Patrick W. O’Carroll, MD, MPH
and the
Public Health InformaticsCompetencies Working Group
Informatics Competenciesfor Public Health Professionals
August 2002
Northwest Center for Public Health PracticeUniversity of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Northwest Center for Public Health PracticeUniversity of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine
1107 NE 45th Street, Suite 400, Seattle, Washington 98105206.685.1130 • Fax 206.616.9415 • www.nwcphp.org
This work was done with support from the Office of Workforce Policy andPlanning, Public Health Practice Program Office (PHPPO), U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are grateful for the support andleadership of Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, Associate Director for WorkforceDevelopment, PHPPO, CDC.
Judith Yarrow, of the Health Policy Analysis Program, University of WashingtonSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, designed this publication.The cover illustration, “Digital Hygiea,” was developed by Dr. Patrick W.O’Carroll of CDC and Judith Yarrow.
The design of this document is copyrighted by Northwest Center for PublicHealth Practice. The contents of this document are in the public domain, butwe request that you cite or acknowledge any use of this material. Suggestedcitation: O’Carroll PW and the Public Health Informatics Competency WorkingGroup. Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals. Seattle,WA: Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, 2002.
This document is available online at www.nwcphp.org/phi/comps/.
Please send all comments, suggestions, and questions to Dr. O’Carroll, [email protected].
© 2002, Northwest Center for Public Health PracticeAll rights reserved.Printed in the United States of America.
Contents
Executive Summary .............................................................................. 5
Introduction ......................................................................................... 6
Background .......................................................................................................6
Definitions..........................................................................................................6
Relationship to national public health workforce developmentinitiative and to core pubic health competencies ...............................7
Developing the Competencies ............................................................. 7
Initial Focus, Workforce Segmentation, and Assumptions..................... 8
Initial focus ........................................................................................................8
Workforce segmentation....................................................................................9
Assumptions ....................................................................................................10
Conceptual Framework ...................................................................... 11
Conclusion ......................................................................................... 13
References ......................................................................................... 14
Appendix A. Members of the Public Health InformaticsCompetencies Working Group ....................................... 15
Appendix B. Public Health Informatics Competencies ........................ 16
Appendix C. Public Health Informatics Competencies, withSuggested Proficiency Levels by Workforce Segment...... 19
August 2002 5
Executive SummaryPublic health informatics has been defined as the systematic application of information
and computer science and technology to public health practice, research, and learning. Inrecent years, a variety of training resources have been developed that address one or moreaspects of informatics. However, to date these resources have been developed in relative isolation,and no consensus has been established as to specific informatics competencies that variouspublic health professionals should have. To address this issue, the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC) initiated the formation of a working group of public health informaticiansand educators (see Appendix A for a list of working group members) to draft a consensus set ofpublic health informatics competencies. These informatics competencies are designed tocomplement the more general set of Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, developedby the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice.
The Working Group developed and refined the competencies (presented in this documentin Appendices B and C) during 2001-2002. The Working Group intends the competencies tobe applicable to currently practicing public health professionals in the United States, thoughthey may be applicable to public health professionals in other countries as well. Three classes ofinformatics competencies are defined: those related to (a) the use of information per se forpublic health practice; (b) the use of information technology to increase one’s individualeffectiveness as a public health professional; and (c) the management of information technologyprojects to improve the effectiveness of the public health enterprise (e.g., the state or localhealth department). For each competency, expertise levels are suggested for three professionalworkforce segments: front-line staff, senior-level technical staff, and supervisory and managementstaff.
The informatics competencies presented here should provide a useful starting point in thedevelopment of new learning resources for public health professionals. Proficiency in thesecompetencies would directly assist today’s public health professionals to harness the power ofmodern information technology to the practice of public health.
Informatics Competenciesfor Public Health Professionals
6 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Introduction
A. BackgroundInformation and computer science and technology are increasingly important to public
health practice, research, and learning. Consequently, public health professionals at all levelsshould be appropriately skilled in the applications of these sciences and technologies to publichealth.
In recent years, a variety of training courses and other learning resources have been developedthat address one or more aspects of the application of information technology to public health(CDC, 2002; Emory University, 2001; O’Carroll et al., 1998; O’Carroll et al., 2002; Universityof Illinois at Chicago, 2002; University of Washington, 2002). However, to date these coursesand learning resources have been developed in relative isolation, and no consensus has beenestablished as to specific informatics competencies that various public health professionals shouldobtain. To address this issue, a working group of public health informaticians and educatorswas formed (see Appendix A) to draft a consensus set of public health informatics competencies.The mission of this group was subsequently endorsed as a key component of a national agendafor public health informatics (Yasnoff et al., 2001).
At a minimum, these competencies are intended to provide a well-considered startingpoint for those interested in developing new informatics training resources. We hope theymight also serve as a basis for the development of a general curriculum framework and, ultimately,one or more model public health informatics curricula.
B. Definitions1. Public Health Informatics. We use the definition of public health informatics provided
by Yasnoff et al. (2000): [Public health informatics is defined as] the systematic applicationof information and computer science and technology to public health practice, research,and learning.
In broad terms, today’s public health professionals must be able to use information effectively;to use information technology effectively; and to manage information technology projectseffectively. Ideally, public health leaders should also have the skill and vision to apply informationscience and technology to re-engineer certain elements of public health practice altogether,when such fundamental changes are appropriate and made feasible by modern information
technology. The National Electronic DiseaseSurveillance System (NEDSS) project is a goodexample of how information technology can beapplied to re-engineer a basic public health process.When completed, NEDSS will result in relativelyautomated public health surveillance, including theautomated detection of apparent outbreaks andother anomalous disease patterns (NEDSS WorkingGroup, 2001). All of these capacities—the use ofinformation, the use of information technology, the
Public health informaticsThe systematic application of information and computerscience and technology to public health practice, research,and learning.
August 2002 7
management of information technology projects, and the innovative application of informationtechnology to re-engineer public health practice—may be considered elements of public healthinformatics.
2. Competencies. We define a public health informatics competency as: A public healthworker’s observable or measurable performance, skill, or knowledge related to thesystematic application of information and computer science and technology to publichealth.
C. Relationship to national public health workforce developmentinitiative, and to core public health competencies
The Working Group developed these informatics competencies within the larger contextof the Global and National Implementation Plan for Public Health Workforce Development.This plan is the result of an ambitious public health workforce initiative being guided by thePublic Health Workforce Development Collaborative (see www.phppo.cdc.gov/owpp/timelineComp.asp). Begun in March 1999, this initiative is being developed through a dynamicand diverse partnership of public health professionals in government, academic, and practicecommunities (Lichtveld et al., 2001).
These informatics competencies were designed to complement the consensus set of CoreCompetencies for Public Health Professionals, developed by the Council on Linkages BetweenAcademia and Public Health Practice (hereafter, the Council on Linkages, or simply the Council).These core competencies, adopted by the Council in April 2001, represent ten years of work inthis area by the Council along with numerous other organizations and individuals in publichealth academic and practice settings. For a full discussion of core competencies for publichealth professionals, see www.trainingfinder.org/competencies/.
Developing the Competencies
CDC asked the Northwest Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University ofWashington (UW) School of Public Health and Community Medicine to lead a nationaleffort to develop public health informatics competencies in the context of the Global andNational Implementation Plan for Public Health Workforce Development. Dr. Patrick O’Carrollat the University of Washington and Dr. Janise Richards at CDC were appointed to lead thiseffort.
Drs. O’Carroll and Richards assembled a list of key public health professionals who wereknown to be involved in training and research in public health informatics, as well as otherinterested public health professionals with expertise in competency development. Theseindividuals were invited to attend an initial meeting to launch the effort, and to discuss andprovide the basic scope and framework for this project.
The initial meeting was held as a workshop on May 15, 2001, in Atlanta, Georgia, inconjunction with the 2001 Spring Congress of the American Medical Informatics Association(AMIA). More than 30 public health, informatics, and education experts met to begin to
8 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
define competencies for public health informatics. In the brief time available, the group focusedon establishing the nature of the project, who it was intended to serve, and initial brainstormingto list some competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities that might be used to develop trainingin public health informatics. This group agreed to serve as the core of a Working Group for thepurposes of further developing the informatics competencies. (See Appendix A for a list ofWorking Group members.)
Working primarily through e-mail communication over the ensuing months, Drs. O’Carrolland Richards expanded the original Working Group to include new members who had aninterest in the project and relevant expertise. They also developed a preliminary draft of thecompetencies, which was distributed to the Working Group in July 2001.
Based on feedback received through October 18, 2001, Drs. O’Carroll and Richardsdeveloped a second draft of the public health competencies document, which they sent to theWorking Group at that time.
The Working Group met on October 21, 2001, in conjunction with the annual meeting ofthe American Public Health Association meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. At that meeting, theyreviewed feedback on the first draft and discussed outstanding issues related to the second draft.
Drs. O’Carroll and Richards sent a third draft to the Working Group in June 2002,incorporating changes and a reorganization of the competencies suggested at the October 2001meeting. After incorporating suggestions from this review by the Working Group, a final set ofinformatics competencies for public health professionals was delivered in August 2002 toDr. Maureen Lichtveld, Associate Director for Workforce Development, Public Health PracticeProgram Office, CDC, for incorporation into the work of the Public Health WorkforceDevelopment Collaborative.
