Public Health Professionals Graduate Certificate

The Public Health Leader training program prepares public health professionals to develop, procure and implement information systems that meet public health program needs. This includes

Supporting the development of strategic direction for public health informatics within the enterprise
Using informatics standards
Managing and monitoring IT operations
Evaluating information systems and their applications
Contributing to the development of interoperable public health information systems
Implementing solutions that ensure the confidentiality, security, and integrity of captured data while maximizing the availability of information for public health

The scope of this program is designed to meet the core competencies for public health informaticians as described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Based upon this guidance, ideal eligible students entering this program will have a graduate or doctoral level preparation in public health, including demonstrated course work in epidemiology and data analysis. The requirement for masters or doctorate level preparation may be waived by the demonstration of significant public health experience through years of service and a leadership role at a public health agency. Participants will complete a mentored project in health informatics with a focus on a public health research or community project.

Student Consumer Information on this Program

Plan of Study

Training includes two core courses, three specialized courses, and a mentored practicum.Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of a 3.00, with a grade of a B- or better in all individual coursework.

Core Courses (6 credits)

PBHL E635 Foundations of Public Health Informatics or PBHL E645 Health Information Exchange for Population Health
INFO B581 Health Information Standards and Terminology

Specialization (9 credits)

Mentored Practicum (3 credits)

INFO B584 Practicum in Health Information Technology

The mentored practicum focuses on participation in the development of knowledge management tools for the public health enterprise, ensuring that the knowledge, information, and data needs of the project, program users, and other stakeholders are met, applying public health informatics research, and supporting the use of informatics to integrate clinical health, environmental risk, and population health.

Additionally, all training participants are expected to participate in the Indiana Center of
Excellence in Public Health Informatics (ICEPHI) monthly work-in-progress seminars.
The ICEPHI brings together the expertise of the following institutions:

The Polis Center, a national leader in community-based and public health research and applications using geographic information technologies
The Indiana State Health Department
The Marion County (Ind.) Health Department
The IU School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health
The Department of Geography in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI
IUPUI’s Center for Health Geographics
A data visualization group at IU-Bloomington

After training participants complete their mentored practicum, they are required to present their outcomes at a monthly ICEPHI meeting.

Learning Outcomes

The Graduate Certificate in Informatics for Public Health Professionals prepares you to successfully lead the deployment and use of health IT to transform and improve the quality, safety, and outcomes of public health services, increasing their value.

Understanding Technology and Methodologies for Processing Information Health Care:
- Explain concepts of information and communication technologies
- Integrate data from disparate systems such as clinical data, surveillance data, etc. for public health decision making
- Implement standards and terminologies for documenting public health events and exchanging protected health information for improved surveillance
Information Literacy for Health Care:
- Determine the nature and extent of the information needed for public health decisions
- Access needed information effectively and efficiently
- Evaluate outcomes of the use of information in public health
Information Management:
- Verbalize the importance of health information systems to public health surveillance
- Have knowledge of various types of health information systems and their potential use in public health surveillance
- Evaluate when confidentiality of protected patient health information is superseded by public health needs
- Assure access control in the use of health information systems for public health needs
- Assure the security of health information systems