Applied Public Health Informatics Curriculum
Overview of Ten Courses, Released September 2010
Prepared by Public Health Informatics Institute
and Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
I. Introduction to Public Health Informatics
II. Overview of Data Sources, Standards and Information Systems
III. Interpersonal and Organizational Communication
for the Public Health Informatician
IV. Project Management and System Lifecycle
V. Data Management and Enterprise Architecture
VI. Business Aspects of Public Health Informatics
VII. Information Security and Privacy; Legal and Ethical Issues
VIII. Applied Public Health Informatics Evaluation
and Research
IX. Information for Public Health Decision Making
X. Informatics in Support of Public Health Leadership
Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
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APPLIED PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATICS CURRICULUM
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPERS
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Kathy Miner, PhD, MPH
Melissa Alperin, MPH, CHES
Public Health Informatics Institute
Claudia W. Brogan, MSEd, Training Manager
Niki Buchanan, MEd, Project Manager
Bill Brand, MPH, CPHIE, Director of Programs
Copyright ©2011 Public Health Informatics Institute. All rights reserved.
We encourage further non-commercial distribution of this report, but all uses in any form, in any
quantity, or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – must
include the following attribution on all copies: “From Applied Public Health Informatics Curriculum,
Copyright 2011 by Public Health Informatics Institute. All rights reserved.”
About Public Health Informatics Institute
The Public Health Informatics Institute is a program of the Task Force for Global Health, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our staff is comprised of professionals in the areas of public health, healthcare
information systems and communications—all well-versed in the current and emerging issues facing
public health. The Institute is known for its expertise as a neutral convener of public health professionals
and their stakeholders, transforming health practitioners’ ability to apply information effectively in
order to improve health outcomes worldwide.
For More Information
The Public Health Informatics Institute
325 Swanton Way
Decatur, GA 30030
Claudia W. Brogan: 404-592-1445 Email: cbrogan@phii.org
Niki Buchanan: 404-687-5638
Email: nbuchanan@phii.org
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Module I. Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Description:
The purpose of this module is to provide students with foundational principles, tools,
methodologies, data sources, terminologies, and policy issues as they relate to the emerging
field of public health informatics. Current national e-health and health care reform priorities
and strategies, and their implications for public health, will be discussed. In addition, students
will review the historical and contemporary aspects of public health practice that have required
the development of public health informatics.
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Integrate knowledge about informatics into
the organization.
Learning Objective(s)
Define public health.
Describe the governmental system of public
health agencies and how they work together.
Define public health informatics.
Differentiate public health informatics from
other health informatics domains (biomedical, nursing, pharmacy, molecular, etc.).
Describe the historical roots of public health
informatics.
Articulate the value of public health
informatics to senior leaders within a public
health agency and to program managers and
staff.
Develop a working vocabulary of public health
informatics and information technology
terminology.
Support use of informatics to integrate clinical
health, environmental risk, and population
health.
Review the scientific and grey literature in the
public health informatics field.
Identify challenges that can be addressed with
public health informatics solutions.
Apply public health informatics principles,
tools, and methodologies that can address
population health programmatic needs.
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Communicate origin and role of standards
relevant to informatics projects and
information systems.
Describe the various types and purposes of
standards relevant to public health
informatics; e.g., content exchange,
vocabulary, transport, privacy and security.
Supports the development of strategic
direction for public health informatics within
the enterprise.
Describe the role of Standards Development
Organizations.
Describe national e-heath priorities and
strategies for improving population health
through health IT.
Support use of informatics to integrate clinical
health, environmental risk, and population
health.
Identify the local/state implications and
opportunities for public health of national ehealth priorities and initiatives.
Articulate one or more strategic goals and
programs of an agency.
Identify the types of applications, types of
data and sources of data needed to support
the selected goal or program strategic goal. ).
Implement solutions that ensure
confidentiality, security, and integrity while
maximizing availability of information for
public health.
Describe legal and ethical issues related to
public health domain, including privacy, data
exchange, and information security.
Organizing Themes:
Definition of public health informatics (PHI)
Integration of public health informatics into the public health system
Historical overview
Introduction to common PHI terms, tools, and methodologies
Key partnerships and stakeholders
Common problems and needs that PHI helps to address
National e-health agenda and how that impacts local/state public health agencies and the
development and success of PHI
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Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1997). Principles of community engagement.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/phppo/pce/)
Department of Health and Human Services. The ONC-Coordinated Federal Health Information
Technology Strategic Plan: 2008-2012. Synopsis. June 3, 2008. Available at:
http://healthit.hhs.gov. (Note: Periodic updates to the plan are anticipated.)
Identifying/analyzing food borne outbreaks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/foodnet/
Informatics at Local Health Departments: Findings from the 2010 National Profile of Local
Health Departments”, published by NACCHO July 2010. Available at www.naccho.org
Institute of Medicine. (2003). Who will keep the public healthy? Educating public health
professionals for the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Institute of Medicine. (2003). The future of the public’s health in the 21 st century. Washington,
DC: National Academies Press.
