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Table 3 Objectives of segmentation

From: A systematic review of the clinical application of data-driven population segmentation analysis

Objective (themes)

No. of studies

Examples

Resource Allocation

12

Patients were grouped into segments with distinct care utilization, based on six utilization variables: non-elective inpatient admissions, elective inpatient admissions, outpatient visits, GP practice visits, GP home visits, and prescriptions, creating eight distinct care user types [6].

Health /Prognostic Index

17

Patients were divided into groups that will have similar risk of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass graft, facilitating informed decision making regarding aggressive prophylaxis of atrial fibrillation [72].

Health Grouping / Profiling

216

Individuals were divided into groups based on their dietary patterns: ‘traditional fish eaters’, ‘healthy eaters’, ‘average, less fish, less healthy’, ‘Western’, ‘traditional bread eaters’, and ‘alcohol users’ [73].

Delivery of Healthcare Interventions

50

Participants in the Wellington Respiratory Survey were divided based on five distinct clinical phenotypes of airflow obstruction which may form the basis of a modified taxonomy for the disorders of airways obstruction and treatment specifically targeted at defined phenotypic groups, rather than asthma or COPD in general, which represents the current management approach [74].

  1. Abbreviations: COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases