Health Informatics Research Methods

"Dedicated to the study and practice of health informatics and health information management (HIM), Health Informatics Research Methods: Principles and Practice, Second Edition focuses on the practical applications of research in health informatics and HIM. It provides real-life examples of research studies, step-by-step research methods, and explanations of analytic procedures. The book's organization guides students and professionals through the process of conducting research specific to health informatics and HIM and is an in-depth resource for both novice and experienced researchers."--Publisher's website.

"Dedicated to the study and practice of health informatics and health information management (HIM), Health Informatics Research Methods: Principles and Practice, Second Edition focuses on the practical applications of research in health informatics and HIM. It provides real-life examples of research studies, step-by-step research methods, and explanations of analytic procedures. The book's organization guides students and professionals through the process of conducting research specific to health informatics and HIM and is an in-depth resource for both novice and experienced researchers."--

Health informatics students, practitioners, and researchers now have a complete resource specific to the profession. Health Informatics Research Methods: Principles and Practice supports seasoned and novice researchers, students, and educators. The text focuses on the practical applications of research in health informatics and health information management. It provides real-life examples of research with samples of survey instruments, step-by-step listings of methodology for several types of research designs, and examples of statistical analysis tables and explanations. The book's organization guides readers through the process of conducting research specific to health informatics concepts and functions.

As director of a training program in medical informatics, I have found that one of the most frequent inquiries from graduate students is, "Although I am happy with my research focus and the work I have done, how can I design and carry out a practical evaluation that proves the value of my contribution?" Informatics is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary field with research that ranges from theoretical developments to projects that are highly applied and intended for near-term use in clinical settings. The implications of "proving" a research claim accordingly vary greatly depending on the details of an individual student's goals and thesis state ment. Furthermore, the dissertation work leading up to an evaluation plan is often so time-consuming and arduous that attempting the "perfect" evaluation is fre quently seen as impractical or as diverting students from central programming or implementation issues that are their primary areas of interest. They often ask what compromises are possible so they can provide persuasive data in support of their claims without adding another two to three years to their graduate student life. Our students clearly needed help in dealing more effectively with such dilem mas, and it was therefore fortuitous when, in the autumn of 1991, we welcomed two superb visiting professors to our laboratories.

Beginning with a survey of fundamental concepts associated with data integration, knowledge representation, and hypothesis generation from heterogeneous data sets, Methods in Biomedical Informatics provides a practical survey of methodologies used in biological, clinical, and public health contexts. These concepts provide the foundation for more advanced topics like information retrieval, natural language processing, Bayesian modeling, and learning classifier systems. The survey of topics then concludes with an exposition of essential methods associated with engineering, personalized medicine, and linking of genomic and clinical data. Within an overall context of the scientific method, Methods in Biomedical Informatics provides a practical coverage of topics that is specifically designed for: (1) domain experts seeking an understanding of biomedical informatics approaches for addressing specific methodological needs; or (2) biomedical informaticians seeking an approachable overview of methodologies that can be used in scenarios germane to biomedical research. Contributors represent leading biomedical informatics experts: individuals who have demonstrated effective use of biomedical informatics methodologies in the real-world, high-quality biomedical applications Material is presented as a balance between foundational coverage of core topics in biomedical informatics with practical "in-the-trenches" scenarios. Contains appendices that function as primers on: (1) Unix; (2) Ruby; (3) Databases; and (4) Web Services.

Global Health Informatics: How Information Technology Can Change Our Lives in a Globalized World discusses the critical role of information and communication technologies in health practice, health systems management and research in increasingly interconnected societies. In a global interconnected world the old standalone institutional information systems have proved to be inadequate for patient-centered care provided by multiple providers, for the early detection and response to emerging and re-emerging diseases, and to guide population-oriented public health interventions. The book reviews pertinent aspects and successful current experiences related to standards for health information systems; digital systems as a support for decision making, diagnosis and therapy; professional and client education and training; health systems operation; and intergovernmental collaboration. Discusses how standalone systems can compromise health care in globalized world Provides information on how information and communication technologies (ICT) can support diagnose, treatment, and prevention of emerging and re-emerging diseases Presents case studies about integrated information and how and why to share data can facilitate governance and strategies to improve life conditions

Regular developments in technology continue to influence the medical and healthcare fields as they interact with information and computer sciences by methods of acquisition and the storage and retrieval of information. Methods, Models, and Computation for Medical Informatics is a comprehensive collection of research on computational capabilities, prototypes, and algorithms, as well as application in the areas of nursing, clinical care, public health, biomedical research, and much more. This book provides a better understanding of the models and methods used in the field of medicine for researchers, practitioners, and medical professionals alike.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of different biomedical data types, including both clinical and genomic data. Thorough explanations enable readers to explore key topics ranging from electrocardiograms to Big Data health mining and EEG analysis techniques. Each chapter offers a summary of the field and a sample analysis. Also covered are telehealth infrastructure, healthcare information association rules, methods for mass spectrometry imaging, environmental biodiversity, and the global nonlinear fitness function for protein structures. Diseases are addressed in chapters on functional annotation of lncRNAs in human disease, metabolomics characterization of human diseases, disease risk factors using SNP data and Bayesian methods, and imaging informatics for diagnostic imaging marker selection. With the exploding accumulation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), there is an urgent need for computer-aided analysis of heterogeneous biomedical datasets. Biomedical data is notorious for its diversified scales, dimensions, and volumes, and requires interdisciplinary technologies for visual illustration and digital characterization. Various computer programs and servers have been developed for these purposes by both theoreticians and engineers. This book is an essential reference for investigating the tools available for analyzing heterogeneous biomedical data. It is designed for professionals, researchers, and practitioners in biomedical engineering, diagnostics, medical electronics, and related industries.