Big Data and Its Utility in Social Work: Learning from the Big Data Revolution in Business and Healthcare

The big data revolution and the advanced data analytics drive innovation in the diagnosis of disease, coordination of care, improved health outcomes and cost savings. The technological advancements in storing, merging and analyzing data have revolutionized the business and health-care sectors. Descriptive, predictive, diagnostic and prescriptive analyses are creating better ways to address old problems. These new tools can also revolutionize how social workers develop and deploy more efficacious strategies to address complex social challenges. The authors offer a primer on big data, data analytics, and the implications for its utility in social work.