Health Services Administration Commons^™

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Faculty Assess Disease Intervention Specialist Education for the Future

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines STD Services Delivery Arrangements in Georgia County Health Departments

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Analyzes the Massachusetts Healthcare Law

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Physical Activity Levels and Counseling in Cancer Survivors

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Collaborates on Examination of Vigilance in Decision-Making among Dementia Family Caregivers
• Georgia Southern Examines Data, Staff, and Money

Geographic Variation Within The Military Health System, Linda G. Kimsey, Samuel Olaiya, Chad Smith, Andrew Hoburg, Stuart R. Lipsitz, Tracey Koehlmoos, Louis L. Nguyen, Joel S. Weissman

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: This study seeks to quantify variation in healthcare utilization and per capita costs using system-defined geographic regions based on enrollee residence within the Military Health System (MHS).

Methods: Data for fiscal years 2007 – 2010 were obtained from the Military Health System under a data sharing agreement with the Defense Health Agency (DHA). DHA manages all aspects of the Department of Defense Military Health System, including TRICARE. Adjusted rates were calculated for per capita costs and for two procedures with high interest to the MHS- back surgery and Cesarean sections for TRICARE Prime and Plus enrollees. Coefficients of variation …

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Collaborates with Researchers from CDC and NACCHO to Create a Taxonomy of LBoH, Based on LHDs Perspectives

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Informatics as a Strategic Priority

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Urgent Challenges for Local Public Health Informatics

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use in LHDs
• Georgia Southern Examines Information Systems
• Georgia Southern Studies the Methods Behind 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Study

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Assesses Skills and Capacity for Informatics
• Georgia Southern Examines Public Health Staff Development Needs in Informatics

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Associate Dean Serves as Guest Editor for the Special Issue on Health Informatics

Control Of The Public Health It Physical Infrastructure: Findings From The 2015 Informatics Capacity And Needs Assessment Survey, Kelley Chester, Barbara L. Massoudi, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: Despite improvements in information technology (IT) infrastructure in public health, there is still much that can be done to improve the adoption of IT in state and local health departments, by better understanding the impact of governance and control structures of physical infrastructure.

Objective: To report out the current status of the physical infrastructure control of local health departments (LHDs) and to determine whether there is a significant association between an LHD's governance status and control of the physical infrastructure components.

Design: Data came from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, conducted by Georgia Southern University in …

Public Health Staff Development Needs In Informatics: Findings From A National Survey Of Local Health Departments, Barbara L. Massoudi, Kelley Chester, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Context: Public health practice is information-intensive and information-driven. Public health informatics is a nascent discipline, and most public health practitioners lack necessary skills in this area.

Objective: To describe the staff development needs of local health departments (LHDs) related to informatics.

Design: Data came from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, conducted by Georgia Southern University in collaboration with the National Association of County & City Health Officials.

Participants: A total of 324 LHDs from all 50 states completed the survey (response rate: 50%).

Main Outcome Measure(s): Outcome measures included LHDs' specific staff development needs related to informatics. …

An Iterative, Low-Cost Strategy To Building Information Systems Allows A Small Jurisdiction Local Health Department To Increase Efficiencies And Expand Services, Kay Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Objective and Methods: The objective of this case study was to describe the process and outcomes of a small local health department's (LHD's) strategy to build and use information systems. The case study is based on a review of documents and semi-structured interviews with key informants in the Pomperaug District Health Department. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed.

Results and Conclusions: The case study here suggests that small LHDs can use a low-resource, incremental strategy to build information systems for improving departmental effectiveness and efficiency. Specifically, we suggest that the elements for this department's success were simple information systems, …

Electronic Health Records And Meaningful Use In Local Health Departments: Updates From The 2015 Naccho Informatics Assessment Survey, Karmen S. Williams, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) are evolving the scope of operations, practices, and outcomes of population health in the United States. Local health departments (LHDs) need adequate health informatics capacities to handle the quantity and quality of population health data.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an updated view using the most recent data to identify the primary storage of clinical data, status of data for meaningful use, and characteristics associated with the implementation of EHRs in LHDs.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, which used a stratified random sampling …

Using Information Systems To Improve A Mid-Sized Local Health Department’S Effectiveness In A Time Of Rapid Change, Kay Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: Informatics capacity building is resource and personnel intensive. Many local health departments (LHDs) face tradeoffs between using their resources to carry out existing mandates and using resources to build their capacity, for example, through informatics, to deliver essential services in a more effective and efficient manner.

Objective: The purpose of this case study is to describe how a mid-sized LHD built and used information systems to support its strategic objectives, clinical services, and surveillance.

Methods: The mid-sized LHD described here was chosen for its “best practices” in informatics capacity building and use by NACCHO's study advisory committee. To conduct …

Urgent Challenges For Local Public Health Informatics, Joseph P. Gibson, Gulzar H. Shah, Laura C. Streichert, Linda Verchick

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

This editorial highlights the urgent challenges for local public health informatics and provides solutions to face these challenges.

