By Maura M. Thoenes, Jennifer N. Travis,

John C. Briggs, and George L. Ettel III

Monday, November 29, 2005, was no ordinary day at Saint Petersburg Catholic High School. In fact, the day became extraordinary only 10 minutes into the first period. Mr. Michael Anthony Cerio Jr., chair of the honors science department, asked us, "What is the difference between high school teachers and college professors?" Such a question, right after the Thanksgiving break, caught us off guard and left us wondering where this conversation was going! Eventually the "cat was out of the bag," and the answer of "research publication" hinted at our future project.

Despite a national push toward the use of health information technology (HIT), not much is known about the knowledge and use of these applications by high school students. At Saint Petersburg Catholic High School, we have partnered with academic researchers to provide teens' voices to the national HIT agenda. We have developed a survey to better understand high school students' knowledge and use of HIT applications. The possibilities of improved healthcare through technological advances are a double-edged sword. One advantage is the ability to access patient information anywhere and at anytime, thereby increasing quality of care. Alternatively, there are consequences and responsibilities that come with these advancements, such as information not being correct or confidential.

After school we met Dr. Donna Lee Ettel, who more thoroughly explained the purpose of the research project we would be co-investigating. We were both thrilled and surprised to learn that we would be earning 4 hours of college credit from the University of South Florida for this endeavor. Initially we read a number of articles about HIT that Dr. Ettel gave us. We learned that this is called a literature review, but it felt like preparing for any other paper due in high school. We then drafted the survey instrument. We wanted to focus on what we thought were the most important things to teenagers. Some of us had worked with surveys before because of work we do outside of school or our parents' occupation.

Next, we worked with Dr. Ettel to get some feedback from a number of experts, and then we revised the survey based on their comments. This survey includes information regarding HIT applications, such as teenagers' access to computers and Internet connectivity, types of health information sought, and the knowledge and use of personal health records. However, the road to developing the survey was not smooth, as we learned when we rushed to create our survey. Not only did we learn about the stresses of making a deadline, but also we were introduced to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirement process for approval, which is in alignment with the protection of human subjects in biomedical and behavioral research as outlined in the Belmont Report.

We have developed a cover letter and debated the logistics of how and when to administer the survey. As we write this article, we expect to receive IRB approval in time to field the questionnaire to our classmates at Saint Petersburg Catholic High School in January 2006. We anticipate that our findings will show an overall lack of knowledge about HIT applications but a willingness to learn and use this advancing technology.

We have already submitted an abstract to a professional conference (Pediatric Academic Society's annual conference) and hope for a favorable review so we can present our findings at San Francisco. Due to the support of Dr. Lisa Simpson, we look forward to presenting our results at the annual conference of the National Initiative for Children's Health Care Quality (NICHQ) in March. These findings will be instrumental in planning how to better inform students about HIT and to teach them how it will affect their lives in the future. Finally, we hope to have a voice in shaping the national HIT agenda. Next... WORLD PEACE!!!