Decision Science Digest: December 15, 2021

BALTIMORE, MD, December 15, 2021 –

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Decision Science Digest is a periodic communique highlighting recent peer-reviewed research published by INFORMS, the largest association for the decision and data sciences, across its 17 journals. This issue highlights four press releases based on the findings of new peer-reviewed articles.

• New Research Identifies Most Optimal and Cost-Effective Screenings for Cystic Fibrosis (INFORMS journal Operations Research)
• Hospital Layouts Impact Patient Care: Increasing Nurse Rounds is Better than Bundling Tasks (INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management)
• New Model Helps Philanthropic Providers Struggling to Meet Financial Goals in a Post-Pandemic World (INFORMS journal Service Science)
• The Impact of Peers on Restaurant Theft: The Cost of Employing Unethical Workers (INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management) 

New Research Identifies Most Optimal and Cost-Effective Screenings for Cystic Fibrosis

Despite more than 300 mutations that cause cystic fibrosis, genetic tests used in the screening process search for far fewer – a result of technological limitations. New research in the INFORMS journal Operations Research optimizes the cystic fibrosis screening process. The paper, “Optimal Genetic Screening for Cystic Fibrosis,” identifies conditions for selecting variants that are optimal for the screening process. This enhances the screening process making it more robust, while considering each state’s unique characteristics and constraints. Cost-effective, efficient processes are essential as one of the deciding factors for whether to screen for a disease. Link to full article.

Hospital Layout Impacts Patient Care: Increasing Nurse Rounds is Better than Bundling Tasks

The layout of a hospital emergency department impacts how nurses organize their tasks. New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management finds nurses working in a busy ER reduce their walking distance by bundling their tasks to patient rooms that are farther away, but this isn’t necessarily more efficient. The paper, “An Empirical Study of Nurses in the Emergency Department,” finds patients in these rooms receive the same care, but this behavior results in longer wait times between nurse visits and more nurse call-button activations, which is linked to poor patient satisfaction and interrupts nurse workflow. These results instead suggest that proactive nurse rounds and operational transparency ends up being more efficient than task-batching. Link to full article.

New Model Helps Philanthropic Providers Struggling to Meet Financial Goals in a Post-Pandemic World

Philanthropic service providers are struggling to cope with the increased demand caused by the social, economic and operational challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. New research in the INFORMS journal Service Science finds that for-profit service providers offering no-pay services to customers, allowing them to self-select a service option, is becoming a popular strategy. In the paper, “Service Delivery Strategies for Alleviating Pandemic Suffering While Maintaining Profitability,” researchers develop a model that identifies conditions to design service delivery to be accessible to the poor and simultaneously benefit the for-profit service provider, customers and ultimately society. Link to full article.

The Impact of Peers on Restaurant Theft: The Cost of Employing Unethical Workers

Misconduct, such as theft, is a major problem in operational settings, and staffing decisions can either amplify or mitigate this problem because workers influence one another. New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management studies this problem within the restaurant industry. The paper, “The Influence of Peers in Worker Misconduct: Evidence from Restaurant Theft,” finds that although servers are more likely to steal when working with people who do, they steal less as their peers steal more. This correlation is higher when using a system that increases managerial oversight and encourages theft reporting. These results suggest that the cost of employing unethical workers is higher than the direct cost of those workers’ misconduct because their behavior amplifies and spills over into coworkers’ actions. Link to full article.

About INFORMS 

INFORMS advances and promotes the science and technology of decision making to save lives, save money, and solve problems. As the largest association for the decision and data sciences, INFORMS members support organizations and governments at all levels as they work to transform data into information, and information into insights that lead to more efficient, effective, equitable and impactful results. INFORMS’ 10,000+ members are comprised of a diverse and robust international community of practitioners, researchers, educators, and students from a variety of fields. 

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Contact:

Ashley Smith

443-757-3578

[email protected]