Biological Sciences
Health Statistics
Health statistics refer to numerical data and information related to various aspects of health, including disease prevalence, mortality rates, and healthcare utilization. These statistics are used to analyze and understand patterns of health and illness within populations, inform public health policies and interventions, and evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare systems and programs.
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5 Key excerpts on "Health Statistics"
- Richard J. Rossi(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
The science of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting biomedical and healthcare data is called biostatistics . 1.1 WHAT IS BIOSTATISTICS? Biostatistics is the area of statistics that covers and provides the specialized methodol-ogy for collecting and analyzing biomedical and healthcare data. In general, the purpose of using biostatistics is to gather data that can be used to provide honest information about unanswered biomedical questions. In particular, biostatistics is used to differentiate between chance occurrences and possible causal associations, for identifying and esti-mating the effects of risk factors, for identifying the causes or predispositions related to diseases, for estimating the incidence and prevalence of diseases, for testing and evaluat-ing the efficacy of new drugs or treatments, and for exploring and describing the well being of the general public. Applied Biostatistics for the Health Sciences , Second Edition. Richard J. Rossi. © 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1 2 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO BIOSTATISTICS A biostatistician is a scientist trained in statistics who also works in disciplines related to medical research and public health, who designs data collection procedures, analyzes data, interprets data analyses, and helps summarize the results of the studies. Biostatis-ticians may also develop and apply new statistical methodology required for analyzing biomedical data. Generally, a biostatistician works with a team of medical researchers and is responsible for designing the statistical protocol to be used in a study. Biostatisticians commonly participate in research in the biomedical fields such as epidemiology, toxicology, nutrition, and genetics, and also often work for pharmaceuti-cal companies.
eBook - PDF- Japhet Killewo, Kristian Heggenhougen, Stella R. Quah(Authors)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
SECTION 5 BIOSTATISTICS Biostatistics P E Leaverton, University of South Florida School of Public Health, Tampa, FL, USA F V Wilder, The Arthritis Research Institute of America, Clearwater, FL, USA ã 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction The relatively young discipline of statistics evolved dur-ing the last century to become an important aspect of all the sciences. The term statistics now usually includes both descriptive and analytical domains. Those analytical methods that have been found to be particularly useful and prevalent in the design and analysis of medical and public health research studies have been termed biostatis-tics. The use of these methods will be discussed later in the section titled ‘Basic analytical statistics (biostatistics) concepts.’ While most readers are unlikely to be practicing biostatisticians, most probably they will be expected to understand and interpret correctly journal articles summar-izing research projects relevant to public health practice. Most such articles use statistical techniques in their sum-maries and analyses (perusal of any recent research journal in medicine or public health verifies this assertion). We review the rationale and interpretation of basic statistical summaries and biostatistical analyses. (Details on many specific statistical methodologies may be found in the sev-eral textbooks listed in the section titled ‘Further reading.’) Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics in Public Health Many nations and all U.S. states mandate that certain data are routinely collected on births, deaths, and other key measures of population health. Under federal law, the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is required to collect, compile, and disseminate a large number of such health measures.
eBook - PDF- Lorie Darche, Gerda Koch(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Health Statistics: Why Are They Important? 3 NOTES how to use appropriate formulas, and how to properly evaluate and report data and statistics. 3. What Is Statistics? Statistics has two meanings: (1) Statistics is a numerical fact. Numerical facts include the number representing: (a) A family’s income (b) The age of a patient (c) Touchdowns thrown by a quarterback in a season (d) The amount spent on flu shots in the United States in a given year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (e) The number of pregnancies a woman has had (2) Statistics is a field or discipline of study. A basic definition of statis-tics is the method of collecting, organizing, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting numerical data. Statistical methods help us make scientific and intelligent decisions based on the data collected. Deci-sions made based on scientific methods are called educated guesses , whereas those made without such methods are pure guesses and may prove to be unreliable. Reasonable decisions and valid conclusions may be drawn based on the analysis of statistical data. Statistics therefore involves both numbers and the techniques and procedures to be followed in collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting information in a numerical form. Although the term statis-tics is a broad term, it is narrowed and defined by its representative group data—such as accident statistics, hospital statistics, employ-ment statistics, vital statistics, and several other descriptors. 4. Types of Statistics Statistics has two main aspects: theoretical and applied. Theoretical statistics deals with the development, derivation, and proof of statistical theorems, formulas, rules, and laws. Applied statistics involves the appli-cation of those theorems, formulas, rules, and laws to solve real-world problems.
