Health and Human Services Informatics Master's degree programme Kaija Saranto, Professor, PhD, RN, FACMI Sirpa Kuusisto-Niemi, Ms.Soc.Sc.,Lecturer Department of Health and Social Management International Perspectives on Program Accreditation for Professional Education in Informatics, Medinfo 2013

Contents Health and Human Services Informatics master’s degree programme Experiences of the accreditation process Impact of the accreditation on education, research and society

Health and Human Services Informatics education in Finland Only Master's programme of its kind in Finland Established in 2000 as major; permanent programme since 2005 The aim is to produce professionals and researchers in information management for the needs of health and social care Based on IMIA Recommendations on Education in Health and Medical Informatics from the very beginning Master´s degree program 2007, 120 ECTS points –BA degree or corresponding studies as a background –Supplementary studies max 60 ECTS points –Personal study plan for each student –Multifaceted teaching with web studies, –Assessment and feedback system 3

Definition Health and Human Services Informatics (HHSI) is understood as the management of information resources of an entity, e.g. an organisation, covering the activities, actors and methods in the production of health and welfare services for the public and private sectors and organisations. Resources are understood as data warehouses, programs, devices, communications arrangements and people as sources and utilizers of information.

Health Informatics and related fields Mod. Mantas 2011 Context: health and social sciences

Students The students represent the whole country: Eastern Finland 40% Metropolitan area (Southern Finland) 30 % Middle Finland 10% Western Finland 10% Northern Finland 10% Graduated 119 (8/2013) Helsinki Kuopio Tampere Jyväskylä Rovaniemi Oulu Turku Joensuu Vaasa Kajaani Varkaus Kouvola Mikkeli Lahti

THE PARADIGM FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INFORMATICS Main concepts: Actors mean users or producers of social and health services Data is the hierarchical continuum from data to knowledge Intervention means the planning, implementation, evaluation or use of services Technology means social and technical procedures used in processing, analysing, storing or retrieving data related to actions

Body of Knowledge in Informatics Data models, structures Use of ICT Knowledge management and informatics competences Actors Intervention Data Technology THE PARADIGM FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INFORMATICS Main concepts and research focus Steering and organizing of information management in work processes Conext: Health and Social Care

Knowledge and skills areas in HHSI Core knowledge and skills Health and human services, service organisation Methodological competencies Informatics/ computer science Introduction to Health and Human Services Informatics, 5 ECTS Basics of management in social and health care, 6 ECTS Introduction to Academic Studies, 1 ECTS Basic Studies of Computer Science (Minor Studies), 25 ECTS Data Protection and Data Security, 5 ECTS Contextual changes and organizational reforms in social and health services, 7 ECTS Information skills in social and health care management, 1 ECTS Theory Building in Health and Human Services Informatics, 6 ECTS Cost accounting and budgeting in public organisations, 6 ECTS Research Methods in Health and Human Services Informatics, 6 ECTS Knowledge Management in Health and Human Services Informatics, 6 ECTS Research and Development of Health and Human Services Informatics, 6 ECTS Modelling, 3 ECTS M Sc Thesis 30 ECTSPractical Training in Health and Human Services Informatics, 6 ECTS Advanced course in statistical methods, 5 ECTS One of following as obligatory: Leading and Managing Change, 6 ECTS Small Business Finance, 6 ECTS Management Control Systems, 6 ECTS Evidence Based Social and Health Care, 6 ECTS Jurisprudence in Health and Human Services, 3 ECTS Evaluation research, 6 ECTS Σ 52 Σ 40 Σ 28 Σ 25

IMIA GA, Beijing

Experiences The evaluation process itself was familiar due to various evaluations at the university The focus on informatics was very rewarding The expertice of the panel members was high quality Instructions for self-assessment were clear and guided the analysis of the programme in a comprehensive way The data collection was challenging due to fragmented databases The timeframe of the process was optimal for us The site-visit was highly valued by the university staff 11

Impact of the accreditation Education & Research: The guidance to improve both structure and content of the curricula was very rewarding and it helped us: To focus on student’s optimum time to graduate To improve procedures in integrating teaching and research more intensively To stress the importance of quantitative research methods To focus more thoroughly on outcomes of the education, especially on significance of students’ thesis 12

Impact of the accreditation Society: The programme is now an established brand Contacts with alumnis have been intensified eg. annual seminars Number of applicants was slightly higher this spring Co-operation with research units having convergent research interests has increased 13

14 Thank you!