered by low digital literacy, platform changes, and unstable internet connectivity. Fourth, trust in telehealth was conditional and depended on patients' perceptions of convenience and responsiveness. Conclusions: Readiness to use telehealth was relational, structural, experiential, and conditional rather than purely individual. Patients with chronic diseases in Jordan need hybrid care models that engage families and leverage affordable digital technologies to support sustained telehealth use for disease management.