Discover how Informatics can help you create a Public Health career with great potential.
What is Public Health Informatics?
Public health Informatics uses technology and analytics to find modern solutions for public health problems. Through the use of public health data, software, and information systems, public health content and data analysis findings are transformed into compelling descriptions of public health problems, health disparities, and trends in disease rates. This information can be used for disease prevention, preparedness, and improving the general population’s health. Informatics can be focused on internal data use at public health agencies but can also include visualizations of data for public consumption.
What career opportunities exist in the field?
Within the field of public health informatics, there are a wide range of careers in both the private and public sectors, including public health informatics in public health agencies or private sector work and consulting.
Job opportunities can range from more technology heavy skills, to data analytics, to setting up dashboards for public awareness and advocacy. The same skills used in public health informatics are also applicable in healthcare or medical settings. Regardless of the type of career, the fundamental skills needed are the same. Essential skills include data analytic skills, understanding of public health, analytical thinking, knowledge of programming, spatial skills, and problem-solving including the application of technology. These skills are in high demand by employers in many industries. An internship (paid) will help in finding a public health informatics job.
Why Public Health Informatics?
Public health informatics plays a critical role in population health by improving health and healthcare outcomes of individuals and communities. As a public health informatics professional, you will have the opportunity to leverage technology to enhance disease surveillance, outbreak management, and health promotion efforts. The field of public health informatics was pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing public health data and display of these data in dashboards, maps, and communications helped to bring people important messages about this new disease. The field of public health informatics is rapidly growing due to the increasing demand for healthcare data management and analysis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of healthcare IT professionals, including those in public health informatics, is projected to grow by 8% from 2019 to 2029, which is much faster than the average for all other occupations. Due to the high demand for skilled public health informatics professionals, the salaries are typically very competitive. According to the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the median salary for public health informatics professionals is $97,000 per year.
Course Overview
- Online Type: Fully online
- Credential awarded: Certificate
- Career Level: Entry level program
- Student Support: Course Facilitator & Futuro Health Coach
- Student Cost: No cost to student
Course Outline
Human Touch Healthcare Optional Co-requisite; 12 hours, asynchronous; Receive a certificate of completion. | ||
|---|---|---|
1. | Empathy & Compassion in Healthcare | |
2. | Cultural Competence | |
3. | Effective Communication | |
4. | Emotional Intelligence | |
5. | Teamwork & Collaboration | |
6. | Ethics and Integrity | |
Futuro Health Foundations of PHIT Course 12-week course; Instructor support; Pacing guide; Receive a certificate of completion. | ||
|---|---|---|
PHIT-a | Public Health Foundations | |
PHIT-a | Healthcare Organizations and Systems | |
PHIT-a | Social and Technical Context of Health Informatics | |
PHIT-b | Introduction to Data Analytics | |
PHIT-b | The Data Science of Health Informatics | |
PHIT-b | Applied Project: Data visualization using Excel | |
CCPHIT program is supported by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number 90PH0006/01-05 and title “The PHIT Workforce Development Program” for grant amount $10,232.066.00 and 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by ONC, HHS or the U.S. Government.