Dec 4, 2023

Vancouver, BC - A team of faculty and students from Langara’s Post-degree Diploma Program in Data Analytics is working on a two-year applied research initiative that aims to lower costs, enhance efficiency, and improve decision-making in Canadian healthcare delivery. The research is supported by a $440,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), facilitated by Langara’s Applied Research Centre (ARC).

The costs and complexity of delivering healthcare are escalating rapidly, driven by multiple factors such as longer lifespans, the pervasiveness of chronic illnesses and infectious diseases, soaring pharmaceutical research and development costs, system-wide inefficiencies, and more. In the face of these challenges, Canadian stakeholders at all levels of the healthcare system expect better value for money, improved quality and timeliness of care, and enhanced clinical outcomes. Can appropriate use of “big data” be part of the solution?

Through a staged process involving consultation and capstone projects, faculty researchers Albert Wong, Monica Nguyen, and Yew-Wei Lim worked with Canadian health-related firms Springboard Clinic, HeadCheck Health, Sidus Insights, and LifeLabs to determine how to leverage their vast collections of historical data to lower costs, find operational efficiencies, manage waitlists, and support clinical decision-making.

The healthcare sector is aware of the potential benefits hidden within already-existing datasets, but, says Wong, “providers typically do not have the requisite knowledge to gain useful insights from their data. This program will leverage Langara’s expertise in data analytics to unlock latent value in large, historical datasets accumulated by Canadian health-related firms.”

Projects with each of Langara’s four partners will go through several phases: situation analysis and needs identification, project scoping and requirement definition, development and prototyping, testing, and, lastly, implementation.

To date, the research has provided part-time, paid work-integrated learning opportunities for ten Langara students drawn from the Data Analytics and Bioinformatics programs, and has enabled the hiring of a recent graduate as a full-time research associate. Working alongside the faculty researchers, students deal directly with data and gain first-hand experience collaborating on a project with real-world implications.

“Being part of the research program has been an rewarding experience. I’ve worked on various projects that demonstrate how data analytics can make a real difference. Thanks to my education at Langara and the healthcare research program, I feel well-prepared with practical skills and a strong portfolio that will help me succeed in my future career after graduation,” said Andrés Viloria García, a current student in the Post-Degree Diploma Program in Data Analytics.

Now at the project’s halfway point, Wong says the team also “hopes to develop depositories, prototypes, systems, and dashboards for our partner companies’ use to enhance their business and marketing performance, and to develop new products for expanding their revenue bases and business scopes.”

About snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College   
Located in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., Canada, snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College provides University, Career, and Continuing Studies education to more than 23,000 students annually. With more than 1,700 courses and 130 programs, Langara’s expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path. Langara is also known as snəw̓eyəɬ leləm 'house of teachings', a name given to it by Musqueam, on whose unceded traditional territory the College is located.  

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Mark Dawson   
Manager, Public Affairs  
Langara College  
mdawson@langara.ca