Introduction to Public Health Informatics

Overview

The technology necessary for effective, innovative application of information technology to public health practice is available today at very reasonable costs. The barrier to the widespread application of such technology is that few public health professionals have received any formal training in informatics, and most lack even a basic understanding of the nature and purpose of informatics as a discipline. Although the discipline of public health informatics has much in common with other informatics specialty areas, it differs from them in several ways. These include (1) a focus on applications of information science and technology that promote the health of populations, rather than of individuals; (2) a focus on disease prevention, rather than treatment; (3) a focus on preventive intervention at all vulnerable points in the causal chains leading to disease, injury, or disability; and (4) operation within a governmental, rather than a private, context. Drivers of change forcing public health professionals to be conversant with the development, use, and strategic importance of computerized health information systems include public health reform, the growth in managed care, and the information technology revolution.

Some of the material in this chapter was originally published in “Public health informatics: Improving and transforming public health in the information age” (Yasnoff WA, O’Carroll PW, Koo D, Linkins RW, Kilbourne E. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 2000;6(6):67–75).