RESS - Lectures Flashcards
Define Health Equity
Differences in QUALITY of healthcare in different populations
Define Health Inequality
Differences in SOCIO-ECONOMIC standards in relation to an outcome
Descriptive Epidemiology
Looks at time, place and person
Analytical Epidemiology
Looks at the cause of the illness
Describe the Scientific Method
Observation –> Hypothesis –> Test Hypothesis –> Reject (modify hypothesis) OR Not reject (Test again)
Define Hypothesis
A testable statement that describes and observation
Theory
A well confirmed explanation of nature that can however still be falsified
What features must a hypothesis have?
Has to be falsifiable
YOU CAN FALSIFY A HYPOTHESIS BUT CAN’T PROVE ITS TRUE
How do you confirm a hypothesis?
By rejecting the null hypothesis
What is a null hypothesis?
The opposite of the hypothesis
What is a type 1 error?
Incorrectly rejecting a true null hypothesis (False Positive)
What is a type 2 error?
Incorrectly accepting a false null hypothesis (False Negative)
What is a health outcome?
What results from an intervention
Examples of record based health outcomes
Mortality and disease incidence
Examples of biological and clinical based health outcomes
Lab tests, BMI, blood pressure and body temp
Examples of clinician and patient reported outcomes
Health related quality of life, global ratings and symptom scores
What is validity
Accurately measures an outcome
(i.e. you wouldn’t use a thermometer to measure length of a table) or using BMI rather than weight as a measure of obesity
What is reliability (Test - retest and Inter rater)
If you did it again you would get the same outcome
Test - retest: Same result if done twice
Inter-rater: If someone else did it they would get the same result
What is responsiveness
Can detect real changes when they occur
e.g. continuous QoL scale rather than categorical
What type of data can you apply stats to?
Interval / continuous
What are minimum clinically important differences?
PATIENT DERIVED scores that reflect changes from a clinical intervention that are meaningful for the patient
What do QALYS measure
Quality and length of life
1 QALY = 1 year of life at full health
Equation for QALYS
Utility value x Survival data = QALY
