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Perspectives on Global Public Health Informatics

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Public Health Informatics and Information Systems

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

Public health goes well beyond any one country’s borders. Global health focuses on the research and programmatic efforts needed to understand the burden of disease worldwide and the surrounding financial, political, medical, policy, workforce, and infrastructure issues. Important questions exist about the intersection between global health and informatics, as well as the value of systems such as electronic health records, national reporting systems, and mobile health applications.

In the past, the use of technology to alleviate suffering and support public health activities took precedence over understanding the environment in which technology has to function or developing the evidence base of what works best. In resource-poor environments, deployments of technological solutions face challenges including lack of stable electrical power, Internet connectivity, and a workforce that can support the systems. This chapter explores these issues through case studies of the implementation of electronic health record systems in two low income countries, supported by international donors and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Lessons learned emphasize what works, how information systems can improve care, and how to effectively scale local systems to a regional or national level.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Global HIV/AIDS, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Janise Richards

  2. Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Hamish Fraser

  3. Department of Biomedical Informatics, Center for Health Informatics for the Underserved, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Gerald Douglas

Authors
  1. Janise Richards
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  2. Hamish Fraser
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  3. Gerald Douglas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hamish Fraser .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    J.A. Magnuson

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Indiana University, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Brian E. Dixon

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Richards, J., Fraser, H., Douglas, G. (2020). Perspectives on Global Public Health Informatics. In: Magnuson, J., Dixon, B. (eds) Public Health Informatics and Information Systems . Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41215-9_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41215-9_25

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41214-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41215-9

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