Initial Focus, Workforce Segmentation,and Assumptions
A. Initial focusThe Working Group decided that our initial focus would be on the development of
informatics competencies for the current U.S. public health workforce. These competencies areintended to guide the development of new informatics learning resources for today’s publichealth workforce.
However, as a group we also noted the need to articulate a detailed set of graduate-levelpublic health informatics competencies to guide the development of training by degree-grantingacademic programs. Such programs are likely to develop and deliver informatics training that isboth broader and deeper than is possible or appropriate for the general public health workforce.Although we do not attempt to define graduate-level public health informatics competencies inthis document, such a definition remains a high priority for future work.
To a large extent, informatics competencies for the U.S. public health workforce should beapplicable to the developing world as well. Established informatics principles and practices
August 2002 9
would remain the same, although wide international disparities in hardware, software,telecommunications, applications, and data exchange standards may limit the relevance andachievability of some of the competencies. Although we have worked to develop standards thatare universally useful and adaptable with regard to technology and its advances, the WorkingGroup expects that the informatics competencies detailed in the appendices will be reviewed,modified, and adapted by many countries and interest groups.
B. Workforce segmentationFor purposes of defining specific sets of public health informatics competencies, we used
the three workforce segments defined by the Council on Linkages, as follows:
1. Front Line Staff: Individuals who carry out the bulk of day-to-day tasks (e.g., sanitarians,counselors, nurses and other clinicians, investigators, lab technicians, health educators).Responsibilities may include basic data collection and analysis, fieldwork, programplanning, outreach activities, programmatic support, and other organizational tasks.
2. Senior Level Staff (Senior Level Technical Staff): Individualswith a specialized staff function but not serving as managers (e.g.epidemiologists, attorneys, biostatisticians, health planners, healthpolicy analysts). They have increased technical knowledge ofprinciples in areas such as epidemiology, program planning andevaluation, data collection, budget development, grant writing,and so on, and may be responsible for coordination and oversightof pieces of projects or programs.
3. Supervisory and Management Staff: Individuals responsible formajor programs or functions of an organization, with staff whoreport to them. Increased skills can be expected in programdevelopment, program implementation, program evaluation,community relations, writing, public speaking, managingtimelines and work plans, presenting arguments andrecommendations on policy issues.
—Council on Linkages. http://trainingfinder.org/competencies/background.htm
We consider that the term public health professionals (a) refers collectively to public healthworkers in these three workforce segments, and (b) includes all of the public health workforcewith the exception of exclusively clerical and administrative staff. Note that we explicitly includeinformation technology professionals—e.g., computer scientists, programmers, systems analysts,database designers, and network engineers—in the Senior Level Technical Staff workforce segment.
Several informatics competencies apply to the entire public health workforce, includingclerical and administrative staff. All of the informatics competencies apply in some degree to allthree segments of the professional workforce. For each informatics competency in our list, weindicate the proposed level of skill (aware, knowledgeable, or proficient) for each segment of
We prefer the term “Senior Level TechnicalStaff” to “Senior Level Staff”, because webelieve the former term better reflects thedefinition supplied by the Council onLinkages. Although we use the term “SeniorLevel Technical Staff” in the remainder of thisdocument, the definition of this work forcecategory is unchanged from that of theCouncil on Linkages.
10 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
the public health workforce. We define these skill levels in the same manner as the Council onLinkages (see www.trainingfinder.org/competencies/background.htm#definitions).
Although the three-segment workforce classification is useful in proposing varying levelsof skill for each competency, it does not begin to capture the true diversity of the public healthworkforce (consisting as it does of nurses, physicians, environmental health specialists,epidemiologists, biostatisticians, laboratorians, managers, social workers, nutritionists, healtheducators, and many others). Because of the complexity of the public health workforce, ourproposed levels of competency are necessarily imprecise. They should be considered simply assuggested starting points, to be adapted as appropriate to the specific training needs of a givenprofessional in a given work setting.
Finally, we should note a special class of public health professional—the Chief InformationOfficer, or CIO. These persons work as policy advisors and leaders at the highest level of apublic health agency, bringing special expertise in the areas of information architecture,information resource management planning, enterprise-level information systems development
and integration, and organizational changemanagement as it relates to the incorporation ofinformation technology. Chief Information Officers arerelatively new to public health. State public healthagencies have only recently begun to hire CIOs, andfew if any local health departments have anyone servingin such a capacity. In this document, we do not attemptto define the full set of informatics competencies for aCIO. Rather, in keeping with our focus on the currentpublic health workforce, we defer specification of publichealth informatics competencies for CIO-level staff toa later time.
C. Assumptions1. We assume that general informatics competencies (e.g., database design) are applicable
to all informatics specialty areas, i.e., public health informatics, nursing informatics,clinical informatics, and any other informatics subspecialties. In addition to these generalinformatics competencies, there are other competencies unique to public healthinformatics. We have included both general and specific informatics competencies inour list.
2. We feel that some of the Council on Linkages’ core competencies can properly beconsidered informatics competencies as well (e.g., Evaluates the integrity and comparabilityof data and identifies gaps in data sources). We have included these core competenciesamong our informatics competencies (the “Class 1” competencies in Appendices B andC), while acknowledging their dual role as core competencies.
3. We assume that competencies for clinical informatics are outside the scope of our work,although we recognize that many public health agencies deliver some clinical care. For
Chief Information OfficerThis special class of public health professionals works aspolicy advisors and leaders at the highest level of a publichealth agency, bringing special expertise in the areas ofinformation architecture, information resource managementplanning, enterprise-level information systems developmentand integration, and organizational change management.
August 2002 11
information related to clinical informatics competencies, we refer the reader to theInternational Medical Informatics Association (www.imia.org/endorsed.html); theAmerican Medical Informatics Association (www.amia.org); and the Association ofAmerican Medical Colleges (www.aamc.org/meded/msop/).
The development of electronic repositories of clinical data in many patient care settingspresents a tremendous opportunity for public health—for real-time morbidity surveillance, forthe delivery of patient-specific prevention information, and for a variety of other activities atthe intersection of clinical care and public health. We strongly encourage public healthinformaticians to engage with those developing clinical information systems, to ensure thatnew clinical information systems can be appropriately integrated with public health systems.
Conceptual FrameworkWe suggest three general classes of public health informatics competencies:1. Competencies related to the use of information per se for public health practice
2. Competencies related to the use of information technology to increase one’s individualeffectiveness as a public health professional
3. Competencies related to the development, deployment, and maintenance ofinformation systems to improve the effectiveness of the public health enterprise (e.g., thestate or local health department)
The first class of informatics competencies has to do with thescientifically sound and ethical use, assessment, analysis,interpretation, and dissemination of data and information. As notedin the Assumptions section, we believe that these competencies arealready well stated in the Council on Linkages’ Core Competenciesfor Public Health Professionals, and so we have included verbatimthe applicable core competencies in our list of informaticscompetencies. However, because training in competency areasrelated to data analysis and interpretation has long been an integralpart of public health education—in courses in epidemiology,surveillance, biostatistics, and so forth—we do not provide example learning objectives forthese competencies. To the Council on Linkages’ list of core competencies, we do add a singleadditional Class 1 informatics competency: the systematic management of public healthinformation as a key strategic resource of a public health organization.
Regarding the second class of informatics competencies, related to the effective use ofinformation technology: all public health professionals should be competent at some level inthis regard, but this class of competencies is particularly important for front-line and senior-level technical professionals (on whom senior management officials often depend for accurate,timely, science-based information and guidance). The third class of competencies, dealing with
Three Classes of Competencies• Use of Information• Use of information technology• Development, deployment, and
maintenance of Information systems
12 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
information systems development, is particularly relevant to senior-level technical andsupervisory/management staff, who are involved in decision-making about information systemsdevelopment and design, as well as in the management of information technology projects.
Within each ofthese latter two classesof competencies, levelsof ability may beconsidered to vary fromfamiliarity with basicconcepts and tech-niques to proficiency inthe application of keyinformatics principlesand practices. Forexample, it may beadequate to ensure thatall front-line staff arecapable of basic use ofthe World Wide Web—opening a browser,navigating to aparticular URL, and soforth—whereas forsenior-level staff, wewould expect a moreadvanced capacity touse the Web expertly,for example, to locate,assemble, evaluate, and
interpret authoritative information and data relating to their particular program or organizationalfunction (see Figure 1).
Similarly, in the systems development arena (see Figure 1) we might seek to ensure that allfront-line staff are aware of the important role they can play in suggesting ideas for systemdevelopment, and in participating in that development. (Note that “systems development”includes contracting and purchasing of systems and system components as well as developmentof customized computer programs and databases.) For senior-level technical staff, we mightwant to ensure that they have a basic understanding of well-established processes used ininformation systems development (e.g., requirements specification), and understand the natureof the roles they ought to play in those processes. For supervisory and management staff, however,who make decisions about information technology projects and ultimately have managementresponsibility for such projects, we would expect a higher level of proficiency related to theapplication of systems development processes and proven techniques of information technologyproject management.
Figure 1. Levels of Expertise in Informatics by Workforce Segment and Classof Competency
August 2002 13
Conclusion
We hope this set of informatics competencies will be useful in the development of newlearning resources for public health professionals. Given the tremendous range in the size andcapacity of local and state health departments, we do not expect all public health professionalsto be proficient in all of these informatics competencies in all public health settings. Nevertheless,we believe that these competencies are realistic and attainable for most public health professionalsin mid- to large-sized health departments. We firmly believe that proficiency in these informaticscompetencies would directly assist today’s public health professionals to harness the power ofmodern information technology to the practice of public health.
