October 31, 2007
TO:
Mark Schneiderhan, Chair
Senate Committee on Educational Policy
FROM:
Midge Grosch
Director, Programs and Academic Assessment
I am submitting for review and action by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy the
attached proposal for the Establishment of a Professional Enhancement Program for
the Public Health Informatics Concentration, Master of Public Health (MPH).
The proposal was approved by the School of Public Health Executive Committee on May
7, 2007.
Attachment
Cc:
B. Neuberger
E. Mensah
Revised on 10/30/07
1
Title:
Establishment of a Professional Enhancement Program for the Public Health Informatics
Concentration, Master of Public Health (MPH)
Sponsor:
School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy and Administration
Description:
The program of study leading to the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is adapted to
each student's past experience and future career goals. A student with a health sciences
background may matriculate in an abbreviated Professional Enhancement Program
(PEP). A student with limited or no background in the health sciences completes a
Comprehensive Program. The School already offers a Public Health Informatics (PHI)
Concentration for students in the Comprehensive Program. The Health Policy and
Administration Division of the School of Public Health seeks to establish a Professional
Enhancement Program (PEP) consisting of two tracks for its MPH Concentration in
Public Health Informatics (PHI). The PHI PEP tracks are intended to provide specialized
training to enable PHI students with advanced experience in a health-related field to
specialize in one of two areas: a management track or a technical track.
PHI PEP- Management Track
The goal of the management track is to train students who will be able to apply
fundamental information systems management skills to support public health efforts.
In addition to acquiring the skills to perform traditional public health functions,
graduates from the PHI PEP management track will be able to
1. advise management in the use of information systems
2 manage a portfolio of information systems and associated human resources
3. develop information management policies for public health agencies
4. assure that information needs of project or program users and stakeholders are
satisfied
5. assure that informatics solutions meet patient privacy, confidentiality, and
security requirements.
PHI PEP – Technical Track
In addition to performing traditional public health functions, students following the
PHI PEP technical track will acquire the skills needed to
1. develop and implement public health information systems and applications that
meet user and stakeholder information needs
Revised on 10/30/07
2
2. integrate public health system requirements into information systems
development, procurement, and implementation
4. develop public health information systems that are interoperable with other
relevant information systems
5. develop and manage informatics solutions that assure confidentiality, privacy,
and security, while maximizing the availability of information for public health.
6. Oversee the implementation of data and information usage to produce new
knowledge sources (data mining, GIS, and interactive website development) for
decision making
A minimum of 44 credit hours must be earned to graduate from the PHI PEP
management or technical track. Students would normally complete the degree in three
years by taking five courses a year (two in the fall and spring and one in the summer). A
field practicum is required. The academic advisor and a supervisor develop the structure
of the practicum.
A capstone experience requires the student to synthesize and integrate knowledge
acquired in coursework and other learning experiences. A field practicum may be the
basis of a capstone requirement. The field practicum and capstone experience must
address a practical informatics problem in an agency or organization.
Justification:
The public health informatics program at the University of Illinois-Chicago remains the
only completely online program in this exciting new discipline. The program enrolled the
first cohort of students in the fall semester 2002. It has produced 25 alumni who are
applying their skills and knowledge to address important public health issues nationally
and in the international arena. Based on our experience over the past 4 years and survey
responses from alumni it is necessary to modify the original structure of the program to
accommodate the needs of students who already have advanced degrees and significant
backgrounds in health-related disciplines. The current comprehensive program requires
50 credit hours to complete and is available to all students with Bachelor’s and advanced
degrees. We have developed 2 professional enhancement (PEP) tracks in addition to the
original comprehensive track to accommodate the needs of the students with significant
backgrounds in health-related fields. These tracks are the PHI Management Track and the
PHI Technical Track.
Catalog Statement:
Concentration in Public Health Informatics – MPH Professional Enhancement
Program (PEP) Degree
Revised on 10/30/07
3
Admission Requirements:
Students with an advanced professional degree (at a master’s or doctoral level, as
appropriate to the professional field) or equivalent professional experience of at least
three years' duration who intend to pursue a public health career in the same
professional area are eligible for admission into the Professional Enhancement
Program.
Public Health Core Courses:
BSTT 400 — Biostatistics I (4 sh) Descriptive statistics, basic probability concepts, oneand two-sample statistical inference, analysis of variance, and simple linear regression.
Introduction to a statistical computer package such as Minitab or SAS.
CHSC 400 — Public Health Concepts and Practice (3 sh) Concepts, principles, and case
studies which provide an overview of the philosophy, purpose, history, organization,
functions, tools, activities, and results of public health practice.
EPID 400 — Principles of Epidemiology (3 sh) Introduction to descriptive and analytic
epidemiology, determinants of health and disease in populations, and application of the
epidemiological method to disease control and prevention. Prerequisite(s): Credit or
concurrent registration in BSTT 400 or consent of the instructor.
HPA 400 — Principles of Management in Public Health (3 sh) Integrates theories,
concepts, and applications of management techniques and processes in health programs.
Case studies illustrate management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling.
EOHS 400 — Principles of Environmental Health Sciences (3 sh) Environmental
influences on health: population, food, energy; community hygiene and injury control;
solid/hazardous wastes, air and water pollution, radiation; industrial hygiene and
occupational health.
CHSC 401 — Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (3 sh) Provides grounding in the
social and behavorial sciences to analyze public health issues. Includes analysis of
individual, community, institutional, and societal factors influencing health and illness.
Total: 19 credit hours of core public health courses
Public Health Informatics – PEP Management Track
In addition to the core public health courses students in the PHI Management Track will
be required to take the following informatics core courses and at least one elective
course.
Revised on 10/30/07
4
HPA 465 — Health Information and Decision Support Systems (4 sh) Introduction to
public health informatics; computer-assisted management information and decision
support systems in healthcare organizations; planning, analysis, development and
evaluation of information systems; design of databases; data and information flow;
reports creation; and uses of microcomputers.
HPA 510 —Health Care Information Systems (4 sh) Examination, through case studies,
of current and future information technologies and systems, in health care organizations
and in health science libraries. Same as BHIS 510. Taught online only. A UIC netid is
required. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of the instructor.
HPA 520 — Management of Health Care Communication Systems (4 sh) Same as BHIS
515. Examination and management of data communications in and between health care
facilities including examination of issues, standards, technologies, and system
configurations. Same as BHIS 515. Taught online only. A UIC netid is required.
Prerequisite(s): HPA 510 or BHIS 510; and graduate standing and consent of the
instructor.
HPA 494 – Introductory Special Topics in Health Policy and Administration: Health
Information Systems Applications (3 sh) Examination of web based applications in
public health practice, Public health Geographic Information Systems, and principles and
practice of data mining in public health.
HPA 494 Introductory Special Topics in Health Policy and Administration: Public Health
Information Systems Project and Program Management (3 sh) Defining the goals and
objectives of public health information systems; identifying business, user, and
management expectations of public health information systems; requirements discovery
and survey of systems design and development methods; scoping of information systems
projects, planning of project tasks and staffing of project teams; organizing, scheduling,
and controlling project tasks; theory and application of capital budgeting and cost-benefit
analysis techniques; analysis of factors responsible for success or failure of information
systems; introduction to project management softwares: Microsoft’s Project, Applied
Business Technology’s Project Management Workbench, Gantt chart, PERT chart.
IPHS 650 – Field Experience in Public Health (3 sh)
Preceptor guided field experience in public health practice through an association or
public health oriented community program for students in the Master of Public Health
degree program. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated.
Prerequisite(s): All course requirements should be completed for the Master of Public
Health degree.
IPHS 698 – Master of Public Health Capstone Experience ( 1 sh)
Individual project in public health directed toward the MPH capstone experience which is
required for the degree. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the instructor.
Revised on 10/30/07
5
Electives: One elective from the list below in order to satisfy the minimum of 44 credit
hours required for graduation.
