Public, Population Health Informatics Program Nabs $2.5M to Expand Training

The Indiana Training Program in Public and Population Health Informatics, a collaboration between Indiana University (IU) and the Regenstrief Institute, has been awarded a five-year continuation of funding totaling $2.5 million from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

According to the press release, the program consists of pre- and post-doctoral fellowship opportunities to educate and train future researchers focused on developing and implementing data and information systems to improve population health. This work is undertaken through courses offered by IU’s Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health (FSPH) and research training at the Regenstrief Institute. Trainees in the program are mentored by IU faculty experts and Regenstrief scientists in medicine, public health, informatics, and health services research.

“Program graduates respond to a growing need for informaticians; a need that became even more apparent during the pandemic,” said Brian Dixon, PhD, a Regenstrief research scientist and co-director of the Regenstrief-FSPH fellowship, in the press release. “The Regenstrief-IU partnership brings broad educational and practical experience to fellowship graduates, who are positioning themselves to make significant, lasting impacts on the health of populations in Indiana and around the world.”

As part of the program’s curriculum, fellows receive education on topics related to public health, informatics, social/behavioral determinants of health, disease surveillance, data science, and research methods. Trainees then build upon this education through Regenstrief research projects, such as leveraging large clinical data sets and resources managed by the Regenstrief Institute and IU, developing and applying analytical methods to detect and mobilize responses to emerging health threats, and improving data and information systems to better support clinical and public health work performed in hospitals, clinics, and public health agencies.

“Our investment in training the next generation of public and population health informatics experts recognizes that informatics is essential to managing health and disease,” said Titus Schleyer, PhD, a Regenstrief research scientist and co-director of the Regenstrief-FSPH fellowship, in the press release. “A unique strength of our program is that trainees are able to put much of their work to practical use in collaboration with our health system partners, for instance, through the Indiana Learning Health System Initiative.”

According to the press release, the NLM funds training programs at 18 academic institutions, but the Regenstrief-IU partnership program is the only one that focuses on public and population health informatics.

Current program trainees are working on two research projects. The first, titled ‘Exploring the Use and Outcomes of Health Information Exchanges in Emergency Settings,’ will evaluate whether HIEs can help improve patient outcomes in emergency departments. The second, ‘Leveraging Health Information Exchange to Build a Patient Registry for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and Stroke,’ will create a registry for patients with these injuries that enables the study of patient outcomes over time, supporting outcomes research and public health surveillance.