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The Specialised Data, Information, and Knowledge Workforce in Health: Present and Future

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The Health Information Workforce

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

The health information workforce has existed for more than a century yet remains one of the most hidden workforces in health. This workforce supports the planning, delivery, and improvement of healthcare services by analysing, designing, developing, implementing, maintaining, managing, operating, evaluating, or governing health data, information, or knowledge. Lack of awareness about this workforce has flow-on effects: shortages of skilled workers, inadequate skills training opportunities, and ultimately suboptimal health information and communication technology implementation and scaling up. Even in the era of digital health, this essential workforce supporting the safe and efficient management of health and care is a hidden workforce. We call it the HIDDIN workforce. The HIDDIN workforce comprises the practitioners who have key responsibility for the specialised work in Health Informatics, Digital, Data, Information, and kNowledge (HIDDIN). This chapter examines each of these parts of the HIDDIN workforce and defines the framework for this workforce used throughout this book. This chapter also defines the purpose of this book and presents the three conceptual lenses that have been used to frame the structure of this book. This book provides a clearer and more comprehensive view than ever before of the specialised workforce required to manage and govern the health data, information, and knowledge infrastructure now and in the future.

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Acknowledgements

Our Universities, Auckland, Melbourne, RMIT and Tasmania, have encouraged and supported us in writing this book. Associate Professor Rebecca Grainger at the University of Otago was an especially valued collaborator in work that preceded this book. Our colleagues in academia and in the health sector around the world have been generous and genuine in providing chapters and case studies that are unique contributions to describing the HIDDIN workforce. Our reviewers have been invaluable in providing independent peer reviews. Every individual who took the time to complete the health information workforce census in 2018 and 2021 added depth to our collective understanding of this important workforce. Lastly, we wish to acknowledge and pay our respects to the first health information specialists, that is, the traditional owners of the lands on which we all live and work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Health Hub, STEM College, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Kerryn Butler-Henderson

  2. School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Karen Day

  3. Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Kathleen Gray

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  1. Kerryn Butler-Henderson
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  2. Karen Day
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Correspondence to Kerryn Butler-Henderson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Health Hub, STEM College, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Kerryn Butler-Henderson

  2. School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Karen Day

  3. Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Kathleen Gray

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Butler-Henderson, K., Day, K., Gray, K. (2021). The Specialised Data, Information, and Knowledge Workforce in Health: Present and Future. In: Butler-Henderson, K., Day, K., Gray, K. (eds) The Health Information Workforce . Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81850-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81850-0_1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-81850-0

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