Foundations of Informatics: The DIKW Hierarchy

We know that during the course of any shift the average nurse will handle and process large amounts of data and information, and will then apply knowledge through the care they provide to their patients. This process is true for nurses and healthcare providers of all levels, whether they are providing direct patient care or functioning in an administrative role. Informatics provides the tools to aid in processing, managing, and analyzing clinical data. Beyond that, informatics helps to shape the processes for documenting and improving patient care, as well as supporting the knowledge base that augments the scientific foundations for nursing practice.

Read on as the foundations of Informatics are explained at the most fundamental level, allowing for a better understanding of this specialty that drives today’s healthcare landscape.

Data

Data serves as the foundational building block for the DIKW hierarchy. Merriam-Webster defines data as “factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation (Data Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster). Examples of data in the healthcare setting would include a patients vital signs, length of stay, gender and etc. Each example of datum alone has little meaning, but when combined with other pieces of data, trends and patterns emerge that can later be interpreted.

Information

Information is essentially data that has been interpreted by identifying patterns and structures. For example, individual data such as a patient’s body temperature is relatively insignificant. However, once documented on a graph or flowsheet with subsequent temperature readings, deviations from the baseline temperature are noted through trending patterns. Though individual numbers can be determined to be within the normal range, the accumulation of values over time forms a pattern that can suggest an illness or condition; for example, an increase in temperature indicates a fever.

Knowledge

Moving up the DIKW pyramid, knowledge represents a more complex concept. Combining the previous building blocks of data and information, knowledge synthesizes those elements from several sources to produce a single concept or idea. Knowledge reduces uncertainty by giving thoughts and ideas order through logical analysis processes. Context gives meaning to knowledge, which is a dynamic construct.

Wisdom

Wisdom forms the pyramidion of the DIKW pyramid hierarchy. Wisdom is the culmination of knowledge utilized successfully to manage and solve problems. The journey from data to wisdom is neither simple or spontaneous. Wisdom requires a degree of understanding and human effort. Emerging largely from past experiences, Psychology Today describes wisdom as ” involve[ing] an integration of knowledge, experience, and deep understanding, as well as a tolerance for the uncertainties of life. There’s an awareness of how things play out over time, and it confers a sense of balance” (Wisdom | Psychology Today).

Altogether, this hierarchy forms the process that describes how data becomes wisdom to inform nursing practice. Nurses and other medical professionals can actively contribute to cost containment, workflow improvement, and patient care quality assessment and improvement when they recognize the potential of informatics. Changes in the way that treatment is delivered can be sparked by clinicians who are knowledgeable in the use of health information systems to identify patterns in patient data.