Diana J. Cunningham

Baseline Assessment of Public Health Informatics Competencies in Two Hudson Valley Health Departments

Information technology has the capability to improve the way public health is practiced. Realization of this potential is possible only with a workforce ready to utilize these technologies. This project team assessed informatics competencies of employees in two county departments of health. The goal was to determine the status quo in terms of informatics competencies by surveying current levels of proficiency and relevance, and identify areas of needed training. A survey was adapted from the recommendations of a Working Group document by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administered to all employees in the two health departments. Respondents evaluated proficiency and relevance for each of 26 recommended competencies. A gap score was generated between these two measures; results were compared to the recommendations of the Working Group. The following data for each job level are presented: mean gap scores by competency class; the percentage of respondents demonstrating a gap in the competencies reported to be most relevant; and the percentage of respondents meeting the target recommendations of the Working Group. The percentage of respondents who reached the targets was low in higher-level staff. And overall, employees reported low levels of relevance for most of the competencies. The average public health employee does not feel that prescribed informatics competencies are relevant to their work. Before the public health system can take advantage of information technology, relevant employee skills should be identified or developed. There needs to be a shift in thinking that will recognize the promise of information technology in everyday work.

A Study in Usability: Redesigning a Health Sciences Library's Mobile Site

A mobile site redesign was conducted at a medium-sized academic health sciences library with the goal of creating a site that meets the mobile information needs of its users. The redesign phases included (1) needs assessment, (2) usability testing, and (3) site design. The survey results showed that Apple devices were the most prevalent; the most desirable activities performed on a mobile site were searching for articles, accessing full-text articles and e-books, searching databases, and searching the catalog. These activities guided the development of the usability testing tasks and the redesign. All phases were completed within six months, and the total project cost was

Information outreach to a local public health department: a case study in collaboration

50 for incentive purchases.

The Informationist: A Debate

The delivery of essential public health services depends on the effective use of relevant information by public health employees [1, 2]. Yet, despite the importance of information to the practice of public health, the complex information needs of the public health workforce are not well met [3–8]. This paper describes how the New York Medical College Health Sciences Library and School of Public Health (NYMC) and the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) successfully collaborated in collecting data for two separate projects that addressed the information needs of employees in the Dutchess County Department of Health (DCDOH) in New Yorks Hudson Valley. NYAM additionally partnered with researchers at Columbia University in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and School of Nursing. Each project required all DCDOH employees to fill out a lengthy survey, and some data elements were common to both surveys. Both projects were funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine with the charge that the projects “collaborate when appropriate” because they targeted the same population. DCDOH welcomed the collaboration because it reduced the response burden for its employees.

Proposing a marriage of academe and public health.

Abstract In this article, the authors review the informationist concept with special reference to its implication for hospital librarians. One author (Kronenfeld) has been skeptical about the concept and the lack of definition of the problem it is meant to answer. The other author (Cunningham) is committed to the potential of the informationist concept, having served on MLAs ad hoc committee on the Informationist. After a brief review of MLAs work on this issue, the authors will use a point-counterpoint format to further examine the informationist concept and where we (hospital librarians and MLA) are with the concept in 2003.

Collaboration to teach graduate students how to write more effective theses

Today’s national priorities include health, outcomes, and a competent public health workforce. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports continue to push the national Healthy People agenda.1–3 With wildly different organizational cultures, academic-public health collaborations have been likened to a “divorce settlement, with each party speaking past the other or through a representative, but never really hearing what the other has to say.”4 Yet, the IOM educational report recommends that schools of public health actively seek opportunities for collaboration with other academic departments and communities for improved communitybased research, learning, and service.3 The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the organization that represents all local governmental public health agencies, focuses on developing tools, publications, programs, and public advocacy designed to facilitate effective and innovative public health practice.5 Sharing model practices and workforce development results are two of the NACCHO priorities. Further, cooperative agreements between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM) led by Kristine Gebbie resulted in the creation of the competency-based curricula toolkit, with the goal that graduates of schools of public health will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to deliver essential public health services in all program areas.6 Within this context, the School of Public Health (SPH) and Health Sciences Library (HSL) of New York Medical College (NYMC) and two local public health departments in Hudson Valley New York developed a successful relationship built on mutual respect, mutual needs, a spirit of openness, and a willingness to test academic models and training in real working settings. The levels of involvement include the dean, county health director or commissioner, faculty and public health workers. Orange and Putnam county health departments volunteered to participate. Public health informatics was the underlying thread of what became our collaborative project. Public health informatics is defined by Yasnoff et al. as “the systematic application of information, computer science and technology to public health practice and learning.”3 Relevant questions included: What is the current status of public health workers in terms of competencies, information needs, and capabilities? How can we assess them, and then how can we better meet their informational needs? A knowledgeable workforce is critical to the entire public health infrastructure. The IOM has detailed at some length the immense potential of informatics for public health; informatics has the potential to transform practice and present-day capacity.3 The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) completed a first step by funding a national study of public health workforce characteristics including profiles by title, function, and educational background.7 A clear understanding of worker profiles and competencies is basic to developing educational curriculum as well as providing on-the-job training in public health practice. For academics, informatics is central to the entire curriculum and is one of the eight content areas targeted by the IOM. This paper describes key success factors needed to meld this partnership from its inception, predicated on a dynamic relationship that is built on continuous communication.