A data-integrated simulation model to evaluate nurse-patient assignments

Durai Sundaramoorthi, Victoria C.P. Chen, Jay M. Rosenberger, Seoung Bum Kim, Deborah F. Buckley-Behan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This research develops a novel data-integrated simulation to evaluate nurse-patient assignments (SIMNA) based on a real data set provided by a northeast Texas hospital. Tree-based models and kernel density estimation (KDE) were utilized to extract important knowledge from the data for the simulation. Classification and Regression Tree models, data mining tools for prediction and classification, were used to develop five tree structures: (a) four classification trees from which transition probabilities for nurse movements are determined, and (b) a regression tree from which the amount of time a nurse spends in a location is predicted based on factors such as the primary diagnosis of a patient and the type of nurse. Kernel density estimation is used to estimate the continuous distribution for the amount of time a nurse spends in a location. Results obtained from SIMNA to evaluate nurse-patient assignments in Medical/Surgical unit I of the northeast Texas hospital are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)252-268
Number of pages17
JournalHealth Care Management Science
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009 Jul
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Nurse workload
  • Nurse-patient assignment
  • Simulation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Health Professions(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A data-integrated simulation model to evaluate nurse-patient assignments'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this