Strong public health data, informatics, and analytics are vital to local health departments’ (LHD) efforts to protect and promote health within their communities. These support LHDs in their ability to respond to public health emergencies, conduct disease surveillance, and provide effective programs and services. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on modernizing LHD informatics infrastructure and improving capabilities.

To better understand data modernization and informatics, NACCHO has focused a few recent efforts on collecting information on LHD needs, capacities, experiences, and challenges related to data, analytics, and informatics. First, NACCHO conducted the 2023 Forces of Change (FOC) survey with a section on data modernization and outbreak analytics and followed up with a more extensive 2024 Informatics Assessment to further explore these topics. While the 2024 Informatics Assessment Report will be released in the upcoming weeks, here is a sneak peek of the findings!

• Most LHDs are currently working on or planning to work on data modernization projects, though most have not received any supplemental funding for data modernization in the past few years. Approximately 3 in 5 LHDs are currently working on data modernization efforts. A similar number were also planning work around data modernization in the next fiscal year. Although these efforts are occurring at the local level, most LHDs had not received supplemental funding for data modernization between fiscal years 2020 and 2023.

• LHDs have a limited workforce dedicated to informatics, including staff focused on data and/or analytics. In 2023, about 2 in 5 LHDs did not have any staff dedicated to outbreak and infectious disease analytics. In 2024, these figures were similar with about 2 in 5 LHDs not having any informatics related staff. In addition, only about 1 in 10 LHDs had a dedicated informatics team or department, though large LHDs (i.e., those serving jurisdictions of 500,000 or more people) were more likely to have these teams/departments compared to small LHDs (i.e., those serving jurisdictions of less than 50,000 people).

• Most LHDs are using informatics, especially in their clinical care, accounting/finance, surveillance, and programmatic reporting activities. Most LHDs are using informatics in their public health work. Around 2 in 3 LHDs use informatics in clinical care coordination/records management, while more than half are using informatics in their accounting and finance, billing, surveillance, and programmatic reporting. Large LHDs were more likely to report using informatics across different activities compared to small LHDs.

• Informatics LHD staff need development and training in data use, software use, and reporting. For LHDs with informatics services/staff, almost all reported needing staff development in at least one relevant area. Approximately 3 in 5 of these LHDs reported staff development would be helpful to strengthen staff skills in using/interpreting qualitative or quantitative data; using word processing, spreadsheet; presentation software; and designing and running reports from information systems; and using statistical/analytical software.

NACCHO has been engaging in various capability building, peer learning, and other efforts around data modernization and informatics, especially focusing on ensuring these efforts are useful and accessible for all LHDs, including smaller and rural LHDs. For example, one key effort has focused on disease forecasting and outbreak analytics – supporting skill-building of LHD staff in forecasting and modeling methods, interpretation, and dissemination and creating a community of practice with diverse LHDs for collaboration and sharing. NACCHO’s goal is to keep expanding this work to better support LHDs in their data, analytics, and informatics efforts.

You can view the 2023 FOC report here. Be sure to keep an eye on the NACCHO research page for the complete 2024 Informatics Assessment report later this month. If you will be joining us in Detroit to attend PHI*Con and/or NACCHO360, you can hear more about the Assessment on Tuesday, July 23^rd at 2:30 PM.