Modernizing Public Health Data Systems and Workforce Capacity: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program.

Abstract

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed governmental public health's outdated information technology and insufficient data science and informatics workforce capacity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program (PHIFP) is well positioned to strengthen public health data science and informatics workforce capacity.

Program: Established in 1996, PHIFP is a 2-year, full-time, on-the-job training program. PHIFP includes a didactic curriculum, applied learning through informatics projects completed at the assigned host site, short-term technical assistance projects, and a final capstone project.

Evaluation: Fellows have learned from and bolstered host site informatics capacity through the development or enhancement of information systems, evaluations, data integration, data visualization, and analysis. Among recent graduates, 54% are employed at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 16% are employed at other public health organizations, including local health departments.

Discussion: Fellowships such as PHIFP, which recruit and train promising scientists in public health informatics, are important components of efforts to strengthen public health workforce capacity.