Person-Specific Standardized Vulnerability Assessment in Health and Social Care

We describe an integrated person-specific standardized vulnerability assessment model designed to facilitate patient management in health and social care. Such a system is not meant to replace existing health and social assessment models but rather to complement them by providing a holistic picture of the vulnerabilities faced by a given patient. In fact, it should be seen as a screening tool for health and social care workers. One key aspect of the modeling framework is the ability to provide personalized yet standardized multi-dimensional assessments of risk based on incomplete information about the patient status, as is the case in screening situations. Specifically, we integrate a Markov chain model describing the evolution of patients in and out of vulnerable states over time with a Bayesian network that serves to customize the dynamic model. We present an application in the context of elder care.