title: Connecting public health IT systems with enacted work: report of an ethnographic study.
abstract: As part of a larger project to improve information transfer within public health settings, we studied the information workflow associated with communicable disease (CD) activities in a local health department. As part of that study we examined a newly adopted online system used for reporting CD data to the state department of public health. An information workflow analysis was performed using the ethnographic methods of interviews and observations. In addition to providing a detailed description of the context of CD reporting activities in a local health department, our study uncovered a mismatch between the newly piloted electronic reporting system and the CD work as enacted by health department personnel.
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health Informatics, Division of Biomedical Health Informatics,University of Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Anne McNaughton
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramey
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D018563:Disease Notification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D040442:Public Health Informatics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014600:Utilization Review; D014861:Washington; D057188:Workflow; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*