Personnel Fluctuation in Austrian Emergency Medical Services: A Data Visualization Approach

Julia Böck; Alexander Rind; Florian Zahorka

doi:10.60522/o:7216

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Title (eng)

Personnel Fluctuation in Austrian Emergency Medical Services: A Data Visualization Approach

Author

Julia Böck

St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences

Alexander Rind

St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences

Florian Zahorka

Ostschweizer Fachhochschule OST

Description (eng)

Emergency medical services in Austria rely on the work of EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians), most of whom contribute on a voluntary basis. According to domain experts, it is necessary to maintain a structured overview of EMT fluctuation to ensure adequate medical care in the region. The fluctuation of EMTs can depend on various factors, making it difficult for station commanders to retain EMTs. Domain experts have stated that the reasons an EMT exits an ambulance station can often be addressed if identified early. Possible exit factors and remedies are typically discussed in a yearly meeting between each EMT and the station commander. Still, experts note that fluctuation factors can be overlooked or incorrectly assessed during these meetings. Therefore, this work presents a visualization approach for EMT fluctuation data and evaluates whether it can support station commanders. Visualizing which EMTs did not fulfill the minimum number of shifts in the last 12 months, and whether they completed those shifts at another station, should provide the commander with a better basis for the yearly meeting with each EMT. A retention strategy mentioned by the domain experts is to offer shifts with colleagues the EMT completes the most shifts with. For this reason, a list of “clusters” of EMTs is created, showing the five EMTs a person shares the most shifts with, as well as a visualization whether the EMT prefers emergency or transportation shifts. The visualization approach follows the design study methodology and involved two interviews with domain experts from a rural ambulance station in Lower Austria. The visualizations were created by comparing suitable visualization methods and using the Tableau tool for implementation. These include a mosaic-like visualization, a lollipop chart, a slope graph, and a highlight table. The visualizations were presented during a second interview, which led to new findings from the domain experts. The results indicate that visualizing personnel fluctuation can be helpful and enables commanders to better understand and address turnover. According to the domain experts from an ambulance station in Lower Austria, the visualizations are considered useful.

Keywords (eng)

Information visualizationdashboardemergency services

Subject (eng)

ÖFOS 2012 -- 5080 -- Media and Communication Sciences

Subject (eng)

ÖFOS 2012 -- 202022 -- Information technology

Subject (eng)

ÖFOS 2012 -- 202002 -- Audiovisual media

Subject (eng)

ÖFOS 2012 -- 6040 -- Arts

Type (eng)

conference object