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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Appl Clin Inform 2024; 15(04): 668-678
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1787979
Special Topic on Teaching and Training Future Health Informaticians

Training in Public Health Informatics and Technology Leveraging a Multi-institutional Partnership Model and Emphasizing Experiential Learning

Sripriya Rajamani
1   School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
2   School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
3   Institute for Health Informatics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Kristie C. Waterfield
4   Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, United States
,
Robin Austin
1   School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Vivian Singletary
5   Public Health Informatics Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
,
Yasmin Odowa
2   School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Stephanie Miles-Richardson
6   Department of Public Health Education, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
,
Tony Winters
5   Public Health Informatics Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
,
Brenton Powers
6   Department of Public Health Education, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
,
Feather LaRoche
2   School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Sarah Trachet
2   School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Jennifer Fritz
7   Center for Health Information Policy and Transformation, Minnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
,
Jonathon P. Leider
2   School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Rebecca Wurtz
2   School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Gulzar H. Shah
4   Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding This project is supported by the ONC of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under 90PH0005/01-10, The PHIT Workforce Development Program, $8,214,905. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by ONC, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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Abstract

Background and Objective Though public health is an information-intense profession, there is a paucity of workforce with Public Health Informatics and Technology (PHIT) skills, which was evident during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This need is addressed through the PHIT workforce program (2021–2025) by the Office of the National Coordinator for training and to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the PHIT workforce. The objective is to share details on the Training in Informatics for Underrepresented Minorities in Public Health (TRIUMPH) consortium, funded by the PHIT workforce program.

Methods The TRIUMPH consortium is a collaboration between academic and practice partners with a commitment to training 879 students in PHIT. The Schools of Public Health and Nursing at the University of Minnesota, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Public Health Informatics Institute offer PHIT training through various programs. Academic institutions focus on student recruitment, developing courses/curriculum, and granting degrees/certificates, and the role of practice partners is to support experiential learning through internships/practicums.

Results The TRIUMPH consortium is progressing toward its goals, with 692 students (79%) already trained in a PHIT modality as of December 2023. The learners comprise diverse race/ethnicity, including White (48%), Black/African American (32%), Asian (10%), White Hispanic (5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2%), and Black Hispanic (1%). Numerous internships have been completed in settings ranging from state/local public health agencies to health care delivery systems. Diversity initiatives were supported by partnering with existing programs (e.g., the AMIA First Look program and the Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science conference).

Conclusion This consortium model is an excellent approach to informatics training and sharing expertise across partners. It provides scalability and broader geographic outreach while presenting opportunities to students from underrepresented backgrounds. Lessons learned have implications for overall informatics training (e.g., partnerships models, promoting racial/ethnic diversity).

Keywords

public health - education - professional training - workforce - public health informatics - informatics - diversity - partnerships

Protection of Human Subjects

Not applicable as this case study focuses on education and not research.




Publication History

Received: 14 March 2024

Accepted: 03 June 2024

Article published online:
14 August 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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