Biography
Barbara Hewitt, Ph.D., is a Professor and MHIM Clinical Coordinator in the Department of Health Informatics and Information Management at Texas State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Information Technology and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio, as well as an MBA from Texas State University. She teaches courses in privacy and security, risk assessment, health information technology, health informatics, and project management.
Dr. Hewitt began her teaching career in the HIM program at Southwest Texas State University, contributing to the university’s first fully online degree, the BS in HIM. She later expanded her teaching portfolio through service in the Computer Information Systems program at Texas A&M University–San Antonio. Her research focuses on sociotechnical systems in healthcare, with particular emphasis on digital health adoption, literacy, trust, and AI‑enabled technologies. Her scholarship appears in leading journals across information systems and health informatics.
Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Hewitt worked as a software developer and systems analyst, including serving as a user analyst at Southwest Texas State University. She continues to support professionals and students in computing and healthcare through mentoring, competitions, and networking events that foster inclusive pathways into technology and health information careers.
Dr. Hewitt began her teaching career in the HIM program at Southwest Texas State University, contributing to the university’s first fully online degree, the BS in HIM. She later expanded her teaching portfolio through service in the Computer Information Systems program at Texas A&M University–San Antonio. Her research focuses on sociotechnical systems in healthcare, with particular emphasis on digital health adoption, literacy, trust, and AI‑enabled technologies. Her scholarship appears in leading journals across information systems and health informatics.
Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Hewitt worked as a software developer and systems analyst, including serving as a user analyst at Southwest Texas State University. She continues to support professionals and students in computing and healthcare through mentoring, competitions, and networking events that foster inclusive pathways into technology and health information careers.
Research Interests
My research focuses on sociotechnical systems in healthcare, with particular emphasis on how individuals adopt, use, and trust digital technologies. I study the behavioral, organizational, and contextual factors that shape technology engagement, including digital literacy, privacy and security concerns, and perceptions of risk. A significant portion of my work examines what motivates individuals to adopt protective security measures when using personal computers for both personal and hybrid work environments.
In the healthcare domain, I investigate how security, privacy, literacy, and trust influence decisions to use digital health tools such as telehealth, patient portals, and AI‑enabled systems. I have also explored knowledge sharing, ethics, and health‑related behaviors, including the use of wearable devices, considerations around genetic testing, and technology use among individuals managing chronic conditions such as diabetes.
My research extends to interdisciplinary collaborations that examine how digitalization shapes professional practice and learning. In a recent qualitative study, we explored how collaboration between HIM and PT faculty supported the integration of health informatics concepts into a Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum. In ongoing work, a colleague and I are examining how digital tools and digital maturity influence knowledge sharing and collaboration among supply chain workers operating in hybrid environments.
Across these projects, I apply mixed‑methods approaches to understand how technology, people, and organizational contexts interact—and how these insights can inform the design of more equitable, usable, and trustworthy digital systems.
In the healthcare domain, I investigate how security, privacy, literacy, and trust influence decisions to use digital health tools such as telehealth, patient portals, and AI‑enabled systems. I have also explored knowledge sharing, ethics, and health‑related behaviors, including the use of wearable devices, considerations around genetic testing, and technology use among individuals managing chronic conditions such as diabetes.
My research extends to interdisciplinary collaborations that examine how digitalization shapes professional practice and learning. In a recent qualitative study, we explored how collaboration between HIM and PT faculty supported the integration of health informatics concepts into a Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum. In ongoing work, a colleague and I are examining how digital tools and digital maturity influence knowledge sharing and collaboration among supply chain workers operating in hybrid environments.
Across these projects, I apply mixed‑methods approaches to understand how technology, people, and organizational contexts interact—and how these insights can inform the design of more equitable, usable, and trustworthy digital systems.
Teaching Interests
Computer Security
Project Management
Risk Assessment
Computers in healthcare
Project Management
Risk Assessment
Computers in healthcare