Finally, in keeping with the usage of the software development world, this list of competenciesmay be considered a “version one” product. We expect that with experience and broader input,these competencies will be modified and improved. To provide feedback in this regard, pleasecontact the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice at (206) 685-1130 [email protected], or contact Dr. O’Carroll directly at [email protected].
14 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
ReferencesCDC. Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program, 2002. http://www.cdc.gov/epo/
dphsi/informat.htm.
Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. The MSPH program in PublicHealth Informatics. Fall 2001. http://www.sph.emory.edu/bios/phi.html.
Lichtveld MY, Cioffi JP, Baker EL, Bailey SB, Gebbie K, Henderson JV, Jones DL,Kurz RS, Margolis S, Miner K, Thielen L, Tilson H. Partnership for Front-LineSuccess: A Call for a National Action Agenda on Workforce Development. J PublicHealth Management Practice 2001; 7(4):1-9.
National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Working Group. National ElectronicDisease Surveillance System (NEDSS): a standards-based approach to connect publichealth and clinical medicine. J Public Health Management Practice 2001 Nov; 7(6):43-50.
O’Carroll PW, Yasnoff WA, Ward E, Ripp L, Martin E. Public Health Informatics andInformation Systems. New York: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. (in press, availableNov 2002).
O’Carroll PW, Yasnoff WA, Wilhoite W. Public Health Informatics: a CDC coursefor public health program managers. Proceedings of the 1998 AMIA Annual FallSymposium (formerly SCAMC); 1998:472-476.
University of Illinois at Chicago. Earn a Masters Degree or Certificate Online in PublicHealth Informatics. 2002. http://www.uic.edu/sph/phi/.
University of Washington, 2002. The Biomedical and Health Informatics GraduateProgram at the University of Washington. http://www.informatics.washington.edu.
Yasnoff WA, O’Carroll PW, Koo D, Linkins RW, Kilbourne E. Public HealthInformatics: Improving and transforming public health in the information age.J Public Health Management Practice 2000; 6(6):67-75.
Yasnoff WA, Overhage JM, Humphreys BL, LaVenture M, Goodman KW, GatewoodL, Ross DA, Reid J, Hammond WE, Dwyer D, Huff SM, Gotham I, Kukafka R,Loonsk JW, Wagner MM. A National Agenda for Public Health Informatics. J PublicHealth Management Practice 2001; 7(6):1-21.
August 2002 15
Appendix AMembers of the Public Health Informatics CompetenciesWorking Group Name AffiliationLorraine Alexander University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Center for Public Health PreparednessNancy Allee University of Michigan School of Public HealthJ. Jackson Barnette University of Iowa College of Public HealthBetty Bekemeier University of Washington School of Public Health and Community MedicineDonald Bialek Harvard School of Public HealthCarol Brown National Association of County and City Health OfficialsMilton Corn National Library of MedicineKevin Croke University of Illinois - Chicago School of Public HealthVirginia Dato University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Center for Public Health PracticeJac Davies Washington State Department of HealthPatricia Drehobl CDC, National Center for Infectious DiseasesSherrilynne Fuller University of Washington Health Sciences LibrariesRoland Gamache Indiana State Department of HealthCarol Gassert Health Resources and Services AdministrationKristine Gebbie Columbia University School of Nursing, Center for Health PolicyRobert Glandon Ingham County Health DepartmentTimothy Green CDC, Epidemiology Program OfficeNeil Hann Robert Wood Johnson National Excellence Collaborative onInformation Technology, OklahomaDenise Hase Northeast Colorado Health DepartmentRobert T. Kambic Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public HealthBryant T. Karras University of Washington School of Public Health and Community MedicineAlana Knudson-Buresh Association of State and Territorial Health OfficialsDenise Koo CDC, Epidemiology Program OfficeRita Kukafka Columbia University Mailman School of Public HealthMaureen Lichtveld CDC, Public Health Practice Program Office (PHPPO)Charles E. Matiella National Association of County and City Health OfficialsKristine Maxymiv Association of State and Territorial Health OfficialsRoss McKenzie Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public HealthAlan Melnick Oregon Health & Science University, Departments of Public Health and Family Medicine;
and Health Officer, Clackamas County, OregonEdward K. Mensah University of Illinois-Chicago School of Public HealthJacqueline Merrill Columbia University School of Nursing, Center for Health PolicyKathy Miner Emory University Rollins School of Public HealthMaggie Moran Public Health - Seattle & King CountySteve Morse Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Center for Public Health PreparednessBabette Neuberger University of Illinois – Chicago School of Public HealthPatrick O’Carroll CDC, PHPPO; and University of Washington, Northwest Center for Public Health PreparednessMark Oberle University of Washington School of Public Health and Community MedicineNeil Rambo University of Washington Health Sciences LibrariesSteve Rauch University of Washington School of Public Health and Community MedicineJanise Richards CDC, Epidemiology Program OfficeHelga Rippen American College of Preventive Medicine, Information Technology CommitteeDave Ross All Kids CountVicki Stover-Hertzberg Emory University Rollins School of Public HealthG. David Williamson Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
William A. Yasnoff Senior Advisor, National Health Information Infrastructure, DHHS
16 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Class 1. Effective Use of INFORMATION
Domain/ COMPETENCYTopical Area
1. Determines appropriate uses and limitations of both quantitative and qualitative data 2. Evaluates the integrity and comparability of data and identifies gaps in data sources 3. Applies ethical principles to the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of
data and information 4. Partners with communities to attach meaning to collected quantitative and qualitative
data 5. Makes relevant inferences from quantitative and qualitative data 6. Obtains and interprets information regarding risks and benefits to the community 7. Applies data collection processes, information technology applications, and computer
systems storage/retrieval strategies 8. Recognizes how the data illuminates ethical, political, scientific, economic, and overall
public health issues
9. Collects, summarizes, and interprets information relevant to an issue10. Utilizes current techniques in decision analysis and health planning
11. Communicates effectively both in writing and orally, or in other ways12. Uses the media, advanced technologies, and community networks to communicate
information13. Effectively presents accurate demographic, statistical, programmatic, and scientific
information for professional and lay audiences
14. Develops, implements, and evaluates a community public health assessment
15. Defines, assesses, and understands the health status of populations, determinants ofhealth and illness, factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention,and factors influencing the use of health services
16. Identifies and applies basic research methods used in public health17. Applies the basic public health sciences including behavioral and social sciences,
biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental public health, and prevention of chronicand infectious diseases and injuries
18. Identifies and retrieves current relevant scientific evidence19. Identifies the limitations of research and the importance of observations and
interrelationships
With one exception, the competencies in this Class were drawn verbatim from the “Core Competencies for PublicHealth Professionals” compendium developed by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice.These core competencies may be thought of as informatics competencies as well, and thus are included here. Thesingle additional competency in this Class is competency #24, in bold, in the Leadership and Systems Thinkingdomain.
Analytic AssessmentSkills
Policy Dev’t/ ProgramPlanning
Communication Skills
CommunityDimensions of
Practice
Basic Public HealthSciences
Appendix BPublic Health Informatics Competencies
August 2002 17
20. Manages information systems for collection, retrieval, and use of data for decision-making
21. Conducts cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and cost utility analyses
22. Identifies internal and external issues that may impact delivery of essential public healthservices (i.e. strategic planning)
23. Promotes team and organizational learning24. Manages the information of the public health organization as a key strategic resource
and mission tool
1. Utilizes personal computers and other office information technologies for workingwith documents and other computerized files
2. Utilizes modern information technology tools for the full range of electroniccommunication appropriate to one’s duties and programmatic area
3. Appropriately selects and utilizes state-of-the-art software tools in support of publichealth data acquisition, entry, management, analysis, planning, and reporting
4. Utilizes modern information technology tools to identify, locate, access, assess, andappropriately interpret and use on-line public health-related information and data
5. Utilizes information technology so as to ensure the integrity and protection of electronicfiles and computer systems
6. Applies all relevant procedures (policies) and technical means (security) to ensure thatconfidential information is appropriately protected
7. Utilizes modern distance-learning technologies to support life-long learning appropriateto programmatic needs
8. Utilizes modern information science and technology as a strategic tool to promotepublic health (e.g., through community education, behavior modification, collaborativepolicy development, issue advocacy and community mobilization)
9. Combines data and information from multiple sources, to create new information tosupport public health decision-making
Class 2: Effective Use of INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYThis class of competencies has to do with the ability to use various kinds of information technology to improve one’sindividual professional effectiveness. Certain basic competencies in this Class are relevant to all public health workers(including purely clerical and administrative staff ). All of the competencies in this Class are relevant in some degreeto all public health professionals.
