[2025] Statistical application and the interpretation of data is important in health care. Review the statistical concepts covered in this topic
Statistical application and the interpretation of data is important in health care. Review the statistical concepts covered in this topic
Statistical application and the interpretation of data is important in health care. Review the statistical concepts covered in this topic. In a 750-1,000 word paper, discuss the significance of statistical application in health care. Include the following:
- Describe the application of statistics in health care. Specifically discuss its significance to quality, safety, health promotion, and leadership.
- Consider your organization or specialty area and how you utilize statistical knowledge. Discuss how you obtain statistical data, how statistical knowledge is used in day-to-day operations and how you apply it or use it in decision making.
Three peer-reviewed, scholarly or professional references are required.
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Expert Answer and Explanation
Significance of Statistical Application in Health Care
Statistical application and data interpretation in health care dates back to 1850s when Florence Nightingale came up with a method of representing statistical data on graphs, and her works in statistics ushered in a period in which clinicians and researchers began using and applying statistics to conduct survey, and make clinical decisions. For example, researchers used statistics in 1971 to assess and examine Americans’ nutritional behaviors, and this study was instrumental in shaping future application of the statistics in healthcare sector (Aggarwal, 2018).
It is important to explore how statistics is applied within this sector with respect to safety, quality, health promotion and leadership, examine the process involved in obtaining statistical data, and look at how decisions can be made using statistics.
The Application of Statistics in Healthcare
Statistics is profoundly rooted in healthcare, and is used in various aspects of the healthcare including research, and clinical practice. For example, it helps analyze data or trends in the prevalence of the infectious diseases, and using the statistical information, researchers can predict future trends. Policy makers can respond by developing effective policy solutions to counter and prevent the spread of these diseases.
Examples of such policy solutions include allocation of more resources, and sensitizing the public and communities on how they can reduce exposure to infections. Evidence-based practice solutions can be backed by statistics considering that the statistical data can show the success of certain interventions (Hayn et al., 2017). This can in turn improve provider confidence because they are sure that the use of certain interventions-backed by statistical information, can help optimize clinical outcomes.
Significance of Statistics to Quality, Safety, Health Promotion and Leadership
The safety and quality of health care including health promotion and leadership outcomes are all dependent on application of the statistics in healthcare. When one studies statistical data that shows the success of certain clinical interventions, providers can rely on these interventions as the hallmarks for making future decisions when delivering care, and this can lead to improved clinical outcomes. In such a scenario, there are fewer cases of medical errors which basically leads to the delivery of safe care.
This can also lead to the improvement of the quality of care by reducing the length of stay, and alleviating the physiological and psychological effects of the disease. Statistics can help with health promotion by helping determine the gap in knowledge on how people can avoid infections, and this information can be used to plan for a public health campaign. Conversely, a leader can use the statistical data to determine the leadership models which can lead to team success (Gibson, 2018).
Process involved in obtaining Statistical Data
Before one analyzes data, they have to obtain it first, and there different methods which one can use to acquire the data. Survey is an example of such methods, and among the techniques used in this case include focus groups and questionnaires. These techniques can help one obtain details such as views, experiences and behavior.
Observation is the other method of obtaining data, and it entails observing how subjects behave or how study parameters change from time to time. An example is using stepwise approach to manage diabetes, observing how the patient, and noting down the results (Boulesteix, Wilson, & Hapfelmeier, 2017).
The use of Statistical Knowledge in Day-to-Day Operations
Statistics is used in day-to-day operations, and in clinics, physicians can use knowledge in statistics to monitor the patient’s progress at different stages of therapy. Doing this can help reduce suffering, and improve the chances of success of the intervention. Statistics can also help determine the number of children experiencing malnutrition, and inform measures which can lead to better nutrition care for children.
For the government to keep track of the financial costs of road accidents, the data of people who end up in hospitals with vehicle-related injuries can help in this case (Hayat et al., 2017). The knowledge is equally useful when it comes to making decisions on how to distribute resources to the public.
The use of Statistical Knowledge in Decision-Making
Decision-making in healthcare is important because it helps identify and settle on decisions which are considered to be effective in terms of addressing health concerns. For a decision to be effective in terms of resolving a clinical concern, it has to be based on statistical information. This is why it is important for one to have this knowledge, and using this knowledge, one can understand how to study relationships between input and outcomes. Therefore, this knowledge is vital to optimizing the decision-making outcomes (Hayat et al., 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, statistics has been and continue to be fundamental to the health care because it informs those delivering care on how certain treatments can lead to intervention success. Considering the growing emphasis for providers to use evidence, it is important for nurses to advance their knowledge in statistics, and employ this knowledge to make decisions when they are working with patients. Doing this can lead to better therapeutic outcomes for patients, and improve the safety as well as the quality of care.
References
Aggarwal, R. (2018). Statistical literacy for healthcare professionals: Why is it important?. Annals of cardiac anaesthesia, 21(4), 349–350.Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/aca.ACA_177_18.
Boulesteix, A. L., Wilson, R., & Hapfelmeier, A. (2017). Towards evidence-based computational statistics: lessons from clinical research on the role and design of real-data benchmark studies. BMC medical research methodology, 17(1), 138. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-017-0417-2.
Gibson, W.G. (2018). Leadership in Statistics: Increasing Our Value and Visibility. The American Statistician, 73 (2), 109-116. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2017.1336484.
