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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Methods Inf Med 2020; 59(S 01): e1-e12
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1712465
Original Article
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Professionalism of Information Management in Health Care: Development and Validation of the Construct and Its Measurement

Johannes Thye
1   Health Informatics Research Group, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany
,
Moritz Esdar
1   Health Informatics Research Group, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany
,
Jan-David Liebe
1   Health Informatics Research Group, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany
2   Institute of Medical Informatics, UMIT, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tyrol, Austria
,
Franziska Jahn
3   Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
,
Alfred Winter
2   Institute of Medical Informatics, UMIT, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tyrol, Austria
,
Ursula Hübner
1   Health Informatics Research Group, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

05 February 2020

10 April 2020

Publication Date:
03 July 2020 (online)

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Abstract

Background Against the background of a steadily increasing degree of digitalization in health care, a professional information management (IM) is required to successfully plan, implement, and evaluate information technology (IT). At its core, IM has to ensure a high quality of health data and health information systems to support patient care.

Objectives The goal of the present study was to define what constitutes professional IM as a construct as well as to propose a reliable and valid measurement instrument.

Methods To develop and validate the construct of professionalism of information management (PIM) and its measurement, a stepwise approach followed an established procedure from information systems and behavioral research. The procedure included an analysis of the pertaining literature and expert rounds on the construct and the instrument, two consecutive and comprehensive surveys at the national and international level, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as reliability and validity testing.

Results Professionalism of information management was developed as a construct consisting of the three dimensions of strategic, tactical, and operational IM as well as of the regularity and cyclical phases of IM procedures as the two elements of professionalism. The PIM instrument operationalized the construct providing items that incorporated IM procedures along the three dimensions and cyclical phases. These procedures had to be evaluated against their degree of regularity in the instrument. The instrument proved to be reliable and valid in two consecutive measurement phases and across three countries.

Conclusion It can be concluded that professionalism of information management is a meaningful construct that can be operationalized in a scientifically rigorous manner. Both science and practice can benefit from these developments in terms of improved self-assessment, benchmarking capabilities, and eventually, obtaining a better understanding of health IT maturity.

Keywords

information management - professionalism - health information technology - construct - validation