Public Health Informatics and Information Systems (2nd ed. 2014), Editors: J.A. Magnuson, Paul C. Fu, Jr., ISBN: 978-1-4471-4236-2 (Print) 978-1-4471-4237-9 (Online):

Section 3:
Based on readings on Fundamental of Public Health Informatics, please reply to the questions listed below. The final report must not exceed 5 pages and must be double-spaced, with proper APA formatting, and include use of outside sources. Please post this week’s assignment on the week 1: Assignment and discussions in the discussion board. Responses must be posted not later than 11:55 PM CST on Sunday May 22nd, 2016.

1. Explain why an intensive knowledge of traditional public health fields–such as epidemiology, biostatistics, community health sciences, health administration, and environmental health sciences–is insufficient for the development and application of informatics in public health practice.
2. Discuss the relative impact of (1) public health reform, (2) the growth in managed care, and (3) the information technology revolution as drivers of change in the way that public health professionals view and use computerized health information systems.
3. What factors account for the fact that early public health information systems developed as standalone products?
4. Which of the following events constitute data, information, or knowledge and explain why:
a. The date of birth of a patient, in isolation from any other characteristics or from the dates of births of other patients.
b. A set of guidelines for environmental specialists to follow in eliminating the exposure of community residents to toxic waste appearing in well water that has been polluted by a nearby landfill.
c. The mean and median ages of school children potentially exposed to an outbreak of meningitis.
5. Value is said to be a function of cost, service, and quality. To what extent does an investment in IT result in an increase in the value of health services?