Koo D., O’Carroll P., LaVenture M. Public Health 101 for informaticians. J Am Med Inform
Assoc 2001; 8:585-597.
McNabb S.J., Koo D., Pinner R., Seligman J. Informatics and Public Health at CDC. MMWR 2006;
55(Suppl 02):25-28.
National Center for Health Statistics. (2009). Health, United States, 2008. Hyattsville, MD: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
O’Carroll, P.W., Yasnoff, W.A., Ward, M.E., Ripp, L.H., & Martin, E.L. (Eds.). (2003). Public health
informatics and information systems. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Scutchfield, F.D., & Keck, W. (2003). Principles of public health practice. Florence, KY: Cengage
Learning.
State Alliance for e-Health. Preparing to Implement HITECH: A State Guide for Electronic Health
Information Exchange. August, 2009. Available at
http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0908ehealthhitech.pdf
Yasnoff W.A., O’Carroll P.W., Koo D., Linkins R.W., Kilbourne E.M. Public health informatics:
improving and transforming public health in the information age. J Public Health Management
Practice 2000; 6:67-75.
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Portfolio:
The student will identify 1-2 public health issues/challenges, identify appropriate informatics
tools and/or approaches for addressing these issue(s), and describe how the tools and/or
approaches would be applied. This provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate
mastery of basic public health informatics vocabulary, concepts and theory. The example
chosen by the student can be use and built upon in later modules.
Considerations for Faculty:
If you have not identified pre-requisites for the students, you will likely have to present the
material from Module I to students with either no or little public health background (e.g., IT
staff), as well as to students with no or little IT background. Ensuring that students clearly
understand the foundational information in this module will help ensure an effective learning
situation for subsequent modules.
When defining informatics, make sure students can describe the ways in which informatics is
distinct from but supports both information technology and public health programs.
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Module II. Overview of Data Sources, Standards, and Information Systems
Module Description:
The purpose of this module is to provide students with an overview of current public health
data sources, standards and information systems. The students will learn to identify types and
sources of data, as well as their utility to public health. The student will be able to identify the
characteristics and features of applications and information systems that support point of
service, surveillance, response and population health activities. The student will learn the
features of effective public health information system design and best practices in integrating
and exchanging information across systems. Finally, students will learn to determine the role of
standards in enabling information exchange, interoperability, and basic architecture.
Recommended Pre-requisites:


Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Some familiarity with qualitative and quantitative data collection methods (e.g., surveys,
focus groups, interviews)
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Analyze user and stakeholder information,
knowledge, and data needs.
Learning Objective(s)
Differentiate among the various types of data,
data sources, applications and information
systems at the local, state, national, and
international levels.
Articulate the informatics aspects of some
common business processes used in public
health; e.g., case management, surveillance,
client registration, case investigation.
Identify stakeholder and user needs and goals
related to information and knowledge
management.
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Explain the informatics aspects of integrating
and exchanging data among clinical health,
environmental, public health and other sources
to improve population health.
Assess uses and value of different types of data
to answer public health questions.
Articulate the different uses of data for public
health, including anonymized, de-identified,
research, clinical, and secondary.
Differentiate among the various types of public
health applications and information systems
that operate at local, state, national, and
international levels and how they support and
advance public health programs.
Explain the need for interoperability of
different public health information systems at
all programmatic levels.
Use informatics standards.
Describe the role of standards in achieving
integration and interoperability.
Define the categories of standards identified by
the Office of the National Coordinator for
Health IT (content exchange; vocabulary;
transport; privacy & security), and list examples
of standards for each.
Identify informatics standards in use in various
projects, applications and information systems,
including where appropriate standards do not
exist.
Identify interoperability successes and barriers
when standards have been used in projects/
systems.
Implement selected standards according to
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approved implementation guides.
Identify gaps in standards development and
articulate how systems can be designed to be
adaptable as new standards emerge.
Contribute to development of public health
information systems that are interoperable
with other relevant information systems.
Define integration and interoperability.
Describe the requirements for exchanging and
integrating information across public health
programs and with other organizations.
Identify challenges in achieving interoperability
across systems.
Organizing Themes:
Types of public health data and data sources
Types of public health information systems
Public health data standards
Requirements and approaches to achieving system integration and interoperability
Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated guidelines for evaluating public health
surveillance systems: recommendations from the guidelines working group. MMWR 2001: 50
(No. RR-13).
Chute, C.G., Koo, D. Public health, data standards, and vocabulary: Crucial infrastructure for
reliable public health surveillance. J Public Health Management Practice 2002; 8:11-17.
Friedman, D., Parrish, R.G., & Hunter, E. (Eds.). (2005). Health statistics: Shaping policy and
practice to improve the population’s health, New York: Oxford University Press.
