The first critical care Datathon in Colombia: A collaborative learning and innovation experience

Abstract

Introduction

Datathons are collaborative learning events that promote interdisciplinary engagement with data. In healthcare, they provide a unique opportunity for clinicians and data scientists to jointly address complex clinical problems using real-world datasets. In Colombia, while Datathons have been organized in areas such as public health and other healthcare domains, this was, to our knowledge, the first Datathon focused specifically on critical care.

Methods

We conducted an observational, semi-quantitative study involving all participants of the first Critical Care Datathon in Colombia, held during the national intensive care congress. Participants evaluated the Datathon experience using a validated Likert-scale survey assessing learning domains such as teamwork, data management, and machine learning application. Descriptive and comparative statistics were conducted using R software.

Results

The Datathon brought together 26 participants from more than 10 institutions across Colombia. Twenty-three participants completed the survey, representing a range of disciplines including medicine, therapy, pharmacy, engineering, and data science. Most participants worked in clinical settings, though only 4% reported full-time data roles. Participants tackled predictive challenges using anonymized ICU datasets, with many employing machine learning techniques. Likert scores indicated high perceived knowledge acquisition in interdisciplinary teamwork, data analysis, and research methods. Prior data experience correlated with significantly higher self-perceived knowledge in communication of ideas, medical data analysis, research methods and data security (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The first critical care Datathon in Colombia demonstrated the feasibility and educational value of interdisciplinary collaboration in health data science. Participants reported significant perceived gains in analytical skills and teamwork competencies. Datathons offer a scalable model for improving data literacy among health professionals and fostering innovation in clinical care.