Domain/ COMPETENCYTopical Area
Financial Planningand Management
Leadership andSystems Thinking
Digital literacy
ElectronicCommunications
Selection and use ofI.T. tools
On-line informationutilization
Data and SystemProtection
Distance Learning
Strategic use of I.T. topromote health
Information andknowledge
development
18 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
1. Composes and manages systems development teams in a manner that demonstrates arecognition of the appropriate roles and domains for computer scientists, epidemiologists,policy makers and programmers and other IT specialists in information systemsdevelopment
2. Leads and advocates for, or otherwise actively participates in, the development ofintegrated, cost-effective public health information systems within the public healthenterprise, ensuring that new applications and information systems are built inconformance with a larger (enterprise-level) information architecture
3. Recognizes, participates in, and applies accepted models and processes for developinginformation systems and for managing information resources
4. Actively, effectively engages and communicates with information technology specialistsas well as public health colleagues regarding proven information technologies and theirpotential application to public health practice
5. Participates in the development of new and enhanced databases for public health, andapplies principles of good database design
6. Utilizes (or ensures the utilization of ) data standards for storage and transmission, andis able to find the relevant standards specifications as needed
7. Applies and participates in developing confidentiality and privacy policies for theenterprise, and ensures the development of adequate security systems to support theimplementation of those policies
8. Utilizes proven informatics principles and practices when managing informationtechnology projects
9. Utilizes proven informatics principles and practices when managing informationtechnology staff and other IT specialists
10. Procures appropriate cost-effective, information technologies for the public healthenterprise
11. Uses information technology to assure openness of public health agency processes andresponsiveness to the electorate and the public
12. Monitors informatics research findings and public health information systemsdevelopment efforts, and applies these findings and experiences as appropriate to publichealth practice
Class 3: Effective Management of INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTSThis class of competencies has to do with the ability to effectively develop and manage information systems toimprove the effectiveness of a public health enterprise. The focus here is not limited to improving one’s individualprofessional effectiveness, although that is often a natural consequence of effective systems development. Instead, thefocus is on harnessing the power of modern information technology to improve the functioning and scope of thepublic health agency.
Domain/ COMPETENCYTopical Area
System development
Cross-disciplinarycommunication
Databases
Standards
Confidentiality andSecurity Systems
Project management
Human resourcesmanagement
Procurement
Accountability
Research
August 2002 19
Appendix C
Public Health Informatics Competencies with Suggested Proficiency Levelsby Workforce Segment
In the following table, levels of proficiency (aware, knowledgeable, or proficient) are suggested for each informaticscompetency, for various segments of the public health workforce. Aware indicates a basic level of mastery of thecompetency, in which individuals are able to identify the concept or skill but have a relatively limited ability toperform the skill. Knowledgeable indicates an intermediate level of mastery of the competency, in which individualsare able to apply and describe the skill. Proficient indicates an advanced level of mastery of the competency, in whichindividuals are able to synthesize, critique, or teach the skill.
Because of the complexity of the public health workforce and the settings in which public health is practiced,our proposed levels of proficiency are necessarily imprecise. They should be considered simply as suggested startingpoints, to be adapted as appropriate to the specific training needs of a given professional in a given work setting.
20 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Pub
lic H
ealt
h In
form
atic
s Co
mp
eten
cies
wit
h Su
gges
ted
Pro
fici
ency
Lev
els
by
Wo
rkfo
rce
Segm
ent
Clas
s 1.
Eff
ecti
ve U
se o
f IN
FORM
ATI
ON
Not
e: W
ith
one
exce
ptio
n, th
e co
mpe
tenc
ies
in th
is C
lass
wer
e dr
awn
verba
tim fr
om th
e "
Cor
e C
ompe
tenc
ies
for
Publ
ic H
ealth
Pro
fess
iona
ls"
com
pend
ium
dev
elop
ed b
y th
e C
ounc
il on
Lin
kage
s B
etw
een
Aca
dem
ia a
nd P
ublic
Hea
lth P
ract
ice
(see
ww
w.tr
aini
ngfin
der.o
rg/c
ompe
tenc
ies/
list.h
tm).
The
se c
ore
com
pete
ncie
s m
ay b
e th
ough
t of a
s in
form
atic
s co
mpe
tenc
ies
as w
ell,
and
thus
are
incl
uded
her
e. T
he s
ingl
e ad
diti
onal
com
pete
ncy
in th
is C
lass
is c
ompe
tenc
y #2
4, i
n bo
ld, i
n th
e Le
aders
hip a
nd S
ystem
s Thi
nkin
g do
mai
n .
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Sta
ffSu
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t
Ana
lyti
c A
sses
smen
t Sk
ills
1.
Det
erm
ines
app
ropr
iate
use
s an
d lim
itat
ions
of b
oth
quan
tita
tive
and
qua
litat
ive
data
A
war
e to
kn
owle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
2.
E
valu
ates
the
inte
grit
y an
d co
mpa
rabi
lity
of d
ata
and
iden
tifie
s ga
ps in
dat
a so
urce
s
Aw
are
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
3.
A
pplie
s et
hica
l pri
ncip
les
to th
e co
llect
ion,
mai
nten
ance
, use
, and
dis
sem
inat
ion
of d
ata
and
info
rmat
ion
K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
4.
Pa
rtne
rs w
ith
com
mun
itie
s to
att
ach
mea
ning
to c
olle
cted
qua
ntit
ativ
e an
d qu
alit
ativ
e da
ta
Aw
are
to
know
ledg
eabl
e Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
5.
M
akes
rel
evan
t inf
eren
ces
from
qua
ntita
tive
and
qua
litat
ive
data
A
war
e to
kn
owle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
6.
O
btai
ns a
nd in
terp
rets
info
rmat
ion
rega
rdin
g ri
sks
and
bene
fits
to th
e co
mm
unit
y
Aw
are
to
know
ledg
eabl
e Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
7.
A
pplie
s da
ta c
olle
ctio
n pr
oces
ses,
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gy a
pplic
atio
ns, a
nd c
ompu
ter
syst
ems
stor
age/
retr
ieva
l str
ateg
ies
A
war
e to
kn
owle
dgea
ble
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
prof
icie
nt
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
prof
icie
nt
8.
R
ecog
nize
s ho
w t
he d
ata
illum
inat
es e
thic
al, p
olit
ical
, sci
enti
fic, e
cono
mic
, and
ove
rall
publ
ic
heal
th is
sues
A
war
e K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
pr
ofic
ient
Prof
icie
nt
August 2002 21
August 2002
22 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Polic
y D
ev't
/ Pr
ogr
am P
lann
ing
9.
Col
lect
s, s
umm
ariz
es, a
nd in
terp
rets
info
rmat
ion
rele
vant
to a
n is
sue
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
10
. U
tiliz
es c
urre
nt te
chni
ques
in d
ecis
ion
anal
ysis
and
hea
lth p
lann
ing
Aw
are
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
Com
mun
icat
ion
Skill
s 11
. C
omm
unic
ates
eff
ecti
vely
bot
h in
wri
ting
and
ora
lly, o
r in
oth
er w
ays
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
12
. U
ses
the
med
ia, a
dvan
ced
tech
nolo
gies
, and
com
mun
ity
netw
orks
to c
omm
unic
ate
info
rmat
ion
Aw
are
to
know
ledg
eabl
e Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
13
. E
ffec
tive
ly p
rese
nts
accu
rate
dem
ogra
phic
, sta
tist
ical
, pro
gram
mat
ic, a
nd s
cien
tific
info
rmat
ion
for
prof
essi
onal
and
lay
audi
ence
s
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
Com
mun
ity
Dim
ensi
ons
of
Prac
tice
14
. D
evel
ops,
impl
emen
ts, a
nd e
valu
ates
a c
omm
unit
y pu
blic
hea
lth a
sses
smen
t K
now
ledg
eabl
e Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
Basi
c Pu
blic
H
ealt
h Sc
ienc
es
15.
Def
ines
, ass
esse
s, a
nd u
nder
stan
ds th
e he
alth
sta
tus
of p
opul
atio
ns, d
eter
min
ants
of h
ealth
and
ill
ness
, fac
tors
con
trib
utin
g to
hea
lth p
rom
otio
n an
d di
seas
e pr
even
tion
, and
fact
ors
influ
enci
ng
the
use
of h
ealth
ser
vice
s
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
16
. Id
enti
fies
and
appl
ies
basi
c re
sear
ch m
etho
ds u
sed
in p
ublic
hea
lth
Aw
are
Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
17
. A
pplie
s th
e ba
sic
publ
ic h
ealth
sci
ence
s in
clud
ing
beha
vior
al a
nd s
ocia
l sci
ence
s, b
iost
atis
tics
, ep
idem
iolo
gy, e
nvir
onm
enta
l pub
lic h
ealth
, and
pre
vent
ion
of c
hron
ic a
nd in
fect
ious
dis
ease
s an
d in
juri
es
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
18
. Id
enti
fies
and
retr
ieve
s cu
rren
t rel
evan
t sci
enti
fic e
vide
nce
K
now
ledg
eabl
e
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
19
. Id
enti
fies
the
limit
atio
ns o
f res
earc
h an
d th
e im
port
ance
of o
bser
vati
ons
and
inte
rrel
atio
nshi
ps
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Sta
ffSu
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t
August 2002 23
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Sta
ffSu
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t
Fina
ncia
l Pla
nnin
g an
d M
anag
emen
t 20
. M
anag
es in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s fo
r co
llect
ion,
ret
riev
al, a
nd u
se o
f dat
a fo
r de
cisi
on-m
akin
g
Aw
are
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
21
. C
ondu
cts
cost
-eff
ecti
vene
ss, c
ost-
bene
fit, a
nd c
ost
utili
ty a
naly
ses
A
war
e K
now
ledg
eabl
e Pr
ofic
ient
Lead
ersh
ip
and
Sys
tem
s Th
inki
ng
22.
Iden
tifie
s in
tern
al a
nd e
xter
nal i
ssue
s th
at m
ay im
pact
del
iver
y of
ess
enti
al p
ublic
hea
lth s
ervi
ces
(i.e
. str
ateg
ic p
lann
ing)
A
war
e K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
23
. Pr
omot
es te
am a
nd o
rgan
izat
iona
l lea
rnin
g
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
24
. M
anag
es th
e in
form
atio
n of
the
publ
ic h
ealth
org
aniz
atio
n as
a k
ey s
trat
egic
reso
urce
an
d m
issi
on to
ol
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Pr
ofic
ient
Pr
ofic
ient
24 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Pub
lic H
ealt
h In
form
atic
s Co
mp
eten
cies
Clas
s 2:
Eff
ecti
ve U
se o
f IN
FORM
ATI
ON
TEC
HN
OLO
GY
Thi
s cl
ass
of c
ompe
tenc
ies
has
to d
o w
ith
the
abili
ty to
use
var
ious
kin
ds o
f inf
orm
atio
n te
chno
logy
to im
prov
e on
e's
indi
vidu
al p
rofe
ssio
nal e
ffec
tive
ness
. Cer
tain
bas
ic
com
pete
ncie
s in
this
Cla
ss a
re r
elev
ant t
o al
l pub
lic h
ealth
wor
kers
(in
clud
ing
pure
ly c
leri
cal a
nd a
dmin
istr
ativ
e st
aff)
. All
of th
e co
mpe
tenc
ies
in th
is C
lass
are
rel
evan
t in
som
e de
gree
to a
ll pu
blic
hea
lth p
rofe
ssio
nals
.
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Dig
ital
lite
racy
1.
Uti
lizes
per
sona
l co
mpu
ters
and
oth
er
offic
e in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es fo
r w
orki
ng
wit
h do
cum
ents
and
ot
her
com
pute
rize
d fil
es
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• rec
ogni
ze a
nd u
nder
stan
d th
e fu
ncti
on
of th
e m
ain
com
pone
nts
of a
co
mpu
ter
• lau
nch
a co
mpu
ter
appl
icat
ion
• sav
e w
ork
to a
com
pute
r fil
e, a
nd lo
cate
an
d op
en a
file
on
a co
mpu
ter
disk
dr
ive
• pri
nt a
file
• c
opy
a fil
e fo
r us
e on
ano
ther
com
pute
r• u
se a
sta
ndar
d w
ord
proc
essi
ng p
rogr
am
to c
reat
e an
d ed
it a
form
atte
d do
cum
ent u
sing
tabl
es a
nd g
raph
ics
• u
se a
fax
mac
hine
to
send
a fa
csim
ile
copy
of a
doc
umen
t
• All
(ind
irec
tly)
Elec
tro
nic
Com
mun
icat
ions
2.
Uti
lizes
mod
ern
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gy
tool
s fo
r th
e fu
ll ra
nge
of
elec
tron
ic
com
mun
icat
ion
appr
opri
ate
to o
ne's
duti
es a
nd p
rogr
amm
atic
ar
ea.
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• sen
d an
d re
ceiv
e e-
mai
l (u
sing
ap
prop
riat
e e-
mai
l eti
quet
te)
• ope
n an
d sa
ve b
inar
y at
tach
men
ts to
e-
mai
l mes
sage
s, a
nd a
ttac
h fil
es to
ou
tgoi
ng e
-mai
l mes
sage
s • c
olla
bora
te e
lect
roni
cally
wit
h pe
ers,
e.
g., b
y id
enti
fyin
g, s
ubsc
ribi
ng to
, an
d pa
rtic
ipat
ing
in p
rogr
am-
appr
opri
ate
elec
tron
ic "
lists
" (e
-mai
l-ba
sed
disc
ussi
on g
roup
s) o
r ot
her
colla
bora
tive
app
licat
ions
• s
end
heal
th a
lert
s to
pre
-est
ablis
hed
grou
ps u
sing
e-m
ail,
broa
dcas
t fax
, an
d ot
her
appr
opri
ate
tech
nolo
gies
• All
(ind
irec
tly)
but e
spec
ially
: • C
omm
unic
atio
n
• Cul
tura
l Com
pete
ncy
•C
omm
unit
y D
imen
sion
s o f
Pr
acti
ce
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
August 2002 25
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Sele
ctio
n an
d u
se
of
I.T. t
oo
ls
3.
App
ropr
iate
ly s
elec
ts a
nd
utili
zes
stat
e-of
-the
-art
so
ftw
are
tool
s in
sup
port
of
pub
lic h
ealth
dat
a ac
quis
itio
n, e
ntry
, m
anag
emen
t, an
alys
is,
plan
ning
, and
rep
orti
ng.
n/a
Aw
are
Prof
icie
nt
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
• d
escr
ibe
the
proc
ess
of lo
cati
ng,
asse
ssin
g, a
nd c
ompa
ring
ava
ilabl
e so
ftw
are
tool
s fo
r a
part
icul
ar fu
ncti
on• a
pply
kno
wle
dge
of th
e pu
blic
hea
lth
wor
kfor
ce a
nd s
yste
m c
apac
ity
to
sele
ct th
e m
ost a
ppro
pria
te s
oftw
are
tool
s.
• eff
ecti
vely
use
sof
twar
e to
ols
appr
opri
ate
to o
ne's
posi
tion
, inc
ludi
ng (
for
exam
ple)
ele
ctro
nic
spre
adsh
eets
, da
taba
se a
pplic
atio
ns, a
nd
pres
enta
tion
sof
twar
e.
• des
crib
e th
e co
mm
on a
pplic
atio
ns o
f st
atis
tica
l sof
twar
e to
pub
lic h
ealth
pr
acti
ce, a
nd d
emon
stra
te a
t lea
st
basi
c fa
mili
arit
y w
ith
one
or m
ore
stat
isti
cal s
oftw
are
pack
ages
. • d
escr
ibe
the
utili
ty o
f GIS
to p
ublic
he
alth
dat
a an
alys
is a
nd d
ispl
ay, a
nd
dem
onst
rate
at l
east
bas
ic fa
mili
arit
y w
ith
at le
ast o
ne G
IS s
oftw
are
syst
em.
• All
(ind
irec
tly)
but e
spec
ially
: • A
naly
tic/
Ass
essm
ent
• Com
mun
icat
ion
• Bas
ic P
H S
cien
ces
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
On-
line
info
rmat
ion
utili
zati
on
4.
Uti
lizes
mod
ern
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gy
tool
s to
iden
tify
, loc
ate,
ac
cess
, ass
ess,
and
ap
prop
riat
ely
inte
rpre
t an
d us
e on
-lin
e pu
blic
he
alth
-rel
ated
in
form
atio
n an
d da
ta.
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
Prof
icie
nt
• use
bro
wse
r so
ftw
are
to n
avig
ate
the
Wor
ld-W
ide
Web
• u
se g
ener
al-p
urpo
se o
n-lin
e se
arch
en
gine
s to
sea
rch
the
Web
• i
dent
ify s
peci
al-p
urpo
se s
earc
h en
gine
s (e
.g.,
PubM
ed, C
DC
WO
ND
ER)
rele
vant
to th
eir
spec
ific
prog
ram
, and
us
e th
ose
sear
ch e
ngin
es to
ret
riev
e pu
blic
hea
lth-s
peci
fic in
form
atio
n an
d da
ta
• ass
ess
the
valid
ity,
aut
hori
tati
vene
ss,
and
appr
opri
ate
uses
of d
ata
and
info
rmat
ion
retr
ieve
d fr
om o
n-lin
e so
urce
s
• Ana
lyti
c/ A
sses
smen
t • P
olic
y D
ev't/
Pro
gram
Pl
anni
ng
• Cul
tura
l Com
pete
ncy
• Bas
ic P
H S
cien
ces
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
August 2002
26 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Dat
a an
d S
yste
m
Pro
tect
ion
5.
Uti
lizes
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gy s
o as
to e
nsur
e th
e in
tegr
ity
and
prot
ecti
on o
f ele
ctro
nic
files
and
com
pute
r sy
stem
s
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
Prof
icie
nt
• app
ropr
iate
ly u
se a
nd m
aint
ain
viru
s-sc
anni
ng s
oftw
are
inst
alle
d at
thei
r or
gani
zati
on
• mak
e ti
mel
y an
d ap
prop
riat
e ba
ck-u
ps
of im
port
ant e
lect
roni
c fil
es
• use
dat
a ve
rific
atio
n an
d va
lidat
ion
proc
edur
es a
s ne
cess
ary
whe
n do
ing
data
ent
ry/e
diti
ng
• des
crib
e th
e re
leva
nt p
olic
ies
and
proc
edur
es n
eede
d fo
r re
cove
ry in
cas
e of
an
IT-r
elat
ed d
isas
ter
• des
crib
e th
e pr
oper
use
, tes
ting
, and
m
aint
enan
ce o
f bac
kup
serv
ers,
pow
er
sour
ces,
and
com
mun
icat
ions
faci
litie
s an
d th
e ra
tion
ale
behi
nd t
hese
pr
oced
ures
• d
escr
ibe
the
proc
edur
es fo
r as
suri
ng t
hat
the
info
rmat
ion
ente
red
or d
ispl
ayed
on
a w
eb s
ite
is s
ecur
e (e
.g. u
se a
nd
reco
gnit
ion
of s
ecur
e w
eb s
ites
, br
owse
r co
nfig
urat
ion
for
adeq
uate
en
cryp
tion
)
• All
(ind
irec
tly)
6.