Health Information Technology Standards Committee. The official federal advisory body on
health standards. www.healthit.hhs.gov
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Health Information Technology Standards Panel. The Panel was formed for the purpose of
harmonizing and integrating standards to meet clinical and business needs for sharing
information among organizations and systems. www.hitsp.org
O’Carroll, P.W., Yasnoff, W.A., Ward, M.E., Ripp, L.H., & Martin, E.L. (Eds.). (2003). Public health
informatics and information systems. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Public Health Data Standards Consortium. Various publications and other resources on
standards used in public health. www.phdsc.org
Standards for Certification of Interoperable Electronic Health Records. www.healthit.hhs.gov
Teutsch, S.M., & Churchill, R.E. (Eds.). (2000). Principles and practice of public health
surveillance (2nd edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
Portfolio:
For an identified public health need, the student will write a descriptive analysis of a public
health information system, including the identification of data sources, actual or potential uses
of the data, relevant standards, any known privacy issues, and issues of interoperability with
other systems.
Considerations for Faculty:
Standards are a rapidly evolving domain. It would be important for students to be encouraged
to keep current from both a systems perspective as well as from the perspective of their
particular work environment. Many of the Resources listed above are good sources for staying
current.
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Module III. Interpersonal and Organizational Communication
for the Public Health Informatician
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to provide students with essential social interaction and
communication techniques. Students will learn to write, present, and convey public health
informatics content. Students will learn to communicate technical information, as well as the
added value of improving information management in public health practice. In addition,
students will learn the principles of mentorship, and be prepared to perform as a mentor or a
protégé. This course will focus on the communication skills to teach the Informatician how to
be the liaison among the program, scientific, and technical stakeholders so they can succeed in
understanding and using informatics.
Recommended Pre-requisite:
 Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Communicate with cross-disciplinary leaders
and team members.
Learning Objective(s)
Apply communication strategies in
interactions with individuals and groups.
Communicate numeric and visual information
orally and through electronic means, with
linguistic and cultural proficiency.
Summarize information that addresses the
audience using multiple modalities.
Illustrate complex concepts using diagrams,
illustrations and pictures.
Present demographic, statistical,
programmatic, and scientific information for
use by professional and lay audiences.
Apply user-centered design techniques to
determine information needs.
Solicit input from individuals and organizations
incorporating user centered design and
techniques.
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Conduct education and training in public
health informatics.
Maintain public health informatics
communication partnerships with key
stakeholders.
Develop informational and persuasive
briefs/presentations that translate public
health needs into informatics strategies and
recommendations.
Present public health informatics information
to lay and scientific audiences, regardless of
the information source.
Integrate knowledge about informatics into
the organization through theory-driven
educational approaches.
Ensure that knowledge, information, and data
needs of project or program users and
stakeholders are met.
Advance personal knowledge of public health
informatics by staying current with the
literature, attending conferences, and
participating in continuing education activities.
Establish linkages with key stakeholders.
Analyze user and stakeholder information,
knowledge, and data needs.
Identify strategies for engaging stakeholders in
defining informatics needs and solutions
related to addressing community health
problems.
Advance the profession and practice of public
health informatics through leadership and
mentorship.
Reconcile differences among stakeholders in
the development, implementation, and
operations of public health informatics
systems.
Establish mentoring, peer advising, coaching
or other personal development opportunities
for the public health workforce.
Contribute to the measuring, reporting and
continuous improvement of organizational
performance.
Modify organizational practices in
consideration of changes in the public health
system, and the larger social, political, and
economic environment.
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Organizing Themes:
Communication
Education and training
Stakeholder assessment and engagement
Professional development
Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Alley, M. (2008). The craft of scientific presentations. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap … and others don’t. New
York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Fisher, R. and Ury, W. (1991). Getting to yes. New York: Penguin Group.
Lorenzi, N. (2004). Managing technological change. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Ury, W. (1991). Getting past no. New York: Bantam Books.
Portfolio:
The student will develop a stakeholder engagement strategy that defines the information
needed to assess and/or intervene on a public health problem. This strategy will include the
identification of a community-based public health problem in need of an informatics solution,
identification of primary and secondary stakeholders, and recommended action steps to
engage the stakeholders in remediating the problem.
The student will select a public health informatics topic and develop a presentation (oral or
poster) for either a professional or lay audience.
The student will develop a lesson plan on a public health informatics topic.
Based on a personal experience in a mentoring relationship, the student will develop a case
study of how the experience advanced an individual’s career.
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Considerations for Faculty:
A variety of resources can be acquired to supplement the considerations listed here. According
to the faculty member’s determination of student learning needs, additional course-time can
be spent on important topics such as group dynamics and managing effective meetings.
Studying the “SBAR Technique” may be useful (clearly communicating “Situation—Background
– Assessment—Recommendation”), a framework for coordination among members of a health
care team. Concept maps are helpful techniques to include as well, explaining methods of
information management. The tool of Mind Mapping can help to visualize, structure and
classify ideas, and may be useful for informaticians when illustrating a set of related ideas.
The competencies for this type of course are project based, which typically require out of class
time to prepare and in-class time to present.
