People working in fields relating to health data, health information or health knowledge are being urged to take part in a census to help identify workforce shortfalls and training and career pathways, and finally define who and what the health information workforce actually is.

Organised by well-known health workforce researchers Kerryn Butler-Henderson from the University of Tasmania and the University of Melbourne's Kathleen Gray, the census is thought to be the biggest of its kind in the world in terms of breadth and depth, and has inspired a similar exercise for the New Zealand workforce later in the year.

The census, which opened on May 1 and closes at the end of the month, is an attempt to quantify and qualify the health information workforce (HIW), something that is a difficult thing to do, the researchers say. There are a few occupations that fit the common definition but others that, while involving health data, mainly involve technical or clinical roles.