eBook - PDFIntroductory Biostatistics for the Health Sciences
Modern Applications Including Bootstrap
- Michael R. Chernick, Robert H. Friis(Authors)
- 2003(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Interscience(Publisher)
16 WHAT IS STATISTICS? HOW IS IT APPLIED TO THE HEALTH SCIENCES? In Chapter 12, we will introduce you to research that involves the use of statistical analysis measures for qualitative data. The survey instruments, their validation and analysis are worthy topics for an entire book. For example, Fayers and Machin (2000) give an excellent introduction to this subject matter. In conclusion, Chapter 1 has presented introductory material regarding the field of statistics. This chapter has illustrated how statistics are important in everyday life and, in particular, has demonstrated how statistics are used in the health sciences. In addition, the chapter has reviewed major job roles for statisticians. Finally, informa- tion was presented on major categories of study designs and sources of health data that statisticians may encounter. Tables 1.1 through 1.3 review and summarize the key points presented in this chapter regarding the uses of statistics, job roles for sta- tisticians, and sources of health data. 1.3 TYPES OF STUDIES 17 Table 1.1. Uses of Statistics in Health Sciences 1. Interpret research studies Example: Validity of findings of health education and medical research 2. Evaluate statistics used every day Examples: Hospital mortality rates, prevalence of infectious diseases 3. Presentation of data to audiences Effective arrangement and grouping of information and graphical display of data 4. Illustrate central tendency and variability 5. Formulate and test hypotheses Generalize from a sample to the population. Table 1.2. What Do Statisticians Do? 1. Guide design of an experiment, clinical trial, or survey 2. Formulate statistical hypotheses and determine appropriate methodology 3. Analyze data 4. Present and interpret results Table 1.3. Sources of Health Data. 1. Archival and vital statistics records 2. Experiments 3. Medical research studies Retrospective—case control Prospective—cohort study 4. Descriptive surveys 5. Clinical trials
eBook - PDF- Mohammed Meah(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
4 Essential Statistics for Bioscientists, First Edition. Mohammed Meah. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2022 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. CHAPTER 1 Expected Learning Outcomes • Explain the common terms used in statistics. • Describe, interpret and calculate descriptive statistics. • Distinguish the differences between confidence interval, standard error and stan- dard deviation. • Outline common study designs. • Describe the parts of a research proposal. Basic Statistics Data • Without data there would be no statistics! • Data is Information that can be analysed, interpreted and presented statistically. • Data can take many forms, digital data, personal data, sample data, laboratory experi- mental data, field data, population data. • In statistics we categorize these into numerical and non-numerical data. “The word ‘statistic’ is derived from the Latin status, which, in the middle ages, had become to mean ‘state’ in the political sense. ‘Statistics’, therefore, originally denoted inquiries into the condition of a state.” — Wynnard Hooper (1854–1935) - English author What is Statistics? The earliest use of statistics came from rulers and governments, who wanted information (data), such as the number of people, resources (e.g. food, gold, land) in order to set taxes, fund infrastructure (building projects), raise and maintain armies, and go to war (Appendix 1). To make accurate decisions, ideally you would want to What is Statistics? 5 collect all the information or data available about a defined group or category. This is called the population (the entire group of individuals or observations). The modern equivalent of this is called a census or survey of the population (usu- ally every 10 years) of a country, which collects information such as the total number of people, ethnicity, age, and gender.
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