What is Health Literacy

This chapter examines how technology is supporting the health and health care system for rural/remote people, specifically telehealth and the Internet, with a focus on the Canadian context. I will begin by outlining the opportunities and the challenges that technology presents to rural people and communities. This is followed by highlighting the divide between rural and urban in the Canadian context, with a focus on inequities related to health. This is followed by exploring the role of ICTs in health and health care with a focus on changes in the Canadian healthcare system, telehealth and the Internet as a source of health related information. These issues are then examined through a rural lens, asking the question what, if any are the implications for rural people and communities. I end with a section of reflections followed by the conclusion that ICTs present new opportunities for rural people and communities, but if they are to be able to take advantage of these opportunities they must learn to develop the necessary capacities, both as individuals and as a community. Their challenge is a learning challenge.