Significance in Nursing Research: Clinical vs. Statistical Analysis

This report delves into the crucial differences between clinical and statistical significance within the realm of nursing research. Clinical significance emphasizes the real-world impact of research findings, focusing on the practical benefits and implications for patient care and treatment effectiveness, considering factors such as cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation. In contrast, statistical significance relies on sample size and hypothesis testing, determining the probability of observed differences between study groups. The report highlights how clinical significance relates to the magnitude of the treatment effect and its relevance to nursing practice, while statistical significance determines the rejection of the null hypothesis. The example of skin-to-skin contact for newborns illustrates clinical significance by highlighting its benefits, such as maternal depression reduction. The report underscores the importance of both types of significance in evidence-based nursing practice, contributing to the development of nursing theory and practice.

Difference between clinical and statistical significance
In evidence based nursing research, clinical significance and statistical significance
plays an important role. Both the concepts are equally important in many nursing researches
and findings. It is essential because the main goal of any research in nursing is to properly
generate the findings that provide real life value to nursing theory and practice.
The clinical significance of any result basically depends on its implications on