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Academics

Certificate Programs

Public Health Informatics

Overview

Sponsoring department
Educational Objectives

After completion of the certificate, students will be able to:

  • Articulate strategic direction for public health informatics with the enterprise;
  • Describe knowledge of management tools for the enterprise;
  • Match data standards to their proper use;
  • Identify knowledge, information, and data needs of project or program users and stakeholders;
  • Describe information system development, procurement, and implementation that meets public health program needs;
  • Evaluate information systems and applications;
  • Recognize use of informatics to integrate clinical health, environmental risk, and population health;
  • Implement solutions that assure confidentiality, security, and integrity while maximizing availability of information for public health.

Gainful Employment Program Information

Intended Audience

This certificate is intended for students currently enrolled in the School of Public Health, and also for non-degree seeking students working in related fields who require in-service education to align their skills with the current health information technology (HIT) demands of their occupations.

Admissions Criteria

Degree Seeking Students Current BSPH degree candidates must apply for the Certificate by completing a certificate application and returning it to the Department’s Office of Academic Affairs, Hampton House 492. The completed application, with all supporting documentation as noted on the HPM webpage must be submitted by the application deadline.
Non-degree seeking students must apply to the Department of Health Policy and Management as a “special students regular” by submitting an application through the School of Public Health Admissions Office. An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university and 3 years of experience in a field relevant to public health informatics is required for admission. In addition, applicants need to include in their application a resume, current job description, letter of support to participate in the certificate program from their employer/ supervisor and a draft course of study. A previous master’s degree is strongly encouraged. When applying for the Certificate in Public Health Informatics, applicants must choose "Certificate for Credit" as the degree program. Next, choose the "Department of Health Policy and Management"; for track/division choose, "Public Health Informatics"; and finally choose "September 2013," as the Academic year and term. The application will be reviewed by a committee of faculty who will determine the admissions decision.

Course of Study

Required Courses:

Introduction to On-Line Learning (non-credit)
  • 315.707 Introduction to Public Health and Biomedical Informatics (3 units)
  • 315.708 Health Information Technology Standards and Systems Interoperability (3 units)
  • 315.700 Health Information Systems: Design to Deployment (3 units)
  • 315.862 Public Health Informatics Certificate Practicum (2/3 units)
  • 309.631 Population Health Informatics (3 units)
Select one of the following:
  • 315.703 Health Sciences Informatics: Evaluation (3 units)
  • 300.713 Research and Evaluation Methods for Health Policy (4 units)
  • 309.616 Introduction to Methods for Health Services Research and Evaluation I (2)
  • AND 309.617 Introduction to Methods for Health Services Research and Evaluation II (2)
  • 600.905 Clinical Informatics (3 units) (School of Medicine Course)
Select one of the following courses:
  • 221.637 Health Information Systems in Public Health (3 units)
  • 140.622 Spatial Analysis and GIS I (3 units)
  • 315.709 Health Sciences Informatics: Knowledge Engineering and Decision Support (3 units)

Additional Elective Options

  • 600.906 Real Time Disease Surveillance(3 units) (School of Medicine Course)
  • 221.649 E-health and M-health: Using Technology to Improve Health in Low and Middle Income Countries (3 units)

Requirements for Successful Completion

Student must complete required courses and elective options for a minimum of 21 units of coursework. All courses must be taken for letter grade and a 3.0 GPA is required for certification. Requirements must be completed within a 2-year period. Note: those students who receive ARRA/Training funding must complete all requirements for the certifcate within a 12-month period as required by the funding agency.

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