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Module IV. Project Management and Information System Lifecycle
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to provide students with information about the frameworks and
methods used in the design, management, and evaluation of information system lifecycles and
projects. Students will learn about ways to ensure that the milestones, change management,
and quality assurance procedures are in place to deliver the solutions to meet public health
needs. Students will learn techniques, resources, and tools that assist in the analyses and
documentation of workflows and business processes, which can be translated into
requirements for public health information systems.
Recommended Pre-requisite:

Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Ensure that knowledge, information, and
data needs of a project or program users
and stakeholders are met.
Learning Objective(s)
Articulate the business case/need for a public
health information system.
Analyze user and other stakeholder information,
knowledge, and data needs
Implement workflow analysis, business process
analysis and redesign, and other techniques and
methodologies to capture and translate the needs
of a public health program into system
requirements.
Establish ongoing structure and methods for
effectively engaging stakeholders in design,
implementation and enhancement decisions.
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Support information system development,
procurement, and implementation that
meet public health program needs.
Assess the needs and requirements of public
health stakeholders and end users to incorporate
in the system design.
Integrate public health system requirements into
information systems development, procurement,
and implementation.
Implement project management tools or
processes consistent with information system
needs.
Apply project and program management
frameworks and methods to public health
informatics initiatives.
Manage IT operations related to project or
program.
Manage project or program resources
Manage risks to information systems and
applications
Manage the budget, scope, schedule, and human
resources of a project.
Implement quality assurance controls to
ensure the successful IT adoption to meet
the needs of the public health
stakeholders.
Apply techniques and controls within a software
development lifecycle to ensure the success of a
public health solution.
Organizing Themes:
Project management
Business processes
IT operations
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Possible Textbooks/Reading/Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Unified Process for Project Management. Available
at http://www2.cdc.gov/cdcup/
Taking Care of Business, Public Health Informatics Institute, 2009. Available at www.phii.org.
Microsoft Project book and time in a lab to practice it (or some other software with this
functionality)
Portfolio:
The student will develop a business case or a request for proposal, define the best practices
and business processes and data needs; translate into functional and other requirements;
develop an RFP that vendors could respond to.
The student will identify and develop an informatics project for users and stakeholders, to gain
experience using basic informatics tools, such as: work flow process, business process analysis,
describing project and system requirements, identifying stakeholders (data, best practices, and
quality improvement).
The student will develop a project charter, project plan, and communications plan for a defined
informatics project.
Considerations for Faculty:
The informatician needs to be able to explain the principles, methodologies and tools of a
project manager. Some of this information may be found in disciples beyond public health
informatics.
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Module V. Data Management and Enterprise Architecture
Module Description:
The purpose of this module is to provide students with key data terminology, concepts, and
models and principles for data management, knowledge management, and enterprise
architecture within the context of public health. Students will learn to apply data design
methodologies. They will also learn to aggregate, normalize, integrate and analyze data from
multiple health environments. Finally, students will learn best practices and methodologies that
are used to architect interoperable or integrated public health information systems based on
use of standards and enterprise architecture.
Recommended Pre-requisites:


Module II: Survey of Data Sources, Standards, and Information Systems
Module IV: Project Management and Information System Lifecycle
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Support information system development,
procurement, and implementation that meet
public health program needs.
Learning Objective(s)
Identify the strengths and challenges
associated with qualitative and quantitative
data.
Participate/lead in development of knowledge
management tools for the enterprise.
Evaluate the characteristics and limitations of
data sources.
Ensure that knowledge, information, and data
needs of project or program users and
stakeholders are met.
Describe the difference among and between
data management, information management,
and knowledge management
Apply key data management information
models and principles.
Incorporate data governance concepts and
principles into the management operations
and enterprise architecture
Monitor the use of concepts and principles of
data architecture, analysis and design.
Monitor the use of key database management
concepts and principles.
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Monitor the use of data security management
concepts and principles.
Monitor the use of concepts and principles of
data quality.
Contribute to development of public health
information systems that are interoperable
with other relevant information systems.
Monitor the use concepts and principles of
data warehousing and data mining.
Apply formal data design methodology to
assure useable, useful, and sustainable public
health systems.
Identify interoperability concerns
Explain the best practices and methodologies
of to architect interoperable or integrated
public health systems.
Differentiate among the various types of data
and data sources at the local, state, national,
and international levels and how they support
and advance (or at times inhibit integration of)
public health programs.
Support use of informatics to integrate clinical
health, environmental risk, and population
health.
Explain the key concepts in aggregating,
normalizing, integrating, and analyzing data
from multiple health environments including
national datasets, clinical information systems,
and laboratories.
Organizing Themes:
Data governance in public health
Data architecture, analysis and design
Database management
Data security management
Data quality management
Data warehousing and mining
Enterprise architecture
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Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK), www.dama.org.
Institute for Enterprise Architecture Developments, Enterprise Architecture Overview, available
at http://www.enterprise-architecture.info/EA_Standards.htm
The Open Group Architecture Forum, available at http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/.
