Data Visualization - Comparing Healthcare Systems
A growing number of Canadians have concerns about the state of the healthcare system. The government's confidence in the system's efficacy often relies on comparisons with the United States—a nation possessing the most expensive and least efficient healthcare system among high-income countries (Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly). The overarching objective of this project is to conduct a thorough comparison of healthcare systems using various criteria, with a primary focus on the relationship between overall healthcare performance, the degree of privatization, and administrative efficiency.
Client
Jodie Jenkinson (Biomedical Communications Professor, University of Toronto)
Role
Research, Information Design, Data Preparation, Data Visualization
Tools
Microsoft Excel
Tableau Software
Adobe Illustrator
Confirming the Need
Due to my medical background, I've consistently been interested in healthcare problems and their solutions. The choice to compare healthcare systems in developed countries arose from discussions with an expert and readings from Healthy Debate, a website I regularly follow. The data on this topic involves complex relationships, and an interactive dashboard may aid the reader in tracking connections. While I anticipate some familiarity from the reader, the audience may also include the general public.
Gathering Reference Materials
To achieve my goal, I collected reference materials such as science news, papers, relevant graphics, images from various sources, and explanatory videos. Subsequently, I analyzed the information, making notes and organizing them into thematically related blocks. I utilized color coding, following Jen Christiansen's method in 'Building Science Graphics.'
The primary study I relied on analyzed 71 performance measures across five domains: access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and healthcare outcomes. After consulting with an expert, I narrowed it down to 8 key measures and addressed data gaps by supplementing information from other public sources.
Selected Parameters
Overall healthcare expenditure
Ratio of public-to-private healthcare spending
Assessment of healthcare accessibility
Evaluation of wait times for standard procedures, such as cancer surgery or hip replacement
Metric for preventive care and quality of primary healthcare
Indicator of general health
Assessment of care coordination
Indicator of financial challenges in affording healthcare
Concept Sketch
After analyzing the data, I decided to include the following elements:
A world map with multiple functions:
A filter allowing the selection of countries for comparison.
Circle size encoding total healthcare spending.
Circle color saturation encoding the private share.
A side-by-side comparison of countries based on key parameters, following the recommendation in Jen Christiansen's book.
A graph enabling readers to assess the dependence of the overall performance of the healthcare system on private health spending, a topic frequently raised by journalists.
Data Integration
After receiving feedback from faculty and fellow students, I integrated the data into Tableau and established connections between various charts, crucial for the interactive features. Subsequently, I designed the background in a separate file and compiled everything into a unified dashboard.
The Mirror, Mirror 2021 study concluded that top-performing countries achieve better health outcomes through universal coverage, local primary care investment, reduced administrative burdens, and social services. However, I found a specific link only with administrative burdens, as reflected in the Efficacy Comparison graph.
Final Graphic
References:
Eric C. Schneider et al., Mirror, Mirror 2021 — Reflecting Poorly: Health Care in the U.S. Compared to Other High-Income Countries (Commonwealth Fund, Aug. 2021).
Per capita health expenditure in selected countries in 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://www.statista.com.
McAlister FA, Cram P, Bell CM. Comparing Canadian health care to that in other countries: looking beyond the headlines. CMAJ. 2018 Feb 26;190(8):E207-E208. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.171527. PMID: 29483328; PMCID: PMC5826705.
E. H. Bradley and L. A. Taylor, The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More Is Getting Us Less, Public Affairs, 2013.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, "Health expenditure and financing", available at https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=SHA.