ABCi Mathematical Modelling and Analytics Academy
- Run by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in partnership with Swansea University.
- Aimed to improve understanding of how to overcome barriers to the adoption of modelling and analytical techniques in health care.
- Evaluated and further developed a training programme for frontline staff in data analysis and mathematical modelling techniques.
- Ran from October 2018 to January 2020.
Despite compelling evidence demonstrating the benefits of mathematical modelling and applied analytics for complex decision making in industry, their widespread adoption in health care lags behind other industries.
Health care planning continues to rely on techniques that often lack analytical rigour and result in incorrect conclusions, ultimately impacting upon patient outcomes and reducing the overall efficiency.
This project, run by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, sought to understand this issue and demonstrate ways to overcome barriers to the adoption of modelling and analytical techniques in health care.
The Aneurin Bevan Continuous Improvement (ABCi) team has developed a training programme that uses innovative teaching methods and educates health care staff within the health board on the key concepts of modelling and analytics.
Swansea University undertook an evaluation of this training. Information was collected from previous students via an online survey, interviews and focus groups. The evaluation concluded that the ABCi analytics and modelling academy is successfully developing a growing number of skilled mathematical modellers with the health board who are able to use their skills in a range of circumstances, with many students improving problematic situations in their workplace.
The evaluation also highlighted that the programme was less successful at helping to solve intractable organisational problems. This was due to the extreme pressures on health board staff and the time limitations for assigning these new found skills and knowledge to large organisational projects.
The learnings from the evaluation were used by the ABCi team to modify the 2020 programme, for example instead of a 12-month course, the subjects are taught individually via single day courses, with students completing small projects using a single skill.
Contact information
For more information about this project, please contact Izabela Spernaes, Mathematical modelling lead, ABCi.
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