Portfolio:
For a selected public health information system (preferably working directly with a local or
state health department), analyze and document the current status and any concerns around
data design and architecture, data quality (e.g., completeness, accuracy, timeliness), and data
security (e.g., appropriate privacy protections, authentication, levels of access rights, audit
logs). Some of the data quality and types, standards, are covered in the Module II called Data
Sources, Standards, and Information Systems.
Considerations for Faculty:
The student need only be introduced to knowledge management in this module, in order to
understand how it fits with data management and enterprise architecture. A fuller exploration
and application of knowledge management will occur in Module IX called Information for Public
Health Decision Making. Keep in mind that the informatician Is not typically called upon to be a
system architect, database designer or security specialist, so the focus on your modules should
be around familiarizing the student with the key concepts and vocabulary so that the person
becomes an effective “bridge” between IT and programmatic staff.
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Course VI. Business Aspects of Public Health Informatics
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction to business practices
associated with public health informatics. Students will learn to plan for and manage fiscal and
operational resources in the midst of shifting budgetary environments. Students will learn the
various processes of resource acquisition, allocation, business case development, and business
plans. In addition, students will learn to procure information technology services in order to
purchase, develop, modify, and maintain public health information systems using systematic
decision-making methods.
Recommended Pre-requisites:


Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Module IV: Project Management and Information System Lifecycle
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Manage information system projects supporting
public health programs.
Learning Objective(s)
Develop business plan which specifies
resource allocation, staffing, and
sustainability for an informatics system.
Integrate public health system
requirements into information systems
development, procurement, and
implementation.
Incorporate into existing public health
informatics systems recent changes in
information standards, technologies, and product
support to enhance effectiveness and maximize
cost-effectiveness and lifespan of acquisitions or
builds.
Adhere to agency policies and procedures on
procurement, purchase and development of
public health informatics systems.
Develop strategies for adapting systems to
anticipated changes in informatics systems.
Calculate future cost estimates for
expected enhancements for system
updates.
Follow best practices and agency/
jurisdictional policies for developing a
request for information (RFI), request for
proposal (RFP), grant, contract, cooperative
agreement, and other fiscal arrangements.
Follow agency/jurisdiction’s policies for
issuing and making decisions regarding
RFPs for information systems and
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technology.
Perform research on potential vendors to
understand history, performance record,
capacity, ongoing commitment to and
development of the product line, and
feedback from other users.
Document all aspects of the acquisition
process and makes them transparent to the
public.
Award RFP, contract or cooperative
agreement for information systems and
technology.
Write Statements of Work (SOW) that
adhere to legal, contract, and performance
terms.
Identify how change management
principles and methods contribute to costcontrol and system stability.
Estimate cost for various types of
technology projects.
Articulate typical reasons for IT project
failures.
Evaluate IT operation’s performance
management techniques.
Manage vendor relationships and contracts.
Implement evaluation parameters for the
management of internal IT operations.
Implement evaluation parameters for the
management of IT operations by
subcontracted entities, recognizing
deviations from or need to amend
contracts.
Operate project within scope of allotted
resources (e.g., fiscal, human).
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Organizing Themes:
Statements of Work and/or Requests for Proposals
Vendor management
IT evaluation
Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
CDC Unified Project Management, available at http://www2.cdc.gov/cdcup/.
Batteries Not Included: Understanding the total cost of ownership for a commercial off-the
shelf public health laboratory information management system available at
www.phii.org/resources.
Portfolio:
Develop a business plan which specifies resource allocation, staffing, and sustainability for an
informatics system.
Develop request for proposal (RFP), grant contract, or cooperative agreement.
Respond to request for proposal (RFP), grant contract, or cooperative agreement.
Critique submitted responses to request for proposal (RFP), grant contract, or cooperative
agreement.
Create a library of sample charters, business processes, and RFP’s that users can pull from and
contribute toward.
Develop business plan for public health informatics solution.
Considerations for Faculty:
This course lends itself to a critique of a SOW or RFP currently in use by a public health agency.
The various IT programs within your institution undoubtedly have many excellent resources
around effectively writing and evaluating RFPs and proposals.
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Module VII. Information Security and Privacy; Legal, and Ethical Issues
Module Description:
The purpose of the module is to provide students with the ability to identify and apply
information privacy and security policies and practices to public health information systems.
Students will learn legal and ethical requirements necessary for protecting the privacy of
individuals and populations. In addition, students will learn legal issues around secure health
information exchange among disparate organizations.
Recommended Pre-requisites:


Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Module II: Survey of Data Sources, Standards, and Information Systems
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Implement solutions that ensure confidentiality,
security, and integrity while maximizing
availability of information for public health.
Learning Objective(s)
Describe legal issues around secure health
information exchange among disparate
organizations.
Describe the legal and regulatory
requirements necessary for protecting the
privacy of individuals and populations. (Ex.
HIPAA security standards, breach
notification rules)
Compare security and privacy options to
best meet specific public health informatics
systems.
