Role Of Statistics in healthcare Flashcards
What are the four ways of acquiring knowledge
Authority
rationalism
Intuition
scientific method
What is meant when we say knowledge is acquired through “Authority”
Tradition or someone credible says so
What is meant when we say knowledge is acquired through “Rationalism”
Reasoning, sound premise
Reasoning according to logic
What is meant when we say knowledge is acquired through “Intuition”
Sudden insight
What is meant when we say knowledge is acquired through “Scientific Method”
Some reasoning and intuition but much reliance on objective assessment
What is statistics
The science of collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data. Data may or may not be subject to random variation
What are the two main types of statistics
Descriptive statistics
Inferential statistics
What is Descriptive Statistics
Concerned with techniques used to describe or characterize data
What is Inferential statistics
Involves techniques that use sample data to infer to populations
Define mathematical statistics
Concerns the development of new methods of statistical inference and requires detailed knowledge of abstract mathematics for its implementation
Define applied statistics
Concerns the application of the methods of mathematical statistics to specific subject areas
Define biostatistics
Concerns the application of statistical methods to medical and biological problems
Define data
Items of information that have not been processed
Define population
Complete sets of all elements people/objects which can be studied
Define Sample
Subset of a population. To draw inferences, the sample must be selected so that it is representative of the population studied
Define census
The collection of data from every member of the population
What are two types of data
Primary and Secondary
Define primary data
This is data collected by the researcher for use in investigating the specific research problem at hand
Define secondary data
This is data collected by others and for other purposes which are used by researchers in their investigation
What is a disadvantage of primary data
The cost and time for acquisition an be prohibitive
Advantage of secondary data
Less expensive and less time consuming than primary data
List five sources of secondary data in Jamaica
Registrar General’s Department Ministry of Health STATIN/PIOJ Disease registries Other researchers work
What is evidence based practice
Concerned with the treatment and prevention of disease and promotion of health and well- being
Requires both the gathering of evidence and its critical interpretation
What are the advantages of Judicious use of statistics
Enables is to:
Collect data appropriately Handle variation and uncertainty Describe and summarize data Analyse data Make inferences Form appropriate conclusions Inform decision making
What are three uses of statistics
- determine the number of people from whom we collect data
- validate questionnaires
- Evaluate data collection methods
What are the four causes of Variation in Data collection
Biological factors
Environmental factors
Methodological factors
Chance and unknown factors
What is the definition of diagnosis
Process of determining health status and factors responsible for it
How is a diagnosis characterized
Clustering of signs and symptoms
Values of biochemical and other measurements
