Public Health Informatics and Technology

Public health informatics is a cross-disciplinary approach that combines patient information, computer science, and technology to public health practice, research, and learning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The Public Health Informatics and Technology Certificate of Achievement provides the introductory skills and knowledge to work in the multidisciplinary field of public health informatics. Students will be introduced to public health informatics using health information, public health data, software, information systems, and public health content, and data analysis findings are transformed into compelling descriptions of public health problems, health disparities, and trends in disease rates. This information will be used for disease prevention, preparedness, and improving the general population’s health. Informatics can be focused on internal data use at public health agencies, but can also include visualizations of data for public consumption.

The Public Health Informatics and Technology Certificate of Achievement has been designed to meet the State of California needs for additional Public Health Data Analysts, with a projected completion of 27 Certificates of Achievement per year.

Program Objective
The objective of the Public Health Informatics and Technology program is to up-skill California Public Health workers and Health Information Technology or Health Information Management workers to be better prepared to meet the state and national needs for collecting, analyzing, and sharing data critical to public health issues such as COVID-19, HIV, and other health epidemics. 

Program Goals

1. Accept 30 students per year into the Public Health Informatics and Technology program.
2. 90% or more students will earn their Certificate of Achievement within one year.
3. 90% of the graduates will obtain employment within six months after graduation or continue their educational pathway in healthcare.

Program Requirements Narrative

The Public Health Informatics and Technology Certificate of Achievement is funded, in part, by the US Department of Health and Human Services: California Consortium for Public Health Informatics & Technology (CCPHIT) Education, a collaboration including California Community Colleges (East Los Angeles, Shasta & Bakersfield), California State University (Long Beach & EastBay), UC Berkeley, and multiple industry partners.  The overarching PHIT pathway curriculum has been developed by CCPHIT to "stack" with two, four, and five-year Health Information and Public Health degree pathways in the California higher education system. The initial goal is to increase the number of under-represented individuals working in health care data and provide over 700 individuals with paid internships by Fall 2025.

The requirements for the program include completion of the six courses (listed below) and evidence of the following essential Program Outcomes:

• Explain using information systems to support public health policies and practices.
• Describe informatics in individual, organizational, regional, and global contexts.
• Apply the knowledge and skills needed to perform entry-level competencies in public health informatics and technology.
• Apply statistical techniques to collect, analyze, and interpret public health data.

The completers will be offered an opportunity to complete a 60–80-hour work-based learning experience.  The work-based learning opportunity will be a facilitated, paid cooperative work experience as a precursor to employment, but the experience's not required to earn the Public Health Informatics and Technology Certificate of Achievement.