App
lies
all r
elev
ant
proc
edur
es (
polic
ies)
and
te
chni
cal m
eans
(se
curi
ty)
to e
nsur
e th
at
conf
iden
tial
info
rmat
ion
is a
ppro
pria
tely
pr
otec
ted.
Aw
are
K
now
ledg
eabl
e
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• des
crib
e th
e co
nfid
enti
alit
y po
licie
s as
soci
ated
wit
h ea
ch d
ata
sour
ce fo
r w
hich
the
use
r ha
s ac
cess
• e
xpla
in t
he o
ffic
ially
app
rove
d (i
.e.
depa
rtm
enta
l) p
roce
dure
s fo
r as
suri
ng
that
the
conf
iden
tial
ity
of r
estr
icte
d in
form
atio
n re
sour
ces
is n
ot b
reac
hed
• use
sec
urit
y to
ols
and
proc
edur
es
appr
opri
atel
y an
d ef
fect
ivel
y to
pr
otec
t acc
ess
to r
estr
icte
d in
form
atio
n (e
.g.,
adeq
uate
leng
th,
non-
dict
iona
ry, n
on-p
rope
r-na
me
pass
wor
ds a
nd o
ther
aut
hent
icat
ion
met
hods
)
• All
(ind
irec
tly)
but e
spec
ially
: • A
naly
tic/
Ass
essm
ent
• Pol
icy
Dev
elop
men
t/
Prog
ram
Pla
nnin
g • C
omm
unic
atio
n • C
ultu
ral C
ompe
tenc
y • B
asic
PH
Sci
ence
s • F
inan
cial
Pla
nnin
g an
d M
anag
emen
t • L
eade
rshi
p an
d Sy
stem
s T
hink
ing
Dis
tanc
e Le
arni
ng
7.
Uti
lizes
mod
ern
dist
ance
-le
arni
ng te
chno
logi
es to
su
ppor
t life
-lon
g le
arni
ng
appr
opri
ate
to
prog
ram
mat
ic n
eeds
Aw
are
K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
Pr
ofic
ient
K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
Pr
ofic
ient
K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
Pr
ofic
ient
• d
isco
ver
avai
labl
e on
-lin
e le
arni
ng
oppo
rtun
itie
s • i
dent
ify th
e pu
blic
hea
lth
dist
ance
le
arni
ng c
oord
inat
or fo
r th
eir
stat
e • f
ind,
reg
iste
r fo
r, a
nd p
arti
cipa
te in
bo
th s
ynch
rono
us a
nd a
sync
hron
ous
Inte
rnet
-bas
ed le
arni
ng o
ppor
tuni
ties
• p
arti
cipa
te in
sat
ellit
e br
oadc
ast-
base
d le
arni
ng a
t or
near
the
ir w
ork-
site
• All
(ind
irec
tly)
August 2002 27
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Stra
tegi
c us
e o
f I.T
. to
pro
mo
te h
ealt
h.
8.
Uti
lizes
mod
ern
info
rmat
ion
scie
nce
and
tech
nolo
gy a
s a
stra
tegi
c to
ol to
pro
mot
e pu
blic
he
alth
(e.
g., t
hrou
gh
com
mun
ity
educ
atio
n,
beha
vior
mod
ifica
tion
, co
llabo
rati
ve p
olic
y de
velo
pmen
t, is
sue
advo
cacy
and
com
mun
ity
mob
iliza
tion
).
n/a
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• des
ign
and
depl
oy a
n ag
ency
/org
aniz
atio
n W
eb s
ite
that
he
lps
user
s fin
d he
alth
-rel
ated
in
form
atio
n (e
.g.,
dise
ase/
inju
ry
prev
enti
on r
ecom
men
dati
ons,
va
ccin
atio
n sc
hedu
les,
com
mun
ity
heal
th s
tati
stic
s, e
tc.)
. • d
evel
op s
trat
egie
s to
des
ign
and
targ
et
prev
enti
on m
essa
ges
to s
peci
fic
popu
lati
ons.
• e
mpl
oy in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es (
e.g.
, e-
mai
l, W
eb, l
ists
ervs
) to
bro
adca
st
heal
th-r
elat
ed n
ews,
ale
rts,
and
ad
viso
ries
to c
omm
unit
y m
embe
rs,
legi
slat
ors
and
othe
r po
licy
mak
ers,
ne
ws
med
ia, a
nd o
ther
s.
• em
ploy
col
labo
rati
ve in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es to
bro
aden
inpu
t int
o th
e po
licy-
mak
ing
proc
ess
(e.g
., e-
mai
l di
scus
sion
list
s am
ong
publ
ic h
ealth
le
ader
s, a
nd w
eb-b
ased
inpu
t fro
m
com
mun
ity
mem
bers
on
pend
ing
polic
y de
cisi
ons)
• r
ecog
nize
opp
ortu
niti
es to
app
ly o
r de
velo
p ne
w in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s in
su
ppor
t of p
ublic
hea
lth
• Pol
icy
Dev
elop
men
t/
Prog
ram
Pla
nnin
g • C
omm
unic
atio
n • C
ultu
ral C
ompe
tenc
y •C
omm
unit
y D
imen
sion
s o f
Pr
acti
ce
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
Info
rmat
ion
and
kn
ow
led
ge
dev
elo
pm
ent
9.
Com
bine
s da
ta a
nd
info
rmat
ion
from
m
ulti
ple
sour
ces,
to c
reat
e ne
w in
form
atio
n to
su
ppor
t pub
lic h
ealth
de
cisi
on-m
akin
g
n/a
Prof
icie
nt
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
• ide
ntify
the
wid
e ar
ray
of in
form
atio
n so
urce
s th
at a
re p
oten
tial
ly r
elev
ant t
o pu
blic
hea
lth (
e.g.
, clin
ical
, lab
or,
polic
e an
d cr
imin
al ju
stic
e,
envi
ronm
enta
l, an
d so
cial
ser
vice
s da
ta)
• fin
d on
-lin
e da
ta a
nd in
form
atio
n fr
om
mul
tipl
e so
urce
s • a
ppro
pria
tely
com
bine
, int
erpr
et, a
nd
utili
ze d
ata
and
info
rmat
ion
from
m
ulti
ple
sour
ces
to c
reat
e ne
w
info
rmat
ion
and
know
ledg
e
• Ana
lyti
c/A
sses
smen
t • P
olic
y D
evel
opm
ent/
Pr
ogra
m P
lann
ing
• Bas
ic P
H S
cien
ces
Aw
are
Aw
are
August 2002
28 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
Pub
lic H
ealt
h In
form
atic
s Co
mp
eten
cies
Cl
ass
3: E
ffec
tive
Man
agem
ent
of
INFO
RMA
TIO
N T
ECH
NO
LOG
Y PR
OJE
CTS
Thi
s cl
ass
of c
ompe
tenc
ies
has
to d
o w
ith
the
abili
ty to
eff
ecti
vely
dev
elop
and
man
age
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
to im
prov
e th
e ef
fect
iven
ess
of a
pub
lic h
ealth
ent
erpr
ise.
The
fo
cus
here
is n
ot li
mit
ed to
impr
ovin
g on
e's
indi
vidu
al p
rofe
ssio
nal e
ffec
tive
ness
, alth
ough
that
is o
ften
a n
atur
al c
onse
quen
ce o
f eff
ecti
ve s
yste
ms
deve
lopm
ent.
Inst
ead,
the
focu
s is
on
harn
essi
ng th
e po
wer
of m
oder
n in
form
atio
n te
chno
logy
to im
prov
e th
e fu
ncti
onin
g an
d sc
ope
of th
e pu
blic
hea
lth a
genc
y.
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
f Se
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Syst
em
dev
elo
pm
ent
1. C
ompo
ses
and
man
ages
sy
stem
s de
velo
pmen
t tea
ms
in a
man
ner
that
de
mon
stra
tes
a re
cogn
itio
n of
the
appr
opri
ate
role
s an
d do
mai
ns fo
r co
mpu
ter
scie
ntis
ts, e
pide
mio
logi
sts,
po
licy
mak
ers
and
prog
ram
mer
s an
d ot
her
IT
spec
ialis
ts in
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
deve
lopm
ent
n/a
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• des
crib
e th
e fu
ncti
on o
f eac
h of
the
di
scip
lines
in a
mul
tidi
scip
linar
y pr
ojec
t tea
m d
evel
opin
g a
publ
ic
heal
th in
form
atio
n sy
stem
• e
xpla
in t
he c
riti
cal i
mpo
rtan
ce o
f usi
ng
inte
rdis
cipl
inar
y te
ams
to d
evel
op I
.T.
proj
ects
, and
of e
nsur
ing
good
co
mm
unic
atio
ns b
etw
een
tech
nica
l an
d pr
ogra
m s
taff
• e
xpla
in t
he tr
aini
ng a
nd e
xper
ienc
e ex
pect
ed o
f per
sons
from
eac
h of
the
do
mai
ns
• eff
ecti
vely
ass
embl
e an
d le
ad a
m
ulti
disc
iplin
ary
team
of p
rofe
ssio
nals
to
bui
ld p
ublic
hea
lth
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
2. L
eads
and
adv
ocat
es fo
r, o
r ot
herw
ise
acti
vely
pa
rtic
ipat
es in
, the
de
velo
pmen
t of i
nteg
rate
d,
cost
-eff
ecti
ve p
ublic
hea
lth
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
wit
hin
the
publ
ic h
ealth
ent
erpr
ise,
en
suri
ng t
hat n
ew
appl
icat
ions
and
in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s ar
e bu
ilt in
con
form
ance
wit
h a
larg
er (
ente
rpri
se-l
evel
) in
form
atio
n ar
chit
ectu
re.