BHIS 517 Health Information Security (3 sh)
Health information security and methods to achieve it; stresses risk assessment and preemptive action; outlines important role of security policies and procedures; surveys
security technology with focus on non-technical security approaches. Taught only online.
A UIC netid is required. Prerequisite(s): BHIS 437 and BHIS 510 or consent of the
instructor.
HPA 494 Introductory Special Topics in Health Policy and Administration: Public Health
Surveillance and Informatics (3 sh) Overview of the evolution of technology in
enhancement of disease surveillance; overview of the past, present, and future
requirements for disease surveillance; methods and technologies needed for
implementation of disease surveillance systems; identification of abnormal trends in
surveillance data; planning, development, and implementation of informatics applications
to support disease surveillance activities; case studies of surveillance systems in
developed and developing countries.
BHIS 505 Ethics and Legal Issues in Health Informatics ( 3 sh)
Examination of the legal and ethical issues involved in computerized health information
systems. Taught online only. A UIC netid is required. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the
instructor.
Total hours: 44
Public Health Informatics – PEP Technical Track
In addition to the core public health courses students in the PHI Technical Track will be
required to take the following informatics core courses and at least one elective course.
HPA 437 — Health Care Data (3 sh) Review of fundamentals constituting a health care
information system. How data is transformed into information and then again
transformed into knowledge through integrated computer systems. Same as BHIS 437.
Taught online only. A UIC netid is required. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing and
consent of the instructor.
HPA 465 — Health Information and Decision Support Systems (4 sh) Introduction to
public health informatics; computer-assisted management information and decision
support systems in healthcare organizations; planning, analysis, development and
evaluation of information systems; design of databases; data and information flow;
reports creation; and uses of microcomputers.
HPA 520 — Management of Health Care Communication Systems (4 sh) Same as BHIS
515. Examination and management of data communications in and between health care
facilities including examination of issues, standards, technologies, and system
Revised on 10/30/07
6
configurations. Same as BHIS 515. Taught online only. A UIC netid is required.
Prerequisite(s): HPA 510 or BHIS 510; and graduate standing and consent of the
instructor.
HPA 563 — WEB-Based Public Health Informatics (4 sh) Examination of web based
applications in public health practice and factors in the design of web-based public health
education and database systems This is an on-line course. Prerequisite(s): HPA 465; and
consent of the instructor. Unless otherwise permitted, limited to students in the public
health informatics track of HPA.
HPA 564 — Applications of Geographic Information Systems in Public Health (3 sh)
Examination of GIS applications in public health and the process of designing a GIS
based public health investigation. Same as EOHS 564. This is an on-line course.
Prerequisite(s): BSTT 400 and HPA 465 and consent of the instructor.
HPA 565 — Data mining Applications in Public Health (3 sh) Review of strategic
decision systems and an introduction to the theory and practice of data mining in public
health. Case studies in public health data mining will be assessed. Same as EOHS 565.
Extensive computer use required. Prerequisite(s): BSTT 400.
IPHS 650 – Field Experience in Public Health (3 sh)
Preceptor guided field experience in public health practice through an association or
public health oriented community program for students in the Master of Public Health
degree program. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated.
Prerequisite(s): All course requirements should be completed for the Master of Public
Health degree.
IPHS 698 – Master of Public Health Capstone Experience (1 sh)
Individual project in public health directed toward the MPH capstone experience which is
required for the degree. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the instructor.
Total hours: 44
Minority Impact Statement:
None
Budgetary and Staff Implication:
None
Library Resource Implications:
None (courses already in place, no additional implications)
Space Implications:
None (courses added to the proposed concentration’s curriculum are currently being
taught)
Revised on 10/30/07
7
Unit (e.g. department) approval date:
College (educational policy committee, faculty) approval dates:
HPA Division approval March 19, 2007
CEP approval April 16, 2007
Executive Committee approval May 7, 2007
Contact Person:
Edward Mensah, PHI Director
dehasnem@uic.edu
Proposed Effective Date:
Fall, 2008
Revised on 10/30/07
8