About Us

A technologically competent workforce is crucial to the future of public health. As evident from the US’ inadequate preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic, a new generation of public health workers, proficient at informatics and technology, is urgently needed to modernize the nation’s public health information infrastructure and harness the power of interoperable data to monitor and control future infectious disease outbreaks. Equally important is the need to train a 21^st century public health workforce on the use of digital tools such as social media and mobile health apps to reach out to vulnerable populations to improve public health communication, encourage behavior change, and gather and analyze data on social determinants of health (SDOH).

In partnership with the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) and the Oregon Community Health Information Network (OCHIN), the University of California, Irvine (UCI), the Public Health Informatics and Technology (PHIT) Workforce Development Program at UCI aims to increase the pipeline into the public health IT workforce and increase the representation of underrepresented communities in the field. In 2021, UCI was awarded the PHIT program grant by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and is funded through the American Rescue Plan. The program aims to strengthen U.S. public health informatics technology (IT) efforts. UCI is one of 10 awardees, comprising Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), and other institutions of higher education.