The use of artificial neural networks and decision trees: Implications for health-care research

The use of decision trees and artificial neural networks (ANNs) in health-care research is widespread, as they enable health-care providers with the tools they need to make better medical decisions with their patients. ANNs specifically are extremely helpful in predictive research as they can provide investigators with knowledge about future trends and patterns. However, a major downside to ANNs is their lack of interpretability. Understandability of the model is important as it ensures the outcomes are true to the dataset’s original labels and are not impacted by algorithmic bias. In comparison, decision trees map out their entire process before providing the results, which leads to a higher level of trust in the model and the conclusions it supplies the investigators with. This is essential as many historical datasets lack equal and fair representation of all races and sexes, which might directly correlate to a lesser treatment given to females and individuals in minority groups. Here, we review existing work around the differences and connections between ANNs and decision trees with implications for research in health care.