Communicating Data Insights Effectively – Lessons from Semmelweis
Reliance on data for our-decision making continues to fill our working lives (and personal ones). Such data can, importantly, show the need to change a current approach or business practice, however, it can be difficult to get stakeholders to re-examine previously successful practices and adopt new ones; human-nature can frequently get in the way and resist new ideas. It is important to identify oversights that may prevent the effective communication of data and ideas.
A great example from history of the need to drive effective data communication comes from the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis. He has been called the ‘Patron Saint of Handwashing’, the ‘Father of Infection Control’ and the ‘Saviour of Mothers’ – quite a list of titles for a man whose findings only gained widespread acceptance years after his death. It is ironic that the three simple words that he used to save lives over 150 years ago - Wash Your Hands - have played such an important part of public information campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent and slow the spread of infection.
Semmelweis’ discovery
The 1840s was a time before the triumph of the germ theory (Louis Pasteur, 1861), and the idea that squalid conditions in hospitals played a role in spreading infection didn’t cross the minds of many of those in the medical profession. In hospitals throughout the world, pregnant women were some of the individuals most at risk from hospital-acquired infection.
At a Vienna hospital, where Semmelweis worked, he noticed that many admitted women were dying of a mysterious illness called puerperal or childbed fever. Semmelweis discovered a disturbing trend where the doctors’ clinic had an average mortality rate of 9.9%, which was significantly higher than that of midwives’ clinic (3.9%). Semmelweis was determined to identify the cause of this difference. In 1847, he hypothesized that a poisonous particle was being transferred from doctors who performed post-mortems in the morning and then spent the rest of the day attending patients in the maternity ward - without ever washing their hands! Unlike the doctors, the midwives performed no post-mortem work and were not in contact with corpses.
Semmelweis’ data
Semmelweis introduced a new handwashing policy for the doctors to use after any post-mortems. He did a controlled trial and knew the mortality rates in the doctors’ clinic before he launched his new handwashing procedure. He kept meticulous data about death rates. His policy had an immediate impact – the death rate went down as expected from 12.2% to 2.2% (Figure 1). Semmelweis couldn’t scientifically prove why his handwashing worked, however, he built up more than 18 months of statistical data showing that handwashing practices saved lives.
Rejection of Semmelweis’ data
Although Semmelweis had some supporters, he was demonised by many in the medical community; he faced sharp criticism, ridicule, and resistance.
So, what went wrong – he had the data and it held up at the time and in retrospect? His data was truthful, valuable, and actionable but his ideas were not adopted in his lifetime. Semmelweis stumbled in one essential area - communication of the data. It is all very well to know how important a practice is but getting that out there and getting people to understand its importance is challenging.
What prevented Semmelweis communicating his ideas more effectively and how can this be applied in our working practice?
1. Timeliness and clarity
a. Semmelweis’ studies were conducted in the mid-1840s, and he took too long (14 years!) to publish his childbed fever findings. Although his work was shared within the medical community by colleagues and students, these associates often misinterpreted and misrepresented his claims. He has been criticised for not doing things in a more scientific way, which might have convinced others earlier on.
b. This underlines the importance of communicating insights critical to success not only punctually, once the data has been gathered, but clearly.
2. Foster understanding and common ground
a. Semmelweis couldn’t understand why the medical community wouldn’t accept his simple advice and alienated himself from those he was trying to influence. He insulted his critics and grew inpatient.
b. Try to understand existing attitudes and beliefs, and this is especially true if data is disruptive and goes against the status quo. Develop an atmosphere of open-mindedness and look to build support and consensus for ideas.
3. Tell a story
a. Although Semmelweis had the data, he failed to tell his story in a positive way that connected with others on an emotional level. His statistics alone didn’t persuade the sceptics.
b. Remember decisions are also made by emotion and an effective narrative can be important when making your point, in addition to the data.
4. Present results in an understandable way
a. Semmelweis only presented his data as data tables, which was difficult to visualise.
b. Think carefully about the most powerful way to communicate data and make it easy for your audience to follow your data story.
Semmelweis is a hero in the history of infectious diseases and his discovery, that didn’t chine with accepted methodology, reminds us that we need to remain open to creative solutions. What we know today is not necessarily what we know tomorrow. How we communicate the data message is as important as the data itself.
References/Inspiration
- BBC Sounds – Science Stories, Series 9, Ignaz Semmelweis: The Hand Washer.
- How a good data visualization could save lives. Data Science Central, 2021.
- A History Lesson On The Dangers Of Letting Data Speak For Itself. Brent Dykes: Forbes, 2016.
- Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever. Semmelweis, Ignaz [1861]. Translated by Carter, K. Codell. University of Wisconsin Press (1983).
Contact RLS today to find out more how we can support you!
Release Life Sciences (RLS) provide a whole range of personalised and diverse services designed to help life science and diagnostic companies of all sizes achieve their full potential.
Offering end-to-end solutions, ranging from R&D, commercial, marketing, scaleup and interim management solutions, to personalised mentoring, coaching and training services. In addition to the provision of interim resources, RLS can deliver bespoke support to you and your team.
Photo by Mike Meyers on Unsplash
Photo by Irina Blok on Unsplash