Public Health Informatics Competencies - Defining the Specialty

(1) background Critical to developing a profession is defining the competencies—the knowledge, skills, and abilities—an individual must have. Workforce competencies can be used to assess current skills, create career ladders, write job descriptions, evaluate job applicants, and develop training plans or academic curricula. This presentation will discuss a process to develop competencies for public health informatics (PHI).

(2) objective/purpose To define competencies that reflect those needed for the effective practice of PHI.

In 2005, recognizing the deficit of individuals prepared to meet the emerging needs of PHI practice and research, CDC's Office of Workforce and Career Development funded the University of Washington, through the Association of Schools of Public Health, to define the competencies an individual must possess to be called a PH Informatician.

(3) methods; A core team of experts was convened to develop the draft set of competencies that were refined and then validated via external review and a survey. A web-based modified Delphi technique was used to gather opinions on the needed competencies for PHI. Level of importance of the competency and sub-competency statements, as well as the level of agreement or disagreement were measured.

(4) results Results and an overview of the competencies will be presented. Validated by 20+ external consultants and a public comment web-based survey (N= 80+). All but three sub-competency areas scored above the 90% agreement level (“Approve” or “Approve with minor edits”). All areas were rated as at least moderately important on a Likert scale from very important to un-important. Participants represented a broad spectrum of training and experience.

(5) discussion/conclusions This first version of competencies for scientists in PHI (“informaticians”) represent a valid depiction of expectations for persons in these roles. Next steps in using these PHI competencies will be discussed.