NURSING 4: Application and Significance of Statistics in Healthcare

This report examines the critical role of statistics in healthcare, emphasizing its significance in nursing practice. The paper discusses the application of statistical data in assessing quality standards, promoting health and safety, and informing clinical research. It highlights how statistical knowledge is used to evaluate patient symptoms, monitor treatment effectiveness, and support evidence-based practice. The report also explores the use of statistics in decision-making processes, such as selecting appropriate nursing interventions and calculating drug dosages. Furthermore, the report underscores the importance of statistical literacy for healthcare professionals, advocating for its integration into medical education to improve patient care and outcomes. The author, a nursing professional, uses examples from their practice to illustrate the practical application of statistical concepts in daily operations and clinical leadership.

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

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Introduction:
For all health care professionals, knowledge about collection, analysis and interpretation
of statistical data is important as every patient-physician encounter is imbued with statistics. As
several diagnoses is possible for a man with emergency care, matching predictive values of
various diagnostic test and patient history helps in confirming diagnosis of patient. Being aware
of latest research and development in health care also requires statistical literacy (Burrill, 2019,
August). With this context, the main purpose of this paper is to discuss about the significance of
statistical application in health care and explore how statistical knowledge is applied in day-to-
day operations.
Application of statistics in health care
Application of statistical data holds promise in health care to assess quality standards,
identify areas of health improvement and promote health and safety. For example, review of
statistical trends and trails related to disease incidence, mortality rates and hospitalization rates
helps to monitor local condition and compare service standards with national and international
standards. These data help epidemiologist to get public and private funds for service
advancements and disease prevention (Klatzky, Geiwitz & Fischer, 2018). Knowledge about
statistics is vital for nurse too as it allows nurse to make appropriate assessment of patient and
make judgment regarding future course of action for a patient.
Statistical data has found wide application in clinical research too as appropriate
statistical skills allows researchers to draw reasonable inference about collected data and assess
the influence of errors and bias on study research. Clinical research mainly involves investigating
about clinical benefits or efficacy of a proposed medical treatment. Statistical knowledge and

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reasoning allows researchers to establish an objective framework for conducting research, place
data on equal scientific footing, quantify the influence of chance, estimate random effects and
combine theory and data to interpret the results (Rodrigues, Lima & Barbosa, 2017). The
application of statistics is widely prevalent in clinical leadership too as it allows use of influence
to guide a health care team to best design or decision making (Husebø & Olsen, 2016).
Method of utilizing statistical knowledge
My specialty area is nursing and I apply my statistical knowledge to determine the
outcomes of a diagnostic test, predict normal and abnormal values of lab test and identify
improvement or deteriorations in clinical signs of patient. In short, statistical data is very useful
in day-to-day nursing practice to enhance patient care, support evidence based practice and
choosing various options in practice. The following point will give an insight into how I utilize
statistical knowledge in daily practice or decision making:
 During patient encounters, I use statistics to assess signs and symptoms of patient and
evaluate whether they are adequately responding to treatment or not. I get the statistical
data from frequency charts or data sheets that give the timing of each medication given to
patient and compare patient’s laboratory test results with that of reference value to predict
improvement in symptoms. The comparison of data with set standards or predictive value
has helped to assess current health status of patient, prioritize nursing care strategies and
assess improvement in symptoms
 I also use my statistical knowledge while reviewing recent evidence to get update about
the effectiveness of new nursing interventions or practice. It is an obligation for all nurse
to engage in evidence based nursing practice (EBP). To do so, I need to interpret and

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comprehend findings of research literature. Thus, statistical knowledge related to p-value,
correlation coefficient and other statistical findings help me to predict if the findings for
any study are statistically significant or not. This understanding supports in reviewing
true treatment effect or real worth of a novel intervention (Grove, & Cipher, 2016).
 I actively apply statistics to aid decision making process particularly when I am confused
between one or two nursing interventions. For example, I have often confusions like
‘How do I know if my nursing intervention is effective or not? or ‘which dressing should
we use? Statistics tell us which practice works and which does not. It helps to correctly
calculate drug dosage and coordinate complex. Thus, I find statistics to be a very
important part of my professional life.
Conclusion:
To summarize, statistics is an important tool not only for health care researchers, but also
for other health care professionals as it promotes decision making process, reduces confusion
or uncertainty regarding treatment and facilitates engaging in EBP. Considering the benefits
of statistics for health care staffs, it is recommended that basis statistical knowledge of all
medical students should be prioritized so that they can accurately articulate physical
parameters of treatment, evaluate efficacy of intervention and engage in quick decision
making process.

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References:
Burrill, G. (2019, August). Statistical literacy and quantitative reasoning. In Proceedings of the
15th International Conference: Theory and practice–an interface or a great divide (pp.
4-9).
Grove, S. K., & Cipher, D. J. (2016). Statistics for Nursing Research-E-Book: A Workbook for
Evidence-Based Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Husebø, S. E., & Olsen, Ø. E. (2016). Impact of clinical leadership in teams’ course on quality,
efficiency, responsiveness and trust in the emergency department: study protocol of a
trailing research study. BMJ open, 6(8), e011899.
Klatzky, R. L., Geiwitz, J., & Fischer, S. C. (2018). 7 Using Statistics in Clinical Practice: A
Gap. Human Error in Medicine.
Rodrigues, C. F. D. S., Lima, F. J. C. D., & Barbosa, F. T. (2017). Importance of using basic
statistics adequately in clinical research. Revista brasileira de anestesiologia, 67(6), 619-
625.