MS in Population Health Informatics

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Is this degree right for you?

This program is designed for working professionals looking to expand their existing knowledge and skills, extend their networks and explore how technology at the intersection of clinical care and health sciences can be used to strengthen efforts for preventative care at the population level towards a more equitable public health.

What will you learn?

This program offers practical coverage of critical topics such as big data, cloud computing, mobile health, surveillance and visualization all from the perspective of the end user. Students are provided with the skills and expertise to design, develop, implement and evaluate technology-enabled interventions and solutions to address tomorrow’s pressing population health challenges today.

Where to after graduation?

From clinical analysts who coordinate patient care across systems to informatics directors who use AI and big data to improve community health outcomes, this innovative degree will give students the foundation they need to utilize technology to address the toughest public health issues across sectors.

Recommended Course Sequence

These sequences are recommended for full-time students. Part-time students are encouraged to meet with a staff advisor to map out an appropriate plan of study.

For students beginning their program during the fall semester:

For students beginning their program during the spring semester:

*PUBH 601 should be completed during a student’s first semester. Students who have a CEPH-accredited undergraduate or graduate degree in public health can be waived from this requirement by submitting a Course Waiver Request.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health

• Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice
• Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming, and software, as appropriate
• Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice

Public health & health care systems

• Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings
• Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels

planning & management to promote health

• Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health
• Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation or critique of public health policies or programs
• Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention
• Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management (“Resource management” refers to stewardship (planning, monitoring, etc.) of resources throughout a project, not simply preparing a budget statement that projects what resources will be required.)
• Select methods to evaluate public health programs

policy in public health

• Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence (This competency refers to technical aspects of how public policies are created and adopted, including legislative and/or regulatory roles and processes, ethics in public policy-making, and the role of evidence in creating policy.)
• Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
• Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations (This competency refers to the ability to influence policy and/or decision-making, such as through stakeholder mobilization, educating policymakers, etc. The ability to argue in support of (or in opposition to) a position, as in a standard debate, is not sufficient. Students must produce a product that would be part of an advocacy campaign or effort (e.g., legislative testimony, fact sheets, advocacy strategy outline, etc.).)
• Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity

leadership

• Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue (Such principles may include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision-making.)
• Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges (“Negotiation and mediation,” in this competency, refers to the set of skills needed when a common solution is required among parties with conflicting interests and/or different desired outcomes. Such skills extend beyond the level of negotiation required in a successful intra-group process; effective communication within a work group or team is more closely related to competency)

communication

• Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
• Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
• Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content

Interprofessional and/or intersectoral practice

• Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health. This competency requires direct engagement (in-person or online) between the student and an individual or individuals in a profession or sector other than public health; students must combine the external sector/profession’s perspective and/or knowledge with their own public health training to complete a task, solve a problem, etc. Role-playing, in which public health students assume the identity of an individual from another profession or sector to which they do not already belong, is not an acceptable substitute for actual engagement with an individual or individuals from a profession or sector outside of public health.)
• Apply a systems-thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative (Systems-thinking tools depict or map complex relationships, demonstrating, for example, how component parts of a system interact with and influence one another. Examples include causal loop diagrams, systems archetypes, network analyses and concept maps. Logic models and evidence tables are not sufficient to address this competency.)

environmental sciences

• Apply concepts from relevant scientific disciplines, such as toxicology and physiology, to anticipate the effects of environmental, occupational and nutritional exposures on both human health and overall planetary health

Concentration Competencies

• Assess stakeholder data, information and knowledge needs
• Manage and direct health informatics planning for projects related to public health and information technology
• Apply informatics standards appropriately and contribute to standards development efforts
• Design, develop, and implement user-centered population health information systems effectively
• Establish frameworks for evaluating the implementation process of information systems and applications, and make recommendations to improve user satisfaction and outcomes
• Recommend strategies and solutions that integrate informatics knowledge within organizations and communities and ensure confidentiality, security, and integrity