Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

Unlocking the Code of Health: Illuminating the Path to a Thriving Medical System

Unlocking the Code of Health: Illuminating the Path to a Thriving Medical System

In the intricate tapestry of a nation’s prosperity, nothing weaves a more profound impact than the state of its healthcare system. The vitality of its citizens, the resilience of its communities, and the promise of a prosperous future all hinge on the health and wellness of the population. A healthy population is a productive one, as it reduces absenteeism, increases workforce efficiency, and stimulates economic growth.

Yet, as we embark on this journey through the labyrinth of healthcare, one question looms above all: How can we chart the course to assess and improve a country’s medical system, ensuring a brighter, healthier tomorrow for all? Evaluating the medical system of a nation is a complex endeavor that requires a comprehensive approach to several factors we will delve deeper into later.

One indicator that may be used to assess the effectiveness of the medical industry is the mortality rate. From the data provided by World Development Index, countries with high death rates, such as the Central African Republic, Niger, South Sudan, and many others, have poor healthcare systems, as seen in the visual below:

Furthermore, there exists a strong correlation between CVDs, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses that significantly impacted the mortality rate indication for both males and females. This implies that countries experience high mortality rates due to the increasing rates of the above-mentioned illnesses and diseases. Also, an implication of the absence of some healthcare services such as a lack of efficient medical professionals may be valid as well in such a case.

As a matter of fact, the presence of medical professionals that can assist society and offer health care is one of the most important measures of how well the medical sector is doing. Therefore, one potential solution is enhancing the availability of medical professionals that are prone to doing their job effectively.

There exists a weak correlation between the availability of nurses and midwives and the increasing rates of mortality. This is because an effective team of well-experienced nurses and midwives can strongly lead to a decrease in the number of deaths per hospital. The top 5 nations with the highest mortality rates also have the lowest number of nurses and midwives.

Another potential solution involves increasing expenditures in the healthcare field to gain access to more promising and efficient results. In order to improve the health of their medical industry, the nations with greater rates of mortality have to gain insight from the experience of those with developed healthcare systems, where a significant percentage of the more developed countries’ expenses goes to health expenditures (ex: United States, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway etc.) Higher expenditure on healthcare implies higher expenditure on more enhanced medical professionals whose primary role is to save the day by decreasing mortality rates. Moreover, we can see that while less developed nations such as South Sudan and many others have far greater mortality rates (as discussed earlier), they almost all have a lower number of health expenditures too.

Countries with high mortality rates should prioritize expanding their nurse and midwife workforce. This can be achieved through targeted recruitment, better training opportunities, and incentives to retain experienced healthcare professionals. In nations with a scarcity of healthcare workers, it is crucial to consider redistributing them from regions with surplus staff to areas with greater need. This can help ensure more equitable access to healthcare services and reduce mortality disparities.

Also, the observation that less developed nations with higher mortality rates also have lower health expenditures highlights the need for increased investment in healthcare infrastructure, training, and resources. Adequate funding can have a significant impact on healthcare accessibility and quality.

In conclusion, the state of a nation’s healthcare system is a complex web created by several kinds of variables. According to the results of our investigation, nurses and midwives are vital in determining healthcare outcomes, and there seems to be a link between their availability and death rates. Key suggestions to improve patient care and results included strengthening the healthcare workforce through recruiting, skill development, and equitable distribution.

Furthermore, the evidence indicated a clear link between less health expenditures and higher mortality rates in several less developed nations. This emphasizes the urgent need for increased funding and resources to bridge healthcare disparities and improve the well-being of vulnerable populations.

As we journey towards a brighter future, let us remember that the path to a thriving medical system lies in unity, innovation, and data-informed decision-making.

Wage and Salaried Workers – MENA Region

Wage and Salaried Workers – MENA Region

Wages and salaried workers is a crucial topic that has been discussed world wide and addressed in different ways. Several factors affect the total number of salaried workers in a country including the available job opportunities, the demand and supply enforced on labor force, and the type of field a worker is in. As such, this has created huge gaps and inequality in wages and salaried workers all over the world.

To better understand this feature, the below graph displays the changes of wage and salaried workers percentage over the years from 1991 to 2019 in the MENA region.

Looking at the graph, we can see that Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman are countries that remained to be the top in terms of wage and salaried workers throughout the years as compared to other countries in the MENA region such as Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and others. These top 5 countries all recorded over 95% of the workers are salaried and waged overr the years.

Moreover, looking more closely at other countries, we can see that countries such as Lebanon has a maximum of 65% of workers who are salaried workers and Libya with the lowest value among all countries.

This shows that among the countries in the MENA region there exists huge gaps and inequalities between workers in countries mainly due to scarce job opportunities in middle and low income countries such as Lebanon. This huge difference has caused a large number of fresh graduates in Lebanon to seek jobs outside of their country and mainly towards UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Chile minerals dependency

Chile minerals dependency

+78% of Families in Chile are directly affected by Cooper price. What should we do?

