Informatics in Public Health - Essay Example

Health informatics comprises the use of information, computer science, and technology for health research, practices and education. It is a profession that uses engineering, mathematics, information science and other related sciences, which are employed in the public health processes, and solving the problems encountered. Public health informaticians provide advice that helps in achieving the public health goals faster, at a lower cost and information that is better. Informatics designs the blueprints for complex data system keeping the information secure and usable to the user's needs (Shortliffe et al. 2013). However, in public health surveillance, it is used in providing opportunities and insights to improve the planning and system design, collection of data, data management and collation, analyzing and interpreting the information, dissemination and applying to public health programs.

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Provision of health care that is led by a considerate integration of the top available scientific knowledge with clinical expertise. These allow the practitioners to consider clinical guidelines, research data and the available information resources hence identifying the clinical problems. Similarly, the US healthcare faces numerous challenges associated with a unmaintainable increase in the cost, tenacious barrier to universal access and uneven quality of care (Shortliffe et al. 2013). Additional problems are experienced due to demographic and the aging US population resulting to various and expensive diseases in the coming years.

Disease prevention and health promotion are major emerging issues in health care and geriatric medicine. Although the concern has targeted the younger people, there is an increasing concern that it is appropriate for the older individuals with more than 65 years of age and above. The approach is to emphasize the benefits of personal behavior and lifestyle to improve and maintain the personal health status of an individual. In order to reduce the diseases, primary prevention is adopted to ensure that certain conditions are detected at an earlier stage before they become difficult and expensive to treat (Health Promotion Research and Practice 2017). Most of the initiatives target the younger generation to ensure diseases complications are promptly treated to enable physical fitness.

Accurate public health information is essential for improving and evaluating the delivery of health practices. The availability of health data prevents diseases by altering the illness that increases the risk of the population. However, it is most useful information system in addressing epidemics, bioterrorism and natural disaster that may occur in the future. For disease prevention and health promotion to be effective, there should be relevant theory and research (Shortliffe et al. 2013). Unfortunately, most of the programs are primarily focused on tradition and precedent that leads to limited success.

Students who pursue BSN at Mexico University have developed a program that identifies clinical questions and assess critical evidence finally converting the finding into nursing practice. They also discuss ethical issues that are related to healthcare research. An evidence-based practice, which is found in informatics, assist the nurses in caring for their patient. It also provides procedures, shaping policies and regulation that are safe (Health Promotion Research and Practice 2017). Informatics helps in getting information from the research that was done hence providing practitioners with ideas and knowledge to deal with complex diseases.

Reference

Health Promotion Research and Practice | Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. (2017). Mailman.columbia.edu. Retrieved 1 March 2017, from https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/become-student/degrees/masters-programs/masters-public-health/columbia-mph/certificates/health-0

Shortliffe, E. H., & Cimino, J. J. (Eds.). (2013). Biomedical informatics: computer applications in health care and biomedicine. Springer Science & Business Media.