Distance learning: health education for ninth-grade students

A telehealth programme for schools was established by staff at the East Car olina University schools of nursing, health education, social work, nutriti on, education and medicine, in conjunction with the Eastern Area Health Edu cation Center. A health education curriculum was developed for rural high s chools using the North Carolina Information Highway for delivery. A Web pag e provided additional resources for teachers, teenagers and health professi onals. Four telehealth sessions were conducted over three years: two with t he pilot school and two with a second school on-line simultaneously. A tota l of 76 ninth-grade students completed the courses. Evaluation indicated su ccessful outcomes in student learning. Respondents to a follow-up survey of members of the first telehealth class had positive comments about the expe rience. Utilization of the Web page increased steadily from 1997.