Module Components

• Overview

Topics

• Overview of Public Health and Public Health Informatics
• Public Health Data Sources
• Public Health Informatics and Meaningful Use

Nurs460 – HEALTH INFORMATICS FOR REGISTERED NURSES

Module 10: Technology to Support Public Health

Overview of Public Health and Public Health Informatics

WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH?

Public health is the science, art, and practice of protecting and improving the health of populations (Nelson & Staggers, 2014). Public health focuses on promoting the health of communities and populations and contributes to the improvements in health status throughout the world. For example life expectancy in 1900’s was around 47.3 years but in 2000 it has increased to 76.8 years. That’s an increase of 62%. Although there are many factors that contribute to this change such as antibiotics, advances in medicine, and new treatment options, public health initiatives account for the greatest impact.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH?

• Prevent spread of disease and epidemics
  
• Protect the environment against hazards
  
• Promote measures to avoid injuries
  
• Encourage healthy behaviors
  
• Provide disaster response and recovery
  
• Assure the quality and accessibility of health services
  

Most functions are invisible to the general public because the goal is to prevent hazardous situations from occurring but there are important activities that occur that are less visible (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Visible and Invisible Aspects of Public Health

 

WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATICS

According to Nelson & Staggers (2015) public health informatics (PHI) is “The application of informatics in areas of public health, including disease or condition surveillance, reporting, and health promotion”. Wilson (2012) and Alexander, Frith & Hoy (2014) concur that PHI is used to solve problems and support the goals of public health. PHI incorporates concepts from a variety of disciplines as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Public Health Informatics Interdisciplinary Concepts