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Author Credentials

Raj Singh, MSIII, Mohit Harsh, MSIII, Keegan Mullins, MSIII, Brian Dunlap, MD, Jennie L. Yoost, MD

Keywords

Tele-education, reproductive health, sex education, contraception, sexually transmitted disease prevention

Disciplines

Educational Methods | Health and Physical Education | Public Health Education and Promotion | Women's Health

Abstract

Introduction:

Telemedicine allows rural underserved populations access to medical resources that may not be available in their communities. Following promising results with a telemedicine project aimed at educating female students in McDowell County, West Virginia on reproductive health (RH) in 2015, we conducted a follow-up study including both male and female high school students during the 2016 school year.

Materials and Methods:

Telemedicine sessions on RH were incorporated into existing afterschool programs at two rural high schools. Students’ knowledge on RH was assessed via pre-test, immediate post-test, and 6-month post-test evaluations. RH was taught by medical students and faculty at a distal university.

Results:

77 students participated and 37 students completed a 6-month follow-up survey. Statistically significant increases in knowledge scores regarding both birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention were noted at 6-month follow-up. A larger proportion of students reported “always” utilizing birth control (35.3% vs. 64.7%) as well as condom usage (46.2% vs. 58.8%) at six months compared to before the intervention, but was not statistically significant. The intervention was rated as “effective” or “very effective” by 91.9% of participants, and 75.6% stated they were “very likely” to participate the future.

Discussion:

Telemedicine is a promising and sustainable tool in teaching RH to rural underserved areas.

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