Public Health Informatics

June 22, 2015Walden University

Course #: HINF-6960Course Title: Scholarly ProjectPrepared By: Edward Gilman

IntroductionThis scholarly project (SP) presentation certifies the requirement for students earning their Masters of Science degree in Health Informatics at Walden University. The topic for my Scholarly Project is: Public Health Informatics. This SP presentation reviews the following: The Definition of Public Health Informatics. History of Public Health Informatics (PHI). Public Health: Challenges and Solutions Partnership Between Primary Care and Public Health. Global Public Health Surveillance.

Public Health Informatics

“Is the systematic application of information and computer science and technology to public health practice, research, and learning.”

(Yasnoff et al. 2001).

The History of Public Health InformaticsIn 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) partnered with the University of Washington (UM) School of Public Health Community Medicine to develop a training resource for a new unknown field known today as Public Health Informatics (PHI).

The CDC-UW public health information training resource was originally developed to:

Support public health statewide immunization registries.

Hannah & Ball (2003)

WHO Collaborating Center for Public Health

InformaticsAs a WHO Collaborating Center (WHO-CC) for Public Health Informatics, Global Public Health Informatics Program (GPHIP) assist countries in meeting a range of global health goals and objectives. The program is focused on:

Applying effective Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Public Health Informatics (PHI) to Global health information systems.

www..cdc.gov/global-public-health

Public Health“Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of families and communities through promotion of healthy lifestyles, research for disease and injury prevention and detection and control of infectious diseases” (CDC.gov)

Public Health System

Challenges to Public Health

Bioterrorism preparedness and response.

Increasing antibiotic resistance.

Emerging infectious diseases.

Partnerships and Coordination.

Community Awareness.

Evidence-based prevention strategies.

Solutions to Public Health

Prevent disease outbreak and injury.

Promote community wellness.

Protect the personal, community and environmental health of all individuals served.

Developing a competent public health workforce.

Reported data must be complete and timely.

Partnership Between Public Health And

Primary CarePublic health and primary care are viewed as two distinct entities providing complementary services within the health care system – Lévesque et al (n. d)

Public health and primary care in partnership can accomplish the following: Set goals

Coordinate the planning and development of health information systems.

Conduct surveys of needs, access, use, and adequacy of care.

Enhance the monitoring and regulations of needs, access, and adequacy.

Evaluate the results in terms of changes in health needs, effectiveness, attainment of equity in services and in patient health.

- Starfield (2003)

Global Public Health

SurveillanceThe new International Health Regulations adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2005 known as : “IHR 2005”, constitutes a major advance in global surveillance.

Public health surveillance is “the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of outcome-specific data for use in the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice.”

The Purpose of the IHR 2005 is to:

Prevent

Protect against

Control

Facilitate public health responses to the International spread of disease.

- Baker & Fidler+ (2006)

Steps in a Surveillance System

www.cdc.gov

Ebola Surveillance

www.googgle.com/search?q=ebola+surveillance+image&biw=1669&bih=1040&tbm=isch=img

ConclusionData and information have always been very critical to the mission and operations of Public health. Many heath departments lacks the informatics capabilities to: Receive Use Send digital data

Public health needs to receive the appropriate financial investments or meaningful use incentives, that would support the need for information technology to improve public health practice and population heath outcomes.

ReferencesBaker, M. G. & Fidler,+ D. P. (2006) Global Public Health Surveillance under the New International Health Regulation Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PMC/Center for Disease Control and Protection Retrieved from www.cdc.govEbola Surveillance (2014) Retrieved from www.google.com/search?q=ebola+surveillance+image&biw=1669&bih =1040&btw=isch=im Hannah, K. J. & Ball, M. J. (2003) Health Informatics (Formerly Computers in Health Care) Retrieved from www.link.springer.com/content/pdf/bfm%3A978-1-4116-2%2F1.pdfLévesque, J_F., Breton, M., Senn, N., Lévesque, P., Bergeron, P. & Roy, D. A. (n. d) The Function of Public Health and Primary Care: Functional Roles and Organizational Models that Bridge Individual and Population Perspectives Retrieved from www.publichealthreviews.eu/uploads/pdf_files/13/00_Levesques.pdf

ReferencesStarfield, B. (2003) Public Health and Primary Care: Challenges and Opportunity

for Partnerships Retrieved from www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/

johns-hopkins-primary-care-policy-center/Publications_PDFs?E44.pdf

Yasnoff, W. A., Overghage, J. M., Humphreys, B. L., & LAVenture, M. (2001) A National

Agenda for Public Health Informatics Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

PMC/article/PMC/130064/

Patients Change – Populations change