What are the four principles of public health informatics as defined by Yasnoff and colleagues?

The four principles defined by Yasnoff and colleagues are: (1) applications promote the health of populations, (2) applications focus on disease and injury prevention, (3) applications explore prevention at all vulnerable points in the causal chain, and (4) public health informatics reflects the governmental context in which public health is practiced.

Yasnoff and colleagues (2000) articulated principles that continue to guide public health informatics. First, applications should promote the health of populations rather than individuals alone. Second, they should focus on disease and injury prevention. Third, they should explore prevention at all vulnerable points in the causal chain, meaning interventions can be directed at multiple stages of disease development. Fourth, the field recognizes the governmental context in which public health is practiced. These principles distinguish public health informatics from other informatics specialties by its population focus, prevention emphasis, and governmental setting.