Event Details

Although there has been investment in health information collection and use across the public health sector, many current health information technologies, systems and practices promote siloed information management and poor data quality. Epidemiologists, analysts and informatics experts are grappling with the diversity of disconnected data available, the governance associated with these new and traditional data sources and transformation of these data into usable insights to support decision-making.  

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) definition of Information Governance (IG) is, ‘an organization wide framework for managing information throughout its lifecycle and used to support the organization’s strategy, operations, regulatory, legal and risk’. 

Niagara Region Public Health and Emergency Service (NRPH&ES) carried out a comprehensive IG maturity assessment, which reviewed its electronic health information, metadata management, data (governance, standards, quality) and policies/procedures underpinning these areas. 

This session will explore the results of the Information Governance (IG) holistic assessment at NRPH&ES. In addition, this session will also explore how recommendations from the assessment have led to the development of an IG roadmap to improve the management and quality of health information and data assets, which could potentially be applied to public health units across Ontario.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. List 10 organizational competencies for health information governance (IG).
2. Identify recommendations with short-, medium- and long-term outcomes from a local public health unit’s IG maturity assessment.
3. Discuss the steps and potential partners required to develop an IG action plan within a public health organization.

Sinéad McElhone is the Manager of Surveillance and Evaluation at Niagara Region Public Health. She has a PhD in the large-scale epidemiological study of obesity in children from Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Previously, she worked in Deakin University Melbourne, Australia as a postdoctoral Research Fellow and as a Senior Lecturer/Program Lead at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom in the areas of nutrition, epidemiology and public health. 

Diane Vanecko is the Director of Organizational and Foundational Standards division at Niagara Region Public Health. The division leads the work in areas of communications and engagement, research and evaluation, continuous quality improvement and education. She has worked in public health for 22 years in many areas of the health department in positions of increasing responsibility. 

Diane has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. 

The opinions expressed by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of Public Health Ontario, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by Public Health Ontario.

PHO Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). In order to receive written documentation for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, please check “Yes” beside the question “Do you require CME credits?” on the registration form.

College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Affiliate Members may count RCPSC credits toward their Mainpro+ credit requirements. All other CFPC members may claim up to 50 Certified credits per cycle for participation in RCPSC MOC Section 1 accredited activities.

PHO Grand Rounds are also approved by the Council of Professional Experience for professional development hours (PDHs) for members of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI).

For more information or for a record of registration for other Continuing Education purposes, please contact events@oahpp.ca

Public Health Ontario is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact 647-260-7100 or capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.