This year, the Data Analytics for Statewide Health Lab added a new community collaborator to its roster — the St. Luke’s Applied Research Division. The DASH Lab partners students with community organizations like St. Luke’s to address public and population health challenges through data analytics.
DASH students partnered with St. Luke’s on two projects: Symptom Burden and Recovery Timeline in Motor Vehicle Related Concussions and Social Drivers of Health and Utilization of Health Services in the Nampa Community.
Under the mentorship of SPPH Associate Teaching Professor Kirk Ketelsen and Applied Research Scientist, Dr. Hillary Swann-Thomsen, students utilized their data skills to develop research questions and perform secondary analyses on these data sets.
The concussion student research team (Student analysts: Reagan Delgado, Gabriella Jausoro and Audrey Wilson) analyzed data from the Rivermead Post Concussions Symptom Questionnaires collected by the St. Luke’s Sports Medicine Concussion Clinic. Through that data, the team examined the differences in demographics of concussion, initial symptom burden and mean time to recovery.
The team found that motor vehicle accident-related concussions show a longer recovery time and that females report higher average Rivermead scores and symptom measures across all measures compared to males.
The Nampa community team (Student Analysts: Sydney Nickel and Jenni Matthews) analyzed data from the latest (2023) Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The team’s data analysis found that individuals who reported personal mental health issues showed higher concern about accessing mental health services. And, individuals reporting higher levels of real or perceived stigma about mental health had significantly higher concerns about accessing mental health care.
Thanks to this collaboration, DASH students help local healthcare organizations better understand their patients and communities. Learn more about the DASH Lab and opportunities to get involved here.