Welcome to the Health Information Workforce Census.
The aim of the census project is to quantify and qualify the Health information Workforce (HIW), specifically to delineate and count the workforce, consider the future configuration of workforce, identify HIW shortfalls, and identify current health information training and career pathways.
Your participation is much appreciated. With your input, we will be able to achieve our aim, informing employers, government and industry of the importance of this workforce. Completion of the census is voluntary.
HOW WAS THE CENSUS DEVELOPED?
The questions in the census were developed in an Australian study using a Delphi study design throughout 2017. Experts from a number of different stakeholder organisations provided input into the data elements and questions that should be included in the census. This was to ensure that the census would answer the stakeholder group’s questions, and that the questions would not change over time. The census was then pilot tested by the experts and the executive committees of partner organisations.
WHO SHOULD COMPLETE THE CENSUS?
Anyone who self-identifies as being a part of the HIW. You are part of the workforce if you work (including volunteering or actively seeking work) in a role where the primary function is related to developing, maintaining, or governing a system for the management of health data, health information, or health knowledge (Gray & Butler-Henderson 2018); and your work is about/for/with an organisation that operates in New Zealand, and your role relates to its New Zealand health sector operations. Further information can be found at the census website.
HOW WILL I COMPLETE THE CENSUS?
At the bottom of this page is a link to the census website (to be inserted), where you can find the link to the census. You can then complete the census on a computer or mobile device, using any browser. If you would like to complete a paper copy, please contact one of the project contacts below. The census consists of a number of select answer and short answer questions relating to your demographic information, educational background, current health information work experience, and future professional intentions.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO COMPLETE THE CENSUS?
This will vary depending on your educational background and current employment status. However, during our pilot study, the majority of participants completed the census in less than 20 minutes, with the average time being 14 minutes. You can save your responses and return to complete the census later in the month.
HOW OFTEN WILL I BE ASKED TO COMPLETE THE CENSUS?
The census will be conducted during the months of November and December in 2018 and again in 2020, to enable us to gain to consecutive datasets in a short space of time. Thereafter, the census will be conducted every three years, for example 2023, 2026, 2029 and so on.
HOW WILL THE DATA BE MAINTAINED AND REPORTED?
The census is conducted through a survey system, Qualtrics. The University of Auckland’s Qualtrics system is utilised for this project and therefore all data will be stored on a University of Auckland server in Auckland, New Zealand. Following the census, the data will be downloaded from Qualtrics into a password protected MS Excel spreadsheet, which will be maintained on a secure University of Auckland server in Auckland, New Zealand, that can only be accessed by the project contacts listed below. This data will then be uploaded into a password protected project database for analysis, again only accessible by the project contacts listed below.
For further information, please see the Data Management and Access Policy at the census website.
The data will be analysed and aggregated summary findings will be presented in a report, made available on the census website and shared with the collaborating organisations. No identifying information about you or organisations you work with will be collected by this census (unless you consent to participate in the longitudinal case study – see below).
Anonymity will be maintained when reporting the data. For example, when reporting the census findings, should a particular field reveal five or less participants, a symbol will be substituted, indicating that the exact number will not be reported. The project team will also undertake analysis on the census data for publication in journals and at conference and industry presentations, and the data will be reported in such a way as to not identify any individual or organisation.
This project has an open data approach. This means organisations and individuals will be able to request access to the de-identified census data for non-commercial purposes. The above principles of data anonymity will be maintained. Currently it is planned to keep the data indefinitely to enable data comparisons over time.
Should this change, information will be provided on the census website. Further information about data access can be found at the census website.
WHAT IS THE LONGITUDINAL STUDY?
The longitudinal study is a sub-study of the census project. The census does not collect identifying information about participants, making it difficult to measure an individual’s career progression over time. Therefore, the census project is seeking individuals to participate in a longitudinal study of the workforce. If you decide to be part of this longitudinal study, you will be asked to answer a small number of questions at the beginning of each census (2018, 2020,2023, 2026, etc.) to enable the project team to link your current census responses to your past / future census responses. Once the census is complete, an individual’s census responses will be re-identified with a unique identifier to enable that individual’s responses over the years to be linked together, and then data entered for linkage questions will be removed.
Participation in the longitudinal sub-study is voluntary. You can elect to complete the census without being part of this longitudinal study. A participant who participates in the longitudinal study this year can elect not to participate in future years.
WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STUDY?
For further information about the study, you are welcome to contact the Principle Investigator, Dr Karen Day, by email at k.day@auckland.ac.nz, or by phone on 09 923 3870.
You can also contact Dr Day’s Head of Department of Health Systems, Dr Richard Edlin, by email at r.edlin@auckland.ac.nz, or by phone on 09 923 9029.
For any concerns regarding ethical issues you may contact the Chair, The University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee, The University of Auckland, Research Office, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142. Telephone 09 373-7599 ext.83711. Email: ro-ethics@auckland.ac.nz
Approved by the University Of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 19 November 2018 for three years. Reference Number 022223.
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