The Center for Business Analytics is pleased to recognize Delaware Academy of Medicine and Delaware Public Health Association as an honoree of the 2023 Drexel LeBow Analytics 50 Awards. Read more about how Delaware Academy of Medicine and Delaware Public Health Association used analytics to solve a business challenge.
Submitter
Héc Maldonado-Reis, Director of Research Development and Analytics at Tech Impact’s Data Innovation Lab
Company
Delaware Academy of Medicine and Delaware Public Health Association
Industry
Health Care, Public Health, Nonprofit
Business Challenge
The Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association (Academy/DPHA) needed to understand the composition of the Delaware health care workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic. Subject matter experts across the state were anecdotally aware of a health care worker shortage but unaware of the details supporting it. One acute area of need related to the nursing workforce. The Academy/DPHA needed data to be analyzed to make strategic decisions regarding workforce training and policy recommendations.
Analytics Solution
The Data Innovation Lab (DIL) engineered a person-place dataset to explore distribution of nursing types and specialties at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level by leveraging health care provider licensing data and the National Provider Identifier (NPI). The dataset was processed to include one active license per nursing professional current as of March 2023 and grouped by nursing types including Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), Registered Nurses (RN) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). Target patient populations were determined for each nursing type and the per capita proportion of nurses was calculated at specialty and license type levels for each ZCTA using demographic data from the Census. Geospatial data was pulled from the Census to visualize ZCTAs across the state combined with the per capita proportion of nurses. This dataset is large and complex, so a custom geospatial web application was built to allow end users to understand workforce challenges.
Impact
The visualization and dataset inform the state of the nursing workforce population across Delaware and provide an understanding of the state’s training demand across geographies. For current nurses, it provides guidance toward obtaining higher levels of training and education and having a more targeted involvement in population health. From here, a triage system where APRNs broadly assess the needs of patients and disseminate specialized care to physicians and other specialists can help ease provider shortage in Delaware.