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INFLUENZA SEASON

Overview

OBJECTIVE 

 

To determine the optimal timing and number of staff needed for each state to effectively manage the influenza season by analyzing which age groups have the highest influenza mortality rates and which states have the most affected populations.

TOOLS ​

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SKILLS

  • Translating business requirements

  • Data cleaning, integration, and transformation

  • Statistical hypothesis testing

  • Visual analysis

  • Forecasting

  • Storytelling in Tableau

  • Presenting results

DATA

Influenza Deaths Data Set

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Contains monthly death counts for

influenza-related deaths in the

United States from 2009 to 2017.

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Census Data Set

 

Contains population statistics for the

United States from 2009 to 2017.

Analysis

Influenza Deaths in Each Age Group 

I analyzed deaths by age to identify which age groups were most vulnerable to influenza.

INFLUENZADEATHSAGEGROUP.png

KEY INSIGHT: The chart above shows the total number of influenza deaths for each age group from 2009-2017. Individuals over the age of 65 constitute 411,631 of the total influenza deaths, which is the largest portion of any age group.

States Highest in 65+ Influenza Deaths

Next, I examined which states had the highest number of influenza deaths among individuals over the age of 65, considered the most vulnerable population.

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KEY INSIGHT: The chart above highlights the states with the highest number of influenza deaths, with California and New York having notably high figures. 

Influenza Deaths by Month

After analyzing the most vulnerable age groups and the states with the highest corresponding death rates, I investigated how influenza fatalities fluctuated throughout the year.

influenzadeathsbymonth.png

KEY INSIGHT: Influenza deaths start to increase in October and then settle by May. The months with the highest number of deaths are December through March.

States that Need the Additional Staff 

Finally, I categorized states into high, medium, and low-need tiers for staffing based on their requirements. States with lighter blue shading indicated a lower need for additional staff, while darker shades denoted higher needs.

statesadditionalstaff.png

KEY INSIGHT: 

  • High-Need: California, New York, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania.

  • Medium-Need: North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Massachusettes. 

  • Low-Need: All other states.

Recommendations

  • Additional staff should be deployed to states classified as high-need and medium-need, which have recorded the highest number of deaths among those over 65.

  • Medical personnel should be deployed from October to May, the peak months of the influenza season.

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