Public Health Informatics and Technology

The Public Health Informatics and Technology Certificate of Achievement provides the introductory skills and knowledge to work in the multidisciplinary field of public health informatics. Students will be introduced to the public health service organization and how it uses data, network technologies, health information exchanges, interoperability, data interchange standards, consumer informatics, and data integrity and security delivery methods to support public health and improve health outcomes. Graduates will gain a data driven perspective of public health that can be applied in various fields in addition to public health informatics, including health information technologies, health information management, and data analytics. 

Program Outcomes: 

• Explain the use of information systems to support public health policies andpractices
• Describe informatics in individual, organizational, regional, and global contexts
• Apply the knowledge and skills needed to perform entry-level competencies inpublic health informatics and technology
• Apply statistical techniques to collect, analyze, and interpret public health data

Core Courses:

• HIT 11 Computer Information Systems for Health Information Technology 
• HIT 20 Hospital and Health Statistics 
• HIT 61 Introduction to Public Health Informatics and Technology 
• HIT 62 Public Health Data Analytics 
• HEOC 11 Medical Terminology 
  

NOTE: An internship is available and optional for this program by enrolling in HEOC 94. If a student chooses to participate in this experience they should consider the following:

• Students may intern with their current employer as long as the employer is relevant to the field of study
• Students may request internship placement and should consider area of interest as they progress through the required coursework
• Some industry partners may require students to meet the following clinical safety requirements: proof of immunity through immunizations or serum titers, cleared criminal background check, negative drug screen, current physical examination, and negative TB screening 
  

The PHIT Certificate of Achievement is funded in part by 0the US Department of Health and Human Services: CaliforniaConsortium for Public Health Informatics & Technology (CCPHIT) Education.  This curriculum will be developed to include two, four and five-year degree pathways in the California higher education system and is a collaboration including California Community Colleges, California State University (Long Beach & East Bay) and UC Berkeley and industry (Futuro Health as part of the Kaiser Permanente, CAL2CAL, IIHE, and others). 

The PHIT Certificate of Acheivement has been designed to meet the state's need for additional Public Health data technicians with a projected completion of 150 CoA per year through 2025 and then an average of 75 per year after the initial launch of this new Health Sciences skills area. This program is being lauched by a limited number of partners across the state.  Shasta College is the only CC north of the Central Valley to offer this certificate.

The overarching goal of the PHIT Certificate of Achievement is to up-skill California Public and Health Information workers to be better-prepared to meet the state and national needs for collecting, analyzing, and sharing data critical to public health issues such as COVID-19, HIV, and other health epidemics. The PHIT CoA is funded, in part, by the US Department of Health and Human Services: California Consortium for Public Health Informatics & Technology (CCPHIT) Education, a collaboration including California Community Colleges (Shasta & Bakersfield), California State University (Long Beach & East Bay), UC Berkeley, and multiple industry partners.  The overarching PHIT pathway curriculum has been developed by CCPHIT to "stack" with two, four, and five-year Health Information and Public Health degree pathways in the California higher education system. The initial goal is to increase the number of under-represented individuals working the field of health care data and provide over 700 individuals with paid internships by Fall 2025.

Requirements for the program include completion of the five courses (listed below) and evidence of the following, essential Program Outcomes:

• Explain the use of information systems to support public health policies andpractices
• Describe informatics in individual, organizational, regional, and global contexts
• Apply the knowledge and skills needed to perform entry-level competencies inpublic health informatics and technology
• Apply statistical techniques to collect, analyze, and interpret public health data 
  

[Learners will be offered the opportunity to engage in a facilitated, paid cooperative work experience as a precursor to employment but the experience is not required in order to earn the PHIT CoA.]

HIT 61 "Introduction to Public Health Informatics and Technology" was written in cooperation and articulates with CSUs and UC Berkeley.  For students wanting to continue with their PHIT studies, the lower division HIT 61 is the first of a 4-course PHIT sequence that leads to a graduate level Certificate in Public Health Informatics.