Overview
There is emerging consensus that specialization at the intersection of Health Sciences and Information Studies will fill an important educational gap, and produce researchers and professionals with valuable skills to participate in health care delivery, health policy and planning, and cutting edge scholarship. More specifically, there are calls for an intermediary role to help bridge the vast and ever-increasing amount of new health-related knowledge and the needs of clinical practice, health policy development and patient decision-making; that is a facilitator or broker who can effectively retrieve, evaluate and synthesize different types of knowledge and efficiently provide it to end users.
To our knowledge, this is the only Canadian (and possibly North American) program that provides this multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to examining this space between the needs of health decision-makers, and the evolving and complex nature of relevant information and data - what we call “health information science”.
Faculty members offering the program are leaders in these areas, including the practice and science of Knowledge Translation and Exchange, critical health theory, health law, health policy, health technologies, health information management, health media, etc. Our scholars use a range of theoretical and methodological orientations to examine a very broad range of issues in this area.
Goals & Objectives
Goal 1: To provide graduate level education in the emerging discipline of Health Information Science, as consistent with the Mission Statement of the Faculties of Information and Media Studies, and of Health Sciences. In relation to Goal 1, the objectives of the HIS programs are:
Objective 1: to foster critical inquiry and creativity in all aspects of the program at both the master and PhD levels;
Objective 2: to deliver flexible and responsive degree programs, maximizing students’ opportunities for scholarly development, leadership and growth through a variety of research and study options;
Goal 2: To graduate health information specialists and scholars who engage in critical and independent thinking, display creativity, and are committed to both theory and research in the emerging area of “Health Information Science”. In relation to Goal 2, the objective of the HIS Program is:
Objective 1: to educate master and PhD level students who can:
(a) draw valid conclusions based upon sound analysis of reliable data and analyse major problems of the discipline in a spirit of creativity and critical inquiry;
(b) engage in and lead development of critical analysis of principles and techniques of research in the area;
(c) understand existing and emerging sources of recorded health information in its many forms;
(d) understand, through examination of relevant research, the needs of particular health user groups (e.g., health policy makers, health professionals, health vendors, patients, advocates and members of the public);
(e) understand the theoretical underpinnings and current issues associated with the study and application of knowledge translation in health;
(f) understand existing and emerging technologies in health information management applications / health informatics;
For the PhD program:
Objective 2: to produce scholars who can conduct independent research, and initiate and sustain their own program of research.
Goal 3: To establish a strategic partnership between the Faculties of Information and Media Studies, and of Health Sciences in research, program delivery and service to the numerous health and information professions within their respective mandates; and to broaden these partnerships with other Faculties of the University, and beyond.
Objective 1: to foster opportunities for students in the new programs to participate in relevant areas of study in both participating Faculties, and in other units on campus or in the wider community, and vice versa;