Learning Objectives: Identify public health informatics themes that relate to tobacco control and prevention
Abstract: Problem/Objective. Public health informatics is defined as the systematic application of information and computer science and technology to public health practice, research, and learning. Although technology use by public health professionals continues to grow, overall awareness of the diversity of such applications may be lagging. This overview of five themes guiding public health informatics will benefit professionals who can readily apply them to tobacco control and prevention. Data presented will include numeric (traditional epidemiology) and text-based, including both bibliographic and full-text.
Methods. Themes reviewed will include: 1) data standards; 2) developing and evaluating information retrieval systems; 3) privacy and confidentiality; 4) retrieval skills; and 5) research needs.
Results. A starting point for further exploration of public health informatics is the need to understand issues relevant to creating and utilizing information systems. The potential application of public health informatics to help close the gap between state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in tobacco control is significant.
Discussion. Information overload is a common by-product of today’s technology. Valuable knowledge is potentially lost when relevant information is not organized or accessible to tobacco control professionals and others. Creating information retrieval systems that serve users’ needs is important. A central issue is the lack of a standardized framework used to organize emerging tobacco control-related systems. Public health informatics’ themes assist in establishing a framework around which information systems can be developed to help manage tobacco information and increase its access and utility.
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