The technological innovations of the 21st century have changed the way organizations do business. Cloud-based servers allow companies to store, track and share seemingly limitless amounts of consumer data seamlessly. Advanced algorithmic and often artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted software provides analysts with the tools they need to identify trends in consumer behavior and pinpoint problem areas in their own operations.
These technologies offer organizations more than an economic advantage or a competitive edge. In the public health sector, for example, they help administrators and front-line professionals anticipate future health crises, address ongoing ones and ensure every community gets the holistic health support they need. This application of technology to community wellness is called public health informatics.
Individuals looking to break into this groundbreaking field must often gain expertise in a wide range of areas — from public health administration to data science and clinical research practices. By earning a Master of Public Health (MPH), individuals can learn the complex skills and knowledge needed to pursue any of a number of public health informatics careers.
Public health informatics refers to the processes involved in collecting, organizing and analyzing data related to public health issues. Most often, public health informatics professionals are responsible for maintaining the systems that make these processes possible.
Experienced public health informatics professionals typically take on administrative roles overseeing data management operations and using their expertise to guide policy and design public health initiatives.
As a field, public health informatics has a few main goals:
Public health informatics is not solely focused on the medical side of health. To properly engage and serve the public, public health informatics professionals must also use their skills to investigate the many social, environmental, economic and cultural factors that influence public health. This means that public health informatics is as focused on mental and behavioral health as it is on physical health.
The main benefit of informatics to public health is that it puts data of all kinds at the fingertips of both front-line public health professionals and policymakers. That data can then be used to serve both the public and the public health workforce itself.
Informatics can support and improve public health by helping:
Together, these benefits do one important thing for public health overall — they make the work of public health and health care organizations more transparent, equitable and efficient. Public health informatics professionals play a critical role in meeting this goal by helping public agencies utilize the many new technologies currently shaping the field.
Public health informaticians typically work for government health organizations. This includes federal organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as city, county and state health agencies. With a Master of Public Health, professionals looking to enter this field can pursue any of a number of technical, analytical or administrative health informatics careers.
Public health informatics specialists oversee the collection and management of all forms of public health data, such as mortality rates and the prevalence of specific diseases among different populations. This is often a technical role that requires knowledge of data management and information technology (IT) networks.
Common duties for a public health informatics specialist include:
In many cases, experienced public health informatics specialists fill the role of public health informatics analyst as well, though sometimes these are separate roles. This means that, in addition to collecting information, they also identify meaningful trends and help policymakers make actionable, informed decisions.
In the public sector, health informatics analysts collect and draw meaning from information from a range of areas including:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that the number of jobs for health information technologists will increase by 16 percent between 2023 and 2033 — four times the average 4 percent growth rate projected for all occupations.
Health information technologists had a median annual salary of $62,990 as of May 2023, according to the BLS. Those in the highest 10 percent of earners made over $107,650.
Like public health informatics specialists, clinical informatics specialists oversee the collection, storage and utilization of health data. However, clinical specialists focus specifically on data provided by or about patients in health care settings. This data can include test results, X-rays, diagnoses and quality-of-care metrics such as infection rates and length of stays in a hospital.
The duties of a clinical informatics specialist are similar to those of a public health informatics specialist. However, clinical informatics specialists work more closely with hospital administrators and front-line health care providers such as nurses and doctors to:
While clinical informatics specialists often work for health care facilities in the private sector, in the public sector, they typically work in state-run hospitals, mental health clinics and other health care facilities. The insights they provide are vital to understanding the public’s health needs, finding ways to support medical professionals and streamlining daily operations in health care facilities.
Clinical informatics specialists had a median annual salary of about $84,500 as of October 2024, according to the compensation website Payscale.
Epidemiology is the study of how diseases spread and affect specific populations. This can include communicable diseases such as AIDS, mental health issues and chronic illnesses brought on by environmental factors. Epidemiologists, the professionals who carry out this research, often specialize in addressing a specific type of issue.
Epidemiologists often work for public health departments, federal agencies and universities. To paint a full picture of any public health issue and help officials come up with solutions, these professionals must:
While epidemiologists must be well versed in clinical research, biology and other hard science topics, the social and behavioral sciences are just as important to figuring out and addressing the root causes of any public health crisis.
The BLS projects that employment of epidemiologists will grow by 19 percent between 2023 and 2033, indicating that this is one of the fastest growing occupations in public health. As of May 2023, the median annual salary for epidemiologists was $81,390, with the highest-paid 10 percent of professionals making over $132,230, according to the BLS.
