 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Neil E. Hann, MPH, CHES, Office of Community Development, Oklahoma State Dept. of Health, 1000 NE 10th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73117-1299, Michael Burke, MPH, PhD, American Institutes for Research, 10720 Columbia Pike, Ste 500, Silver Spring, MD 20904, Charles Magruder, MD, MPH, Public Health Practice Program Office, Centers for Disease Control, 4770 Buford Hwy, NE, MS-K39, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770 488-8487, CMagruder@cdc.gov, Michael Moser, MD, MPH, Kansas Department of Health & Environment, Curtis State Office Building, 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 300, Topeka, KS 66612-1365, and Nedra Y. Garrett, MS, Public Health Practice Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Mailstop K-37, Atlanta, GA 30341.
Information technology is well-recognized as a key component of public health infrastructure. Numerous circumstances contributed to inadequate utilization of information technology in many public health settings. To address this and other important public health issues, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation established the Turning Point National Excellence Collaborative for Information Technology (IT) in April of 2000. This collaborative assesses, evaluates, and recommends to national policymakers innovative ways to improve the nation’s public health IT infrastructure. Six states (Kansas, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and South Carolina) are participating. In 2002, the collaborative commissioned a nationwide survey of local health department to evaluate their current use of information technology and their perceived information technology needs. Public health department administrators, nurses, environmental sanitarians and information technology support staff completed the 20 page survey. Of the 3131 surveys mailed out, 349 were returned, 344 with usable data, for an 11.1% response rate. More than 500 software programs were described, most of which run on a Windows platform and are off-the-shelf commercial programs or specialized programs developed by the State. Results showed that health department needs were primarily related to better equipment, new or enhanced software, staff training and internet access. Critical information is now available to assist in enhancing information technology infrastructure in local health departments. Additional findings from the survey on usefulness in performing public health function and lessons learned will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Information Technology, Public Health Infrastructure
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Robert Woods Johnson Foundation
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.