On the past 10 years Chile has invested on developing Services as a way of descentralizing its economy. Has it work out?

Where would you imagine yourself if you were not educated?

Where would you imagine yourself if you were not educated?

Children Education is a right!

Did you know?
Even though the average percentage of Children out of school is declining over the years, studies showed that almost 20% of children in low-income countries and 10% in lower middle-income countries are still out of primary school in 2021.

What are these children doing?
The highest % of children in employment is found in the low-income countries, followed by the lower middle-income countries where the highest % of children out of school coexists.
This shows that these countries cannot afford the education of their children and thus shift them to work instead in order to support their families’ living expenses.


Who should we blame?
While these countries have the lowest income, they score the highest birth rates compared to other countries as shown below.
The low-income countries have a 44% birth rate reflected by their ignorance on the importance of birth control and contraceptive prevalence with only 23%.


Is 23% enough? No.
Children have the right to be educated, and a big responsibility falls on the parents who give birth to children and force them to work, knowing that they cannot afford their education.


The access to electricity and internet usage across the years has been increasing in all the countries including the low-income ones.
However, it is important to highlight that with all this increase, only 40% of the population in low-income countries have access to electricity and only 21% of them use the internet in 2020.
This evolution has pushed the adult literacy rate across the years to increase.
The more the adults have literacy and can surf through internet facilities, the more they understand the importance of children education and therefore decreasing the % of children out of school.


The main reason behind the decrease in % of children out of school through years is the increase in education expenditures in primary public institutions, along with the increase in access to electricity and internet usage which facilitates the education feasibility for the children and the adults literacy in these countries.

Knowing that the low-income countries cannot afford the education of their children, while their birth rate is increasing, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in the United Nations should ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all #SDG4 #SDG4.1 by supporting these countries through funding the tuition fees of their children along with educating the parents on the importance of contraceptive prevalence and maybe set regulations in collaboration with the governments to limit the birth rate allowed in the low income countries.

I AM ON OILS…💧

I AM ON OILS…💧

Contributor: Mazen Eid

Introduction

” I AM ON OILS ” the funniest statement I ever heard for the first time in my life. The story goes back to 2016 when I was visiting my cousins in the US, I was feeling a bit unwell post my trip from New York due to change of weather. My first request to my cousin was, do you have Panadol? I was literally bashed with a reply, you guys still take pills? We are living on oils! The answer intrigued my attention to know more about the oils. How are they consumed? Who produces such oils? All these questions came to my mind at once. I had my share of the oils and next day I woke up fine as if nothing happened. It was my first time trying essential oils on myself and discovering how effective they are on our health. My journey started that day  to explore the world of essential oils and its benefits.In 2018, I became Dōterra Wellness Advocate after taking a full course on essential oils. Dōterra is the leading company in the United States that produces essential oils.My passion for essential oils grew as it became part of my daily lifestyle, It introduced me to the world of wellness and a healthy living. Dōterra in latin means ” Gift from Earth “.

History

The origins of essential oils date back at least a thousand years, and have been used for medicinal purposes for at least as long. Essential oils are concentrated oils derived from plants that are described as containing “the essence” of the plant. Essential oil can be derived from nearly any plant matter imaginable, from flowers to tree bark. Today, essential oils are used less for medical purposes and more for aromatherapy, skincare, and alternative healing practices.

Facts

Let’s talk about numbers, the global market value of essential oils grew dramatically from 17.36 Billion USD in 2017 to forecast of 27.49 Billion USD in 2022 (source: statista.com). That’s an increase of 58% within a period of five years only.  The top producers worldwide of essential oils are China followed by India and Indonesia.The global impact of COVID-19 has been significant, with essential oils witnessing a positive effect on demand across all regions amid the pandemic. COVID-19 boosted the demand for oils across the aromatherapy and personal care industry.

Why would you inject chemicals in your body when you know that nature is the cure? With the booming of essential oil markets, we also witness a solid war backed up by the FDA against essential oil companies as they are taking a big share of the market. Every year, thousands of lawsuits are filed accusing Essential Oils companies of misleading information to consumers. However, people are becoming more aware and listening to their bodies, and this is evident as consumers’ consumption oils increased dramatically over time. The global aromatherapy market size was estimated at USD 27.49 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% from 2022 to 2028. Awareness is needed within our societies to educate and encourage people to return to Mother Nature. Our bodies are sacred and we need to respect that! 
THE GREATEST MEDICINE OF ALL IS TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW NOT TO NEED IT!

The below tableau workbook will give you insights on the drug and essential oils industry with global statistics covering topics such as production, consumption, sales and top essential oils companies.