The Methods Behind 2015 Informatics Capacity And Needs Assessment Study, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

The 2015 Informatics Needs and Capacity of Local Health Departments (LHDs) survey is the most recent comprehensive source of quantitative data on LHD informatics. Conducted by the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO), this is the third nationally representative quantitative study of LHD informatics since 2009. The previous 2 comprehensive quantitative assessments were conducted by NACCHO in 2009-2010 and 2011. Given that public health informatics is rapidly evolving, the 2015 Informatics survey is a much-needed country-wide assessment of the current informatics needs and capacities of LHDs. This article outlines detailed methodology used in the 2015 Informatics survey, …

Assessing Skills And Capacity For Informatics: Activities Most Commonly Performed By Or For Local Health Departments, Kate Drezner, Lisa Mckeown, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Objective: To describe the informatics activities performed by and for local health departments.

Design: Analysis of data from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey of local health departments conducted by the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University in collaboration with the National Association of County & City Health Officials.

Participants: 324 local health departments.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Informatics activities performed at or for local health departments in use and analysis of data, system design, and routine use of information systems.

Results: A majority of local health departments extract data from information systems (69.5%) and …

Informatics As A Strategic Priority And Collaborative Processes To Build A Smarter, Forward-Looking Health Department, Kay Lovelace, Gulzar H. Shah

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

This article was published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

Interoperability Of Information Systems Managed And Used By The Local Health Departments, Gulzar H. Shah, Jonathon P. Leider, Huabin Luo, Ravneet Kaur

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: In the post-Affordable Care Act era marked by interorganizational collaborations and availability of large amounts of electronic data from other community partners, it is imperative to assess the interoperability of information systems used by the local health departments (LHDs).

Objectives: To describe the level of interoperability of LHD information systems and identify factors associated with lack of interoperability.

Data and Methods: This mixed-methods research uses data from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, with a target population of all LHDs in the United States. A representative sample of 650 LHDs was drawn using a stratified random sampling …

Local Health Departments' Partners And Challenges In Electronic Exchange Of Health Information, Gulzar H. Shah, Joshua Vest, Kay Lovelace, J. Mac Mccullough

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: Unprecedented amounts of data are produced by the health care and other sectors, presenting opportunities for local health departments (LHDs) to access these data. LHDs will need to participate in health information exchange (HIE) with a number of partners in order to benefit from these data resources. LHDs' participation in HIEs with specific partners has not been studied.

Objectives: To describe the level of and challenges in LHD participation in HIE with other partners, and variation by LHD population size and governance type.

Data and Methods: This research uses data from the 2015 Informatics Capacity and Needs Assessment Survey, …

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Studies LHDs Partners and Challenges in Electronic Exchange of Health Information
• Georgia Southern Studies the Interoperability of Information Systems Managed and Used by LHDs

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Collaborates with UNCG to Examine Strategies of an LHD to Build and Use Information Systems
• Georgia Southern Partners to Examine E-Waste Management in the United States
• Georgia Southern Partnered on a Study to Examine Challenges and Innovations in Surveying the Governmental Public Health Workforce
• Georgia Southern Examines Control of the Public Health IT Physical Infrastructure

Health Departments’ Engagement In Emergency Preparedness Activities: The Influence Of Health Informatics Capacity, Gulzar H. Shah, Bobbie J. Newell, Ruth E. Whitworth

Health Policy & Management: Faculty Publications (2006-2018)

Background: Local health departments (LHDs) operate in a complex and dynamic public health landscape, with changing demands on their emergency response capacities. Informatics capacities might play an instrumental role in aiding LHDs emergency preparedness. This study aimed to explore the extent to which LHDs’ informatics capacities are associated with their activity level in emergency preparedness and to identify which health informatics capacities are associated with improved emergency preparedness.

Methods: We used the 2013 National Profile of LHDs study to perform Poisson regression of emergency preparedness activities.

Results: Only 38.3% of LHDs participated in full-scale exercises or drills for an emergency …

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines the Impact of State HAI Reporting Laws

Getting Ready For Open Enrollment: Supporting Clients Living With Hiv, Juli Powers, Mira Levinson, Naima Cozier

9th Annual Rural HIV Research & Training Conference (2014-2019) (Archived)

Open Enrollment for 2017 Marketplace plans begins on November 1, 2016. Programs should prepare now to engage unenrolled and newly-eligible clients, and support clients who enrolled in previous years to compare options and find affordable, quality plans for 2017 that meet their needs. This interactive session will include strategies to engage and enroll people living with HIV in health coverage.

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Epigenetic Dysregulation of IGF

Health Policy & Management News, Georgia Southern University

Health Policy & Community Health: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Social Network Characteristics