Abstract
Background: Healthcare education departments face increasing pressure to demonstrate their value amidst budget constraints and restructuring, often leading to resource cuts that hinder their ability to improve patient care and staff development. This necessitates a robust method for quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of educational initiatives.
Methods/Procedures: This initiative describes the development and validation of a novel ROI calculator designed to empower educators and advocate for their crucial role. Grounded in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Plan-Do-Study-Act model, the calculator incorporates advanced data analytics and predictive modeling, drawing data from sources such as the Healthcare Quality Report, historical financial data, human resources, and incorporating change management calculations to assess both direct and indirect financial benefits of educational programs. Pilot testing across a 12-hospital network evaluated its feasibility, efficacy, and user-friendliness.
Results: The calculator proved effective in quantifying the ROI of diverse educational interventions, demonstrating significant financial and non-monetary benefits. Analysis revealed that all evaluated Quality Improvement and Evidence-Based Practice projects yielded a positive ROI, with the majority demonstrating an ROI greater than 22%. Examples include reduced infection rates (e.g., CLABSI, CAUTI), improved nurse retention, and decreased reliance on costly travel nurses, resulting in substantial cost savings ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
Limitations: Data availability and quality, contextual variations, complex causality, and the challenge of quantifying intangible benefits were acknowledged constraints.
Conclusions/Implications: This validated ROI calculator provides healthcare educators with a powerful tool to demonstrate the value of their work, advocate for continued investment, and drive data-driven decision-making. Reinvesting in nursing education can further build upon this positive return. It is crucial to advocate for such investment within organizations. By facilitating the transition from problem identification to impactful solutions and providing concrete data to quantify the value of education, this initiative fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement in healthcare.
Notes
References:
Connor, L., Dean, J., McNett, M., Tydings, D. M., Shrout, A., Gorsuch, P. F., Hole, A., Moore, L., Brown, R. E., Melnyk, B. M., & Gallagher-Ford, L. (2023). Evidence-based practice improves patient outcomes and healthcare system return on investment: Findings from a scoping review. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 20(2), 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12621
Sitzman, K. L., & Ely, E. C. (2020). Measuring the value of nursing professional development: A conceptual framework. Journal of Nursing Administration, 50(7/8), 374-380.
Ellis, P. (2019). Return on investment in health care education: A systematic review. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 39(1), 4-13.
Raso, R., & Hujic, M. (2021). Healthcare Analytics: From Data to Knowledge to Healthcare Improvement. Elsevier.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Instrument and Tool Development, Implementation Science, Workforce, Evidence-Based Nursing Implementation, Educational Initiatives, Return on Investment
Recommended Citation
Calabro, Emily and Petersen, Robin, "The Value of Education in Healthcare: Moving Beyond Intuition to Data-Driven Advocacy" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 195.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/195
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-05
The Value of Education in Healthcare: Moving Beyond Intuition to Data-Driven Advocacy
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Background: Healthcare education departments face increasing pressure to demonstrate their value amidst budget constraints and restructuring, often leading to resource cuts that hinder their ability to improve patient care and staff development. This necessitates a robust method for quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of educational initiatives.
Methods/Procedures: This initiative describes the development and validation of a novel ROI calculator designed to empower educators and advocate for their crucial role. Grounded in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Plan-Do-Study-Act model, the calculator incorporates advanced data analytics and predictive modeling, drawing data from sources such as the Healthcare Quality Report, historical financial data, human resources, and incorporating change management calculations to assess both direct and indirect financial benefits of educational programs. Pilot testing across a 12-hospital network evaluated its feasibility, efficacy, and user-friendliness.
Results: The calculator proved effective in quantifying the ROI of diverse educational interventions, demonstrating significant financial and non-monetary benefits. Analysis revealed that all evaluated Quality Improvement and Evidence-Based Practice projects yielded a positive ROI, with the majority demonstrating an ROI greater than 22%. Examples include reduced infection rates (e.g., CLABSI, CAUTI), improved nurse retention, and decreased reliance on costly travel nurses, resulting in substantial cost savings ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
Limitations: Data availability and quality, contextual variations, complex causality, and the challenge of quantifying intangible benefits were acknowledged constraints.
Conclusions/Implications: This validated ROI calculator provides healthcare educators with a powerful tool to demonstrate the value of their work, advocate for continued investment, and drive data-driven decision-making. Reinvesting in nursing education can further build upon this positive return. It is crucial to advocate for such investment within organizations. By facilitating the transition from problem identification to impactful solutions and providing concrete data to quantify the value of education, this initiative fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement in healthcare.
Description
This novel ROI calculator empowers healthcare educators to effectively quantify the value of their initiatives, advocate for their department's crucial role, and contribute to a culture of sustained excellence in healthcare delivery.