{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T07:03:15Z","timestamp":1782975795596,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782950400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To realize the potential of using information technology (IT) and data to inform public health, it is critical that the US dedicates resources to preparing a robust workforce skilled in leveraging IT, informatics, and data science towards the advancement of public health. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, several innovative educational partnerships have emerged to fulfill this mission. In this paper, we present indicators of the successful implementation of an academic-industry partnership.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Students enrolled in the Public Health Informatics &amp;amp; Technology (PHIT) program completed surveys and interviews during and immediately following participation in a paid Health Informatics internship embedded within the program. Data were summarized annually and used to refine implementation of the PHIT internship.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      PHIT internships were hosted primarily by non-profit (53%) and health IT (22%) organizations. Over 4\u202fyears, 149 students completed the summer internship program (79% female, 21% Hispanic, 57% first-generation college students). Satisfaction with the program was high, and students\u2019 satisfaction with positive aspects of the internship remained stable over time and concerns about negative aspects of the internship decreased over time (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The PHIT program successfully integrated training efforts across two academic disciplines (Informatics and Public Health) and industry partnerships. The program has yielded several cohorts of trained professionals ready to enter the public health workforce proficient at applying analytic methods to large health datasets. Improvements over time in students\u2019 evaluations of the internship demonstrated the value of ongoing program evaluation with timely feedback provided to program managers.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1869077","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T05:34:20Z","timestamp":1782970460000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Preparing a technologically savvy public health workforce: an academic-industry partnership"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Michelle Y","family":"Ke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Clinical & Translational Science, University of California, Irvine","place":["Irvine, CA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kai","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine","place":["Irvine, CA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tim","family":"Bruckner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine","place":["Irvine, CA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Margaret","family":"Schneider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Clinical & Translational Science, University of California, Irvine","place":["Irvine, CA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S6","DOI":"10.1097\/PHH.0000000000000479","article-title":"Urgent challenges for local public health informatics","volume":"22","author":"Gibson","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Public Health Manag Pract"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S25","DOI":"10.1089\/big.2022.0208","article-title":"Technology and data implications for the public health workforce","volume":"10","author":"Martin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Big data"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1766682","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1766682","article-title":"Training needs in data, informatics and technical skills in the US governmental public health workforce","volume":"14","author":"Rajamani","year":"2026","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1000","DOI":"10.1093\/jamia\/ocad033","article-title":"Enhancing the nation's public health information infrastructure: a report from the ACMI symposium","volume":"30","author":"Dixon","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Am Med Inform Assoc"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"887","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2020.07.024","article-title":"Deficient response to COVID-19 makes the case for evolving the public health system","volume":"59","author":"Dixon","year":"2020","journal-title":"Am J Prev Med"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.1111\/1468-0009.12463","article-title":"COVID-19 and underinvestment in the public health infrastructure of the United States","volume":"98","author":"Maani","year":"2020","journal-title":"Milbank Q"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S130","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2018.304947","article-title":"Public health in the era of social media","volume":"109","author":"Abroms","year":"2019","journal-title":"Am J Public Health"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1264780","DOI":"10.3389\/fdgth.2023.1264780","article-title":"Improving health literacy using the power of digital communications to achieve better health outcomes for patients and practitioners","volume":"5","author":"Fitzpatrick","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Digital Health"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S7","DOI":"10.1097\/PHH.0000000000001667","article-title":"Building the future of public health around people","volume":"29","author":"Chokshi","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Public Health Manag Pract"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1177\/00333549141291S211","article-title":"Addressing health and health-care disparities: the role of a diverse workforce and the social determinants of health","volume":"129","author":"Jackson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Public Health Rep"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"RBQG5825","DOI":"10.63116\/RBQG5825","article-title":"Shaping the future of the health information profession: the impact of emerging technologies on the workforce","volume":"1","author":"Houser","year":"2025","journal-title":"Adv Health Inf Sci Pract"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.23887\/ijerr.v6i1.46715","article-title":"Health informatics internship: what are the students perceptions regard internship effectiveness?","volume":"6","author":"Alhur","year":"2023","journal-title":"Indonesian J Educ Res Rev"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1080\/13639080.2019.1708869","article-title":"How do students conceptualise the college internship experience? 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