Identify the most likely information security
threats in public health systems, and
appropriate remediation strategies.
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Apply security practices to prevent and mitigate
risks associated with public health informatics
systems.
Differentiate between and among security
risks to public health informatics systems.
Describe the procedures that reduce
security risks to public health Informatics
systems.
Ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and
reliability of informatics systems and data.
Develop strategies for keeping current on
the security procedures.
Apply ethical and legal considerations in the
evaluation of information security controls
and technologies.
Organizing Themes:
Privacy and Confidentiality
Information Security
Laws and Regulations
Ethics
Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Nationwide Privacy and
Security Framework for Electronic Exchange of Individually Identifiable Health Information.
www.healthit. hhs.gov
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. HIPAA Privacy Rule.
www.healthit.hhs.gov
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. HIPAA Security Rule.
www.healthit.hhs.gov
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Health Information
Security and Privacy Collaboration. www.healthit.hhs.gov
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HITECH Breach Notification Interim Final Rule.
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/coveredentities/
breachnotificationifr.html
Public Health Data Standards Consortium. PRISM, a privacy toolkit for public health
professionals. http://www.phdsc.org/privacy_security/prism.asp
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIPAA Privacy Rule and public health: guidance
from CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. MMWR 2003; 52 (suppl).
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Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). https://www.citiprogram.org/Default.asp.
Goodman, R.A. (2006). Law in public health practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stoll, C. (2000). Cuckoo’s egg. New York: Simon & Shuster.
Portfolio:
For a given public health information system, the student will identify security, privacy, legal,
and ethical issues.
The student will research a historical event where information security and/or privacy was
compromised and develop a plan for remediation of the situation.
Conduct a needs assessment, using quantitative (e.g., survey, technology observation) and/or
qualitative methods (e.g., focus groups, interviews), of security threats to an agency's system.
Considerations for Faculty:
Be sure the student can differentiate between privacy and security laws and regulations that
apply to healthcare entities and those that apply to public health, since they are different.
These differences can require surprisingly complex and nuanced policy analysis and
implementation. Since and security issues are widely seen as the Achilles Heel of health IT and
health information exchange, the instructor must ensure a deep appreciation in the student for
the importance and complexity of these issues in American culture.
Be sure that the student can explain privacy and security laws, as well as being able to
differentiate between regulations that apply to healthcare entities and those that apply to
public health. Distinguish these items with practical examples. These differences can require
surprisingly complex and nuanced policy analysis and implementation. Since privacy and
security issues are widely seen as the Achilles Health of health information technology and
health information exchange, the instructor must ensure a deep appreciation in the student for
the importance and complexity of these issues in the landscape of important issues today.
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Module VIII. Applied Public Health Informatics Evaluation and Research
Module Description:
The purpose of this module is to provide students with a foundation in the methods and
techniques for evidence-based practice of public health informatics. Students will learn to
critique the scientific and grey literature and to apply scientific evidence in the solution of
public health informatics challenges. Students will develop evaluation and research skills that
will allow them to use authoritative sources for information management strategies and to
apply established frameworks for the evaluation of public health information systems.
Recommended Pre-requisites:




Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Module II: Survey of Data Sources Standards, and Information Systems
Module V: Data Management and Enterprise Architecture
Module VII: Information Security, Privacy, Legal and Ethical Issues
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Evaluate information systems according to the
established frameworks.
Learning Objective(s)
Define the various types of applicable research
(action, applied, epidemiologic, evaluation,
qualitative, quantitative and others), and
when each is most appropriate.
Assess the usability of an information system
including improved effectiveness, efficiency
and satisfaction
Solicit feedback on technical solution
implementation to ensure results are
satisfactory to the data producer and public
health organization.
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Participate in applied public health informatics
research for new insights and innovative
solutions to health problems.
Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to
develop evaluation or research questions.
Critique public health informatics literature.

Participate in applied public health
informatics research.
 Apply informatics research to determine
how IT can change and improve public
health practice.
 Contribute to local, national, and
international public health informatics
research agendas and participates in
revising and setting these.
 Disseminate findings and contributes to
science.
Translate evaluation or research findings to a
public health informatics issue.
Conduct public health informatics evaluation
or research project.
Identify key informatics research issues,
including IRB, conflict of interest, data storage
and management, and reporting
requirements.
Describe the importance of leveraging
information from other systems for public
health.
Describe the importance of leveraging
information to improve healthcare, personal
health, and other systems.
Use research findings to evaluate an existing
information system, data management plan,
and/or enterprise architecture. Recommend
changes based on research and evaluation
findings.
Advance personal knowledge of public health
informatics by staying current with lay and
professional literature.
Identify the major health-related informatics
journals, conferences, and web sites.
Organizing Themes:
Translation of science into practice
Role of information systems in the management of research data
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Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Charles P Friedman, Jeremy C Wyatt. Evaluation Methods in Medical Informatics. 1997
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Sections on research, professional
development, public policy, and topics and tools. State chapters provide networking
opportunities for students. www.himss.org. (Student memberships available at discounted
rate.)
