How important is theory in health informatics? A survey of UK academics.

The disciplinary status of health informatics remains unclear. Is it an art or a science? Does it have a body of theory? A survey was devised for UK academics that teach or research health informatics. Forty-six responses were received, twenty-five from the target group (representing between a quarter and a third of the population of interest). Health informatics is not perceived to have a well-known and clearly definable body of theory, but there is a clear demand for a more theoretical basis for the discipline. Journals and conferences were rated as the best sources of theory and seven key textbooks were identified.