BMI 5381 Methods in Public Health Informatics

3 semester credit hours
Lecture contact hours: 2; Lab contact hours: 3
Web-based and classroom instruction
Lab Fee: $30

This course introduces practical methods and techniques used in PHI. The course will focus on methods for evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of public health protection and delivery. The course modules are organized into four sub-domains of PHI methods: 1) theoretical frameworks, evaluation methods, and technological insights of digital behavior change support systems, 2) Legal and policy framework of PHI; 3) GIS and spatial analysis; and 4) Social network methods. The course is designed to familiarize students with methods for addressing the core concepts and issues confronting public health practitioners and researchers in planning, implementation and evaluation of information systems. Published articles will be used as reading assignments to complement class discussions and will provide with the background knowledge and practical context to understand and apply the concepts and the experiences from the class.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will:

• Develop theory-driven digital health promotion technologies
• Compare multiple theoretical models in health promotion and behavior change
• Analyze advantages and disadvantages of emerging technologies to promote healthier lifestyle in context of diverse user groups
• Create mobile prototypes of user facing health technologies
• Explore population data using spatial and network based methods
• Explain the role of informatics in public health policy and legal planning