American Medical Informatics Association. Various publications and training programs; public
policy resources. www.amia.org (Student membership available at discounted rate.)
Michael Hammer. The Process Audit. Harvard Business Review. http://hbr.org/2007/04/theprocess-audit/ar/1
Craig Symons. Measuring the Business Value of IT. (2006) Forrester Research, Inc.
http://www.cornerstone1.com/SAP/SAP_Forrester_Measuring_the_Business_Value_of_IT.pdf
Portfolio:
The student will write a critical review of literature on a public health informatics topic.
The student will develop a research proposal suitable for submission to the university’s
Institutional Review Board.
The student will evaluate a public health information system based on a pre-defined
framework, and recommend policy, data management, architecture or other changes.
Considerations for Faculty:
This module is an opportunity to introduce students to the professional literature within public
health informatics and many students are unfamiliar by this type of reading material. The
learning objectives around using and critiquing the informatics literature can, of course, be
imbedded in any or all of the other modules. This module lends itself to being co-taught by
research faculty and a practitioner.
As with all the modules, an emphasis should be maintained on clarifying how data, information,
information systems and research findings can be applied to improve public health practice.
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Module IX. Information for Public Health Decision Making
Module Description:
The purpose of this module is to provide students with the basics of knowledge management
and decision support systems in public health. Students will learn how to categorize the
different types of decisions that are made in the practice of public health; that is, policy,
management, clinical, epidemiologic, etc. Students will also identify informatics tools needed
to support different decision types. In addition, students will learn about knowledge
repositories, data mining and visualization techniques that aid in decision support.
Recommended Pre-requisites:




Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Module II: Survey of Data Sources, Standards, and Information Systems
Module V: Data Management and Enterprise Architecture
Module VI: Applied Public Health Informatics Evaluation and Research
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Analyze user and stakeholder information,
knowledge, and data needs.
Learning Objective(s)
Discuss the value and importance of
stakeholder participation.
Provide examples of how the routine use of
data can improve data quality (accuracy,
completeness) and improve public health
program effectiveness.
Analyze information needs relevant to specific
public health policy decisions.
Develop use cases for potential decision
support applications or systems.
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Participate in development of knowledge
management tools for the enterprise.
Describe the different types of decisions made
in the practice and administration of public
health and public health informatics.
Describe a decision support system in terms of
the classic data, information, and knowledge
hierarchy.
Describe how the choice of data indicators
impact the health outcome or decision point
for a public health problem
Identify gaps in data sources for decision
support.
Identify existing public health knowledge
management and decision support systems.
Differentiate between data-driven and
knowledge-driven decision support systems,
and identify what types of public health
decisions are supported by each.
Explain how data visualization and complex
reporting drive the decision process.
Assist in identifying solutions for information
access.
Evaluate tools that are designed to enable
exchange and integration of structured and
non-structured data to create reports and
support decision making.
Apply data mining techniques and
applications.
Support decision analysis for policy
development and program planning.
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Use informatics to integrate clinical health,
environmental risk, and population health for
public health and personal health decision
making.
Model the information flow, access, and
retention needs within, into, and out of
projects or programs associated with one or
more decision processes.
Describe options for consistent approach for
all agency (program) information systems and
data sources.
Display data to support public health
informatics decision making.
Describe an integration strategy and
architecture that could unify disparate data
sets that cross health, public health and/or
environmental domains to support decision
making.
Identify the range of reporting, visualization
and analysis needs.
Identify message to be conveyed by data
display.
Select optimal method(s) of conveying data
message.
Create data display and any supporting
narrative.
Organizing Themes:
Decision types
Knowledge management
Data mining
Analysis, visualization and reporting in public health
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Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Books and white papers regarding use of GIS and Public Health. Available for purchase at
http://www.esri.com/industries/health/business/literature.htmlFoldy Seth, MD. ] Knowledge
Management: Primer for Public Health (source document available upon request)
Hammer, Michael (2007) The Process Audit. Harvard Business Review
Foldy Seth, MD. Knowledge Management: Primer for Public Health (source document available upon
request)
Hammer, Michael (2007) The Process Audit. Harvard Business Review HIMSS Clinical Decision
Support Guidebook Series. www.himss.org
Haddix, A.C., Teutsch, S.M., and Corso, P.S. (Eds.). (2003). Prevention effectiveness: A guide to
decision analysis and economic evaluation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Teutsch, S.M., & Churchill, R.E. (Eds.). (2000). Principles and practice of public health
surveillance. New York: Oxford University Press.
Edward R. Tufte:
 Tufte, E.R. (2006). Beautiful evidence. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
 Tufte, E.R. (1990). Envisioning information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
 Tufte, E.R. (2001). The visual display of quantitative information (2nd ed). Cheshire, CT:
Graphics Press.
 Tufte, E.R. (1997). Visual explanations: Images and quantities, evidence and narrative.
Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
Zaruhi R. Mnatsakanyan and Joseph S. Lombardo . Decision Support Models for Public Health
Informatics. www.jhuapl.edu/techdigest/td2704/Mnatsakanyan.pdf
Considerations for Faculty:
This module should be an integrative experience that can be tailored to fit the individual or to a
particular agency/public health issue.
It is important to remind students that Decision Support Systems do not make decisions but
only provide information to inform the decision making process.
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Module X. Informatics in Support of Public Health Leadership and Management
Module Description:
The purpose of this module is to provide students with a more autonomous learning experience
that integrates the knowledge and experience of the previous nine modules in practical
application to real world experiences. Students will learn the skills to ensure that the strategic
direction of informatics aligns with the public health mission and goals of an organization, as
well as broader e-Health priorities in the community. Students will be able to describe the
drivers for and approaches to integration of data within an agency, interoperability across
internal information systems within an agency, and interoperability with systems outside of the
agency. Students will learn how to critique policies that influence public health informatics and
how to assess the impact of these policies on informatics priorities within their organizations.
Recommended Pre-requisites:









Module I: Introduction to Public Health Informatics
Module II: Survey of Data Sources, Standards, and Information Systems
Module III: Interpersonal and Organizational Communication for the Public Health
Informatician
Module IV: Project Management and Information System Lifecycle
Module V: Data Management and Enterprise Architecture
Module VI: Business Aspects of Public Health Informatics
Module VII: Information Security, Privacy, Legal and Ethical Issues
Module VIII: Applied Public Health Informatics Evaluation and Research
Module IX: Information for Public Health Decision Making
Competencies for Public Health Informaticians:
Table 1. Competencies and Learning Objectives
Competency
Learning Objective(s)
Support development of strategic direction for
public health informatics within the
enterprise.
Describe concepts of enterprise architecture
and governance as they relate to
organizational mission, internal integration of
data, internal interoperability across
information systems, and interoperability with
external systems, such as hospitals systems or
a Health Information Exchange entity.
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Apply design concepts to assure usable,
useful, and sustainable public health
information systems.
Conduct analysis of alternatives in order to
recommend public health informatics strategic
decisions for an agency, program or project.
Conduct analysis of alternatives in order to
recommend public health informatics strategic
decisions for an agency, program or project.
Analyze informatics case studies to identify
successes and failures, describing the
generalizable lessons learned.
Demonstrate skills in providing informatics
consultation, policy analysis and meeting
facilitation to support decision making.
Critique implications of public health
informatics policies on practice.
Interpret a jurisdictional policy regarding the
uses of public health information, and the
implications for information system design
and use.
Write a public health informatics policy for a
defined jurisdiction or agency, such as a data
sharing agreement, privacy policy or security
policy.
Suggest advocacy strategies to affect public
health policy. Include ways that public health
data repositories effectively influence active
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exchange partnerships that ultimately improve
population health.
Promote the profession of public health
informatics.
Describe characteristics of organizational
leadership, change management, and
principles of negotiation, as they relate to
informatics issues and decisions.
Develop a professional career plan.
Organizing Themes:
Systems thinking
Policy analysis
Professional career plan
Possible Text/Readings/Resources:
Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Federal Health IT Strategic Plan.
www.healthit.hhs.gov
State health information exchange strategic and operational plans. See state-specific web sites
for copies of plans and contact individuals.
National Association of County and City Health Officials. Informatics Toolbox.
http://naccho.org/toolbox/
Public Health Data Standards Consortium. Resources on health information exchange.
http://phdsc.org/products/default.asp
Kingdon, J. (2003). Agendas, alternatives, and public policies (2nd ed.). New York: AddisonWesley Educational Publishers.
Rowitz, L. (2008). Public health leadership: Putting principles into practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones
& Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
Sabatier, P. (Ed.). (1999). Theories of the policy process. Colorado: Westview Press.
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Portfolio Project:
For a given public health policy, the student will identify stakeholders (at all levels) and
evaluate both the intended and unintended consequences of the policy and potential
resolutions.
The student will develop a three-minute “elevator presentation” to address a politician or key
policy maker on the importance of an informatics project for their agency/organization.
Given a hypothetical situation, the student will describe how to mitigate technical
disasters/failures and communicate effectively. (e.g., It’s your first day on the job and the
information system crashes. How do you handle the situation?)
The student will write a plan (business, communications, data) for different key stakeholders
that addresses stakeholder needs (multi-level, multi-stakeholder), synthesizing the different
needs for the various stakeholders.
Document the necessary infrastructure needed to integrate with/support health information
exchange within and outside the agency. Include the necessary strategic direction, policy and
infrastructure to achieve internal integration, internal interoperability, and external interoperability.
Considerations for Faculty:
This module is designed to provide students with senior level skill in the professional public
health informatics field. They should be expected to perform with a degree of autonomy and
capacity for leadership exhibiting both a depth of knowledge of the breadth of practice and
depth of the science in public health informatics.
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