You know the iconic image of Florence Nightingale, the British nurse, wandering through the night with a lamp to tend to the dying soldiers of the Crimean war. She is responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives - but not from providing one-to-one nursing care. Her broadest impact came from - wait for it - being a data analyst. Her work led to a long lasting legacy in healthcare to value data as a way to make better decisions and get better outcomes. Her biggest impact came not from nursing but - wait for it - from data analysis As a nursing administrator she visited the frontlines and British army hospitals and barracks and recognised that a change in practice and incentive to change behaviours and healthcare standard practice was needed. Her most famous visualisation shows deaths from preventable diseases (in blue) far outnumbered deaths from wounds (in red) during the war. She, along with allies, used the data to advocate for improving sanitary practices to prevent these diseases. This is her original chart to demonstrate mortality rates between battle and military hospitals. This is the image she should be famous for, not the lamp. Her impact was data empowered in two ways -
Her life’s work hugely influenced the British Government resulting in the British Public Health Act of 1875, which set requirements for better quality sewers, running water and healthy building codes. This set a global precedent and was an important contributing factor in the doubling of human life spans from 1875 to 1975. In the social care space, we have the same challenges of understanding what causes what problem, and what service or intervention can improve the outcomes. Social systems and the complexity of human behaviour means that social problems can be more difficult to diagnose than physical health problems. Yet the use of data to better understand what works and how to influence change are vital to making progress on a range of issues from homelessness and mental health to breaking intergenerational trauma and low income. Taking ActionHow can you draw inspiration from Florence Nightingale's legacy to enhance the impact of your organisation?
Sources: Statisticeasily, Scientific American
Comments are closed.
|
Filter by:
All
Archives
April 2024
|