Public health departments, privately run health care systems and community-based clinics all rely on public health educators to keep their communities informed about important health issues. In addition to teaching classes about healthy behaviors and disease prevention, public health educators may take on a number of other duties as well — many of which rely on health data analysis and research skills. These duties include:
Educators who work in the public sector are also often responsible for fostering relationships with other related agencies and organizations. For example, to promote healthy eating habits among children, a local government health agency might partner with local schools on a nutrition-based campaign. Together, public health educators and school administrators can plan presentations and come up with ways to fund nutritious lunch programs.
According to the BLS, health education specialists in the public and private sectors had a median annual salary of $62,860, with the top 10 percent of earners making over $107,290, as of May 2023. The BLS expects employment of these professionals to increase by 7 percent between 2023 and 2033.
Health policy and program analysts help local, state and federal agencies create, assess and implement public health programs. Instead of collecting data themselves, these professionals often work closely with epidemiologists, health scientists and other experts and turn their insights into actions and policies.
As administrators, health policy analysts are involved in every aspect of program implementation. Their responsibilities include:
While those in this position aren’t all health informatics professionals, the role typically requires a deep understanding of how multiple forms of health data can be brought together and utilized. Similarly, health policy analysts must often translate complex clinical data for audiences that may not be familiar with the technical terms and procedures used in research. As such, this position may require some prior experience in public health and public health informatics.
As of September 2024, Payscale reports that health policy analysts had a median annual salary of about $67,800. The BLS classifies policy analysts as political scientists, an occupation with a projected job growth rate of 3 percent between 2023 and 2033.
Most often employed by federal agencies such as the CDC, public health advisers help local, county and state health agencies combat and research public health issues. While many health informatics careers keep professionals firmly rooted in one location, public health advisers often travel to different areas that need help.
This unique position typically requires health informatics professionals to:
In addition to a degree in public health, public health advisers must typically have some work experience in other related roles. Depending on what agency they work for, they may also need to complete a government-sponsored training program so they can tailor their skills to serving diverse populations and areas.
The median annual salary for public health advisers was around $64,100 as of October 2023, according to Payscale.
While each public health informatics career path comes with its own unique set of duties, most professionals in this field share a similar core set of skills. These range from technical data management and health research skills to the soft skills needed to effectively implement insights about public health issues. Public health informatics professionals need skills in the following areas.
One of the most fundamental public health informatics skills is data management skills. For example, while expansive programming knowledge may not be required for most roles, informatics specialists often need to know SQL, Python and other programming languages used to organize and access databases. Professionals typically must also be familiar with software used to automate data collection and classification.
Public health professionals often draw their insights from diverse resources such as electronic health records, historical databases and academic journals. These resources often contain large amounts of data, so professionals must be skilled at employing statistical models to identify meaningful trends. Statistical analysis is also vital to making projections about potential public health emergencies.
Even though epidemiology is its own specialty, it’s central to the wider field of public health. Being well versed in how diseases are transmitted allows public health informatics professionals to help clinical specialists identify trends, educators provide relevant information and policymakers design programs that reach at-risk populations in effective, meaningful ways.
The data that health informatics professionals manage is typically protected by federal privacy regulations and ethical guidelines. Before drawing conclusions or sharing information, public health officials must ensure their research serves communities in equitable ways, circumvents bias and protects the confidentiality of the individuals whose information was collected. This is especially important for professionals who may run and design clinical trials.
Public health informatics professionals of all kinds help their organizations integrate complex data management systems into their daily operations. However, doing so often requires them to train health care employees in data management best practices, share resources with other organizations and explain the significance of their insights in a clear, concise manner.
By helping their organizations maintain and utilize vast amounts of data, public health informatics professionals stand to keep their communities and all communities across the nation healthier. Through Augusta University Online’s Master of Public Health program, you can learn the skills you need to do just that.
While all students in this program take classes on epidemiology and other public health essentials, students who choose the Health Informatics concentration learn about health care informatics systems, health data management and ethical research. The program’s interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to prepare students to pursue any of a diverse range of public health informatics careers and leverage data for the greater good.
Learn more about Augusta University Online’s MPH program and the Certificate in Public Health program for working professionals and their admission requirements today.
Recommended Readings
12 Public Health Career Paths
How to Advance Your Skills in Public Health
MPH vs. MHA: Differences and Outcomes
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Policy Analyst
Indeed, “How to Become a Clinical Informatics Specialist (With FAQs)”
Indeed, “How to Become a Public Health Advisor in 4 Steps”
National Institutes of Health, “Guiding Principles for Ethical Research”
O-Net OnLine, Health Informatics Specialists
Payscale, Average Clinical Informatics Specialist Salary
Payscale, Average Health Policy Analyst Salary
Payscale, Average Public Health Advisor Salary
Public Health Informatics Institute, Defining Public Health Informatics
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Epidemiologists
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Health Education Specialists
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Political Scientists
