Statistics In Healthcare

Superior Essays
“Scientific research is increasingly recognized as a vital catalyst and important index for national development. In many countries, it is scientific research, rather than rich natural resources that have a direct impact on economy and development”. (Samir Al-Adawi, 2015) One must not take for granted that when an article or journal is published, the statistical methods that have been used are correct. “Unscrupulous medical research not only halts the progress of medical knowledge, but also creates unanticipated consequences. For example, this has vividly occurred in the case of concurrent data and the association between autism and immunization. Research misconduct chastises the reputation of research groups and institutions in the scientific …show more content…
When used for its intended purpose, statistics can be the catalyst for decision making in the field of medicine, politics, science, economics, social science and nursing. Statistics can assist healthcare providers in their fight toward health promotion and disease prevention. It influences the discovery of new medicine and technology with the hope of one day eradicating many diseases. When statistics is misused, misinterpreted, and misrepresented the outcomes could be …show more content…
To understand what is meant by “misusing statistics”, it is important to describe the role of statistics in the scientific method and relate the concept of “misuse” to other ethical concepts such as “misconduct”, “incompetence”, or “negligence” (John Gardenier, 2009). Science requires the application of the scientific method in which observations of the real world are turned into testable hypothesis, data is collected and analyzed, and conclusions drawn. “Hypothesis testing and concomitant use of statistical tools is the way that any science is advanced and theories are engaged. However, the presentation of graphs, charts, or numbers derive from attained formula is not enough to “prove” whether a hypothesis is correct.” (Yaning Yang, 2007) Statistics at its best is an estimate or a scientific

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