Evaluating the Fairness of the MIMIC-IV Dataset and a Baseline Algorithm: Application to the ICU Length of Stay Prediction
It addresses fairness issues in healthcare resource allocation for critically ill patients, but is incremental as it applies existing methods to a new dataset.
This paper tackled fairness and bias in an XGBoost model predicting ICU length of stay using the MIMIC-IV dataset, revealing disparities across race and insurance attributes despite overall good performance.
This paper uses the MIMIC-IV dataset to examine the fairness and bias in an XGBoost binary classification model predicting the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS). Highlighting the critical role of the ICU in managing critically ill patients, the study addresses the growing strain on ICU capacity. It emphasizes the significance of LOS prediction for resource allocation. The research reveals class imbalances in the dataset across demographic attributes and employs data preprocessing and feature extraction. While the XGBoost model performs well overall, disparities across race and insurance attributes reflect the need for tailored assessments and continuous monitoring. The paper concludes with recommendations for fairness-aware machine learning techniques for mitigating biases and the need for collaborative efforts among healthcare professionals and data scientists.