Association Between Broadband Capacity and Social Vulnerability Factors in the United States: A County-Level Spatial Analysis

Abstract

This study evaluated relationships between county-level social vulnerability and broadband access using spatial clustering and regression approaches. County-level broadband availability (Federal Communications Commission [FCC] and Microsoft; 2019–2020), social vulnerability (COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index [CCVI]; 2020), and primary care access (Area Health Resource File; 2019–2020) data sets were used. Two measures of broadband availability were considered: (1) Microsoft system-reported proportion of county population with broadband and (2) difference in FCC-reported and Microsoft-reported proportions of county population with broadband. Cluster maps were constructed using local Moran's I, and spatial Durbin models were estimated using primary care shortage designation and CCVI themes (socioeconomic status, minority status, housing/transportation/disability, epidemiological risk, health care system, high-risk environment, and population density). Among 3102 counties, county-level broadband coverage varied widely between Microsoft (0.39) and FCC (0.84), with greater coverage in the East and West, and larger discrepancies between FCC and Microsoft data in the South and Appalachia. In spatial regressions, a one-point increase in socioeconomic status vulnerability (0—least; 10—most vulnerable), was associated with a 2.0 percentage point (pp) reduction in broadband access (P < 0.001). Similar inverse relationships were observed with housing, epidemiological, and health care system variables. There were greater divergences between FCC and Microsoft measures with each one-point increase in socioeconomic status (1.4 pp), epidemiological risk (0.6 pp), and health care system (0.7 pp) vulnerability. More vulnerable counties had lower broadband and larger divergences between FCC and Microsoft data. Broadband is necessary for utilizing telehealth services; careful considerations in measuring broadband access can facilitate policies that improve equitable access to care.