n/a
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
• rec
ogni
ze a
nd e
xpla
in th
e co
sts
and
bene
fits
of in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s • d
escr
ibe
the
elem
ents
of i
nfor
mat
ion
arch
itec
ture
• e
xpla
in t
he v
alue
of a
n in
form
atio
n ar
chit
ectu
re to
the
pub
lic h
ealth
en
terp
rise
• d
escr
ibe,
dev
elop
and
impl
emen
t a
proc
ess
by w
hich
an
orga
niza
tion
de
velo
ps a
coh
eren
t in
form
atio
n ar
chit
ectu
re
• des
crib
e pr
oven
org
aniz
atio
nal m
odel
s fo
r ef
fect
ive
man
agem
ent o
f I.T
. pr
ojec
ts
• Com
mun
icat
ion
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
Aw
are
August 2002 29
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
3. R
ecog
nize
s, p
arti
cipa
tes
in,
and
appl
ies
acce
pted
m
odel
s an
d pr
oces
ses
for
deve
lopi
ng in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s an
d fo
r m
anag
ing
info
rmat
ion
reso
urce
s
n/a
Aw
are
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
• des
crib
e th
e na
ture
of r
equi
rem
ents
sp
ecifi
cati
on, a
nd e
xpla
in it
s im
port
ance
in s
yste
ms
deve
lopm
ent
• man
age
a re
quir
emen
ts s
peci
ficat
ion
proc
ess,
ens
urin
g th
at a
ll ap
prop
riat
e st
akeh
olde
rs a
re a
ctiv
ely
invo
lved
th
roug
hout
the
pro
cess
• d
efin
e th
e ro
le o
f fun
ctio
nal
deco
mpo
siti
on a
s it
rel
ates
to b
uild
ing
busi
ness
mod
els;
exp
lain
how
thes
e m
odel
s re
late
to b
uild
ing
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
spec
ifica
lly a
nd to
in
form
atio
n re
sour
ce m
anag
emen
t pl
anni
ng g
ener
ally
• u
nder
stan
d th
e im
port
ance
of a
pply
ing
stan
dard
ele
men
ts (
e.g.
, bro
adly
ac
cept
ed u
sers
inte
rfac
es,
com
mun
icat
ions
pro
toco
ls, d
ata
form
ats,
etc
.) w
hene
ver
poss
ible
in
syst
em d
evel
opm
ent
• lis
t ex
ampl
es w
hen
expe
rtis
e fr
om o
ther
di
scip
lines
(e.
g., s
yste
ms
anal
ysis
, or
data
base
des
ign)
is n
eede
d in
the
deve
lopm
ent p
roce
ss
• pro
mot
e th
e us
e of
wid
ely
acce
pted
to
ols
(suc
h as
rap
id p
roto
typi
ng)
for
requ
irem
ents
spe
cific
atio
n an
d de
velo
pmen
t • m
anag
e th
e in
form
ed d
evel
opm
ent o
f bu
sine
ss, i
nfor
mat
ion,
and
in
form
atio
n te
chno
logy
mod
els
in
supp
ort o
f inf
orm
atio
n re
sour
ce
man
agem
ent p
lann
ing
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
August 2002
30 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Cro
ss-d
isci
plin
ary
com
mun
icat
ion
4. A
ctiv
ely,
eff
ecti
vely
eng
ages
an
d co
mm
unic
ates
wit
h in
form
atio
n te
chno
logy
sp
ecia
lists
as
wel
l as
publ
ic
heal
th c
olle
ague
s re
gard
ing
prov
en in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es a
nd th
eir
pote
ntia
l app
licat
ion
to
publ
ic h
ealth
pra
ctic
e.
Aw
are
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• des
crib
e at
a b
asic
leve
l the
fu
ndam
enta
ls o
f com
pute
r ne
twor
king
, inc
ludi
ng th
e co
st a
nd
supp
ort i
mpl
icat
ions
of v
ario
us
netw
orki
ng s
olut
ions
• d
escr
ibe
at a
bas
ic le
vel t
he e
ssen
tial
un
derp
inni
ngs
of t
he I
nter
net a
nd t
he
Wor
ld W
ide
Web
• d
escr
ibe
at a
bas
ic le
vel c
omm
on
tech
nolo
gies
em
ploy
ed to
ens
ure
com
pute
r sy
stem
s' s
ecur
ity,
and
the
mea
ning
of t
he te
rms
auth
enti
cati
on,
encr
ypti
on, n
on-r
epud
iati
on, a
nd
othe
r co
ncep
ts b
asic
to c
ompu
ter
secu
rity
• d
escr
ibe
nasc
ent i
nfor
mat
ion
tech
nolo
gies
(e.
g., p
erso
nal d
igit
al
assi
stan
ts a
nd w
irel
ess
netw
orki
ng),
an
d ho
w th
ey m
ight
be
empl
oyed
to
impr
ove
publ
ic h
ealth
pra
ctic
e.
• nam
e th
e m
ain
tech
nolo
gies
cur
rent
ly
avai
labl
e fo
r d
eliv
erin
g hi
gh-
band
wid
th d
ista
nce
lear
ning
mat
eria
ls
to th
e le
arne
r, a
nd d
escr
ibe
the
rela
tive
adv
anta
ges
and
(loc
al)
feas
ibili
ty o
f eac
h.
• Com
mun
icat
ion
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
August 2002 31
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Dat
abas
es
5. P
arti
cipa
tes
in t
he
deve
lopm
ent o
f new
and
en
hanc
ed d
atab
ases
for
publ
ic h
ealth
, and
app
lies
prin
cipl
es o
f goo
d da
taba
se
desi
gn
n/a
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Pr
ofic
ient
K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
Pr
ofic
ient
• e
xpla
in t
he b
asic
s of
com
mon
ly
empl
oyed
dat
abas
e m
anag
emen
t sy
stem
s, a
nd d
efin
e co
mm
on
rela
tion
al d
atab
ase
conc
epts
suc
h as
en
tity
, rel
atio
nshi
p, in
stan
ce,
attr
ibut
e, d
omai
n, a
nd n
orm
aliz
atio
n • u
nder
stan
d th
e na
ture
and
pur
pose
of
good
dat
abas
e de
sign
, and
how
to
part
icip
ate
in th
at d
esig
n pr
oces
s • d
escr
ibe
the
conc
ept a
nd c
hara
cter
isti
cs
of a
cor
rect
and
com
plet
e da
ta m
odel
• i
nter
pret
ent
ity-
rela
tion
ship
dia
gram
s • d
efin
e ap
prop
riat
e ro
les
for
thos
e in
volv
ed in
dat
abas
e de
sign
and
de
velo
pmen
t, in
clud
ing
the
publ
ic
heal
th s
cien
tist
and
oth
er s
ubje
ct
mat
ter
expe
rts;
sys
tem
s an
alys
t; pr
ogra
mm
er; d
atab
ase
adm
inis
trat
or;
proj
ect m
anag
er; e
t al.
• Ana
lyti
c/A
sses
smen
t • C
omm
unic
atio
n • F
inan
cial
Pla
nnin
g an
d M
anag
emen
t • L
eade
rshi
p an
d Sy
stem
s T
hink
ing
Stan
dar
ds
6. U
tiliz
es (
or e
nsur
es t
he
utili
zati
on o
f) d
ata
stan
dard
s fo
r st
orag
e an
d tr
ansm
issi
on, a
nd is
abl
e to
fin
d th
e re
leva
nt s
tand
ards
sp
ecifi
cati
ons
as n
eede
d.
A
war
e Pr
ofic
ient
K
now
ledg
eabl
e to
Pr
ofic
ient
• d
escr
ibe
the
basi
c pu
rpos
es o
f pub
lic
heal
th-r
elev
ant c
omm
unic
atio
ns
stan
dard
s (e
.g.,
HL
-7)
and
data
st
anda
rds
(e.g
., LO
INC
and
SN
OM
ED
) • e
xpla
in t
he im
port
ance
of t
he u
se o
f co
ntro
lled
voca
bula
ry
• exp
lain
how
uti
lizat
ion
of s
uch
stan
dard
s co
ntri
bute
s to
eff
ecti
ve
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
deve
lopm
ent a
nd
inte
grat
ion
• Pol
icy
Dev
elop
men
t/
Prog
ram
Pla
nnin
g • C
omm
unic
atio
n • F
inan
cial
Pla
nnin
g an
d M
anag
emen
t • L
eade
rshi
p an
d Sy
stem
s T
hink
ing
Conf
iden
tial
ity
and
Se
curi
ty S
yste
ms
7. A
pplie
s an
d pa
rtic
ipat
es in
de
velo
ping
con
fiden
tial
ity
and
priv
acy
polic
ies
for
the
ente
rpri
se, a
nd e
nsur
es th
e de
velo
pmen
t of a
dequ
ate
secu
rity
sys
tem
s to
sup
port
th
e im
plem
enta
tion
of
thos
e po
licie
s.
n/a
A
war
e K
now
ledg
eabl
e Pr
ofic
ient
• d
escr
ibe
the
rela
tion
ship
bet
wee
n co
nfid
enti
alit
y/pr
ivac
y po
licie
s an
d co
mpu
ter
secu
rity
• d
efin
e a
secu
rity
sys
tem
, inc
ludi
ng b
oth
tech
nolo
gica
l and
non
-tec
hnol
ogic
al
com
pone
nts
• lis
t an
d ex
plai
n th
e pr
inci
ples
of F
air
Info
rmat
ion
Prac
tice
s • d
escr
ibe
HIP
AA
and
its
likel
y im
pact
on
the
publ
ic h
ealth
ent
erpr
ise
• Pol
icy
Dev
elop
men
t/
Prog
ram
Pla
nnin
g • C
omm
unic
atio
n • C
ultu
ral C
ompe
tenc
y •C
omm
unit
y D
imen
sion
s o f
Pr
acti
ce
• Bas
ic P
H S
cien
ces
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
n/a
August 2002
32 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Pro
ject
m
anag
emen
t
8. U
tiliz
es p
rove
n in
form
atic
s pr
inci
ples
and
pra
ctic
es
whe
n m
anag
ing
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gy
proj
ects
n/a
A
war
e K
now
ledg
eabl
ePr
ofic
ient
• d
efin
e th
e ar
ray
of d
iffer
ent k
inds
of
expe
rtis
e ne
eded
for
vari
ous
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems
deve
lopm
ent
proj
ects
• d
escr
ibe
the
impo
rtan
ce o
f tea
ms t
o in
form
atio
n sy
stem
dev
elop
men
t, an
d ho
w to
man
age
team
s of
peo
ple
wit
h di
vers
e sk
ill s
ets
and
prof
essi
onal
cu
lture
s • d
escr
ibe
stra
tegi
es to
ens
ure
that
end
us
ers
are
cons
iste
ntly
invo
lved
in
syst
ems
deve
lopm
ent f
rom
beg
inni
ng
to e
nd
• des
crib
e te
chni
ques
for
man
agin
g ex
pect
atio
ns s
yste
mat
ical
ly
thro
ugho
ut s
yste
m d
evel
opm
ent
• des
crib
e m
etho
ds u
sed
to "
over
-co
mm
unic
ate"
pro
gres
s am
ong
staf
f, po
tent
ial u
sers
, and
oth
er s
take
hold
ers
to s
ecur
e an
d m
aint
ain
supp
ort f
or t
he
proj
ect
• des
crib
e ho
w to
sel
ect p
rove
n te
chno
logi
es, a
nd e
xpla
in th
e im
port
ance
of a
void
ing
prop
riet
ary
solu
tion
s
• exp
lain
mec
hani
sms
to b
uild
in t
he
pote
ntia
l for
eva
luat
ion
of th
e im
pact
of
new
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gies
• l
ist
tech
niqu
es to
incr
ease
inst
itut
iona
l us
e of
info
rmat
ion
syst
ems,
suc
h as
tr
aini
ng, i
ncen
tive
s, c
omm
unic
atio
n,
and
beha
vior
mod
ifica
tion
• i
nsis
t on
dem
onst
rati
ons
of p
rogr
ess,
an
d cl
ear
docu
men
tati
on o
f cod
e
• Pol
icy
Dev
elop
men
t/
Prog
ram
Pla
nnin
g • C
omm
unic
atio
n • F
inan
cial
Pla
nnin
g an
d M
anag
emen
t • L
eade
rshi
p an
d Sy
stem
s T
hink
ing
August 2002 33
Informatics for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Hum
an r
eso
urce
s m
anag
emen
t
9. U
tiliz
es p
rove
n in
form
atic
s pr
inci
ples
and
pra
ctic
es
whe
n m
anag
ing
info
rmat
ion
tech
nolo
gy
staf
f and
oth
er I
T
spec
ialis
ts.
n/a
Aw
are
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
• exp
lain
str
ateg
ies
to h
ire
staf
f wit
h ap
prop
riat
e sk
ills
for
appr
opri
ate
task
s (e
.g.,
"loo
k fo
r pr
oven
exp
erti
se")
•d
escr
ibe
stra
tegi
es fo
r en
suri
ng a
dequ
ate
I.T
. sup
port
giv
en t
he d
iffic
ulty
in
prov
idin
g m
arke
t-le
vel c
ompe
nsat
ion
in th
e pu
blic
hea
lth
sect
or
• des
crib
e w
hen
and
how
to e
ngag
e co
nsul
tant
s in
sys
tem
s de
velo
pmen
t • e
nsur
e th
at te
chni
cal s
taff
exp
lain
issu
es
in te
rms
com
preh
ensi
ble
by n
on-
tech
nolo
gist
s • h
andl
e "t
echn
ical
obf
usca
tion
" co
nstr
ucti
vely
• p
lan
for
loss
(to
out
side
mar
ket)
of
tech
nica
lly c
ompe
tent
sta
ff
• Com
mun
icat
ion
• Cul
tura
l Com
pete
ncy
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
Pro
cure
men
t
10.
Proc
ures
app
ropr
iate
co
st-e
ffec
tive
in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es
for
the
publ
ic h
ealth
en
terp
rise
n/a
Aw
are
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
Prof
icie
nt
• des
crib
e m
etho
ds fo
r lo
cati
ng a
vaila
ble
prod
ucts
and
ven
dors
in a
spe
cific
IT
ar
ea
• des
crib
e st
eps
in a
sses
sing
"bu
ild v
s.
buy"
opt
ions
• m
ake
rati
onal
ass
essm
ents
of a
nd
deci
sion
s ab
out
proc
urem
ent o
f m
oder
n in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es
• pha
se la
rge
proc
urem
ents
in a
man
ner
that
allo
ws
for
"ear
ly w
arni
ng s
igns
" of
pot
enti
al p
robl
ems.
• d
escr
ibe
the
cost
s an
d be
nefit
s of
in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s an
d th
e ap
proa
ches
to d
eter
min
ing
them
•e
xpla
in h
ow s
trat
egic
res
ourc
e al
loca
tion
de
cisi
ons
shou
ld b
e ap
proa
ched
and
re
solv
ed
• Fin
anci
al P
lann
ing
and
Man
agem
ent
Acc
oun
tab
ility
11.
Use
s in
form
atio
n te
chno
logy
to a
ssur
e op
enne
ss o
f pub
lic h
ealth
ag
ency
pro
cess
es a
nd
resp
onsi
vene
ss to
the
elec
tora
te a
nd th
e pu
blic
n/a
Prof
icie
nt
Kno
wle
dgea
ble
to
Prof
icie
nt
• use
the
Web
and
oth
er in
form
atio
n te
chno
logi
es to
inte
ract
ivel
y co
mm
unic
ate
agen
cy p
olic
ies,
invi
te
publ
ic c
omm
ent,
shar
e in
form
atio
n ab
out a
genc
y ac
tion
s in
the
co
mm
unit
y, a
nd s
o fo
rth.
• Com
mun
icat
ion
• Cul
tura
l Com
pete
ncy
•Com
mun
ity
Dim
ensi
ons
o f
Prac
tice
• F
inan
cial
Pla
nnin
g an
d M
anag
emen
t • L
eade
rshi
p an
d Sy
stem
s T
hink
ing
Aw
are
August 2002
34 Informatics Competencies for Public Health Professionals
PUBL
IC H
EALT
H P
ROFE
SSIO
NA
LS
Do
mai
n/
Top
ical
Are
a CO
MPE
TEN
CY
Cler
ical
/ A
dm
in
Fro
nt L
ine
Staf
fSe
nio
r-Le
vel
Tech
nica
l Su
per
viso
ry &
M
anag
emen
t Ex
amp
le L
earn
ing
Ob
ject
ives
(p
erso
n w
ill b
e ab
le t
o…
)
Rela
ted
Co
unci
l on
Link
ages
' Co
re
Com
pet
enci
es
Rese
arch
12.
Mon
itor
s in
form
atic
s re
sear
ch fi
ndin
gs a
nd
publ
ic h
ealth
in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s de
velo
pmen
t eff
orts
, and
ap
plie
s th
ese
findi
ngs
and
expe
rien
ces
as
appr
opri
ate
to p
ublic
he
alth
pra
ctic
e.
n/a
Prof
icie
nt
Prof
icie
nt
• ide
ntify
the
maj
or in
form
atio
n sy
stem
s de
velo
pmen
t eff
orts
cur
rent
ly u
nder
w
ay th
at a
re li
kely
to
impa
ct p
ublic
he
alth
pra
ctic
e • d
iscu
ss h
ow c
erta
in le
adin
g-ed
ge
tech
nolo
gies
(su
ch a
s ha
nd-h
eld
com
pute
rs [
PDA
s], w
irel
ess
netw
orki
ng, a
utom
ated
env
iron
men
tal
sens
ors,
sof
twar
e ag
ents
, et a
l.) m
ight
be
app
lied
to s
uppo
rt p
ublic
hea
lth
field
wor
k • r
egul
arly
sca
n/pe
riod
ical
ly r
evie
w
appr
opri
ate
scie
ntifi
c an
d pr
acti
ce
liter
atur
e fo
r IT
dev
elop
men
ts a
nd
appl
icat
ions
to p
ublic
hea
lth
• Ana
lyti
c/A
sses
smen
t • P
olic
y D
evel
opm
ent/
Pr
ogra
m P
lann
ing
• Lea
ders
hip
and
Syst
ems
Thi
nkin
g
Aw
are
August 2002 35
Notes