Hayat, M. J., Powell, A., Johnson, T., & Cadwell, B. L. (2017). Statistical methods used in the public health literature and implications for training of public health professionals. PloS one, 12(6), e0179032. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179032.
Hayn, D., Kreiner, K., Ebner, H., Kastner, P., Breznik, N., Rzepka, A., Hofmann, A., Gombotz, H., & Schreier, G. (2017). Development of Multivariable Models to Predict and Benchmark Transfusion in Elective Surgery Supporting Patient Blood Management. Applied clinical informatics, 8(2), 617–631. Doi:https://doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2016-11-RA-0195.
Alternative Expert Answer
Applied Statistics for Healthcare Profession
Statistical analysis in the health department helps in decision making and predictions since it gives a trend that healthcare providers can follow to better administer services (Frost, 2021). The information collected from the observations and measurements majorly describe the characteristics of the sample population at hand. The main aim of this paper is to discuss the significance of statistical application in healthcare.
Application of Statistics in Healthcare
Health statistics are important since they provide information that assists in the allocation of medical resources such as funds that are vital for research purposes. The quality of patient care is hence improved along with better policies and techniques for infection control (Baylina et al., 2018). When analysts use statistical methods correctly, accurate results are guaranteed since this type of analysis caters to errors and uncertainty in the results.
In quality control, statistical analysis methods are used to monitor, measure, and maintain the overall value of products. The results obtained in turn help processes such as manufacturing to ensure less wastage and time taken to manufacture medicine. Healthcare providers in this case work to ensure effective goods are produced and services are efficiently offered. In healthcare, statistics help to understand how secure and safe working environments are since they narrow down to the group of workers most vulnerable (Boserup et al., 2020). Given this information, improvements in the areas that are considered dangerous to the healthcare provider are made to ensure good services are offered all around.
Health promotion benefits largely from statistical analysis in healthcare since the trends laid down by statistical methods, provide reliable data that greatly assist in the allocation of private and public finances and this affects how research is carried out (Baylina et al., 2018). The statistical analysis method is an important component in the needs assessment sector since budget expenses presented to various governing boards are properly used and can be accounted for.
Healthcare leadership can be greatly improved by the use of statistical methods (Fox-Tatum, 2021). Identification of trends and specific trails can ensure leaders being chosen can be relied on by other staff members. Available information on the leaders guaranteed by the help of statistical analysis helps the healthcare organizations to be confident in the success of the healthcare organization.
Acquisition and Usage of Statistical Data
Acquisition of Statistical Data
There are several processes to acquire information that can be used in statistical analysis in the healthcare profession. One of the means is data mining. This is a process of acquiring specific information or data from a large pool of data (Kumar et al., 2019). The process of data mining involves the stages of defining the information, finding the exact pieces of information being sought, and extracting the information from the large pool of data.
In this whole process, the information is recovered, merged, managed, and prepared for analysis. The resultant information following data mining is then analyzed and organized in a usable format (Kumar et al., 2019). After this process, patients and the professionals in the healthcare department benefit since the mined information can be refined to finer detail hence improving the overall status of healthcare for both the professional and the patients.
Usage of Statistical Data
Statistical knowledge can be used day to day in the healthcare profession. With this range of statistical information, individuals can monitor medical expenses on a day-to-day basis, healthcare costs, and hospital statistics. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, statistical data is used by both healthcare professionals and even patients and other individuals to identify the trend of occurrences (Boserup et al., 2020). A lot of statistical issues are vital in the analysis of public health information in the healthcare profession.
When it comes to decision-making, statistical data plays a big influential factor. Given that statistical analysis involves the process of collecting data samples, and analyzing the data sample to discover patterns and trends to predict what could potentially happen next, the decision that comes thereof is guaranteed to be well thought through (Kumar et al., 2019). In the healthcare profession, good decisions are a product of good statistics. Having a strong baseline of facts aids in minimizing the risks of healthcare challenges.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has discussed the significance of statistical analysis for the healthcare profession. Statistical analysis for healthcare professions is vital since it majorly influences how safety, quality, health promotion, and leadership can be improved. With the information obtained through data mining, cleaned, analyzed, and stored, the healthcare profession is guaranteed that information given is purely factual and statistical and how it influences the overall performance of the profession is secure.
References
Baylina, P., Barros, C., Fonte, C., Alves, S., & Rocha, Á. (2018). Healthcare workers: Occupational health promotion and patient safety. Journal of medical systems, 42(9), 1-8
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-018-1013-7
Boserup, B., McKenney, M., & Elkbuli, A. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department visits and patient safety in the United States. The American journal of emergency medicine, 38(9), 1732-1736.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.06.007
Fox-Tatum, Oliver. (2021, March 1). Statistical leadership: Make your analytical insights count. GSS – The Government Statistical Service (GSS). https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/blog/statistical-leadership-make-your-analytical-insights-count/
Kumar, S. R., Gayathri, N., Muthuramalingam, S., Balamurugan, B., Ramesh, C., & Nallakaruppan, M. K. (2019). Medical big data mining and processing in e-healthcare. In Internet of things in biomedical engineering (pp. 323-339). Academic Press.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817356-5.00016-4
Frost, Jim. (2021, January 19). The importance of statistics. Statistics By Jim. https://statisticsbyjim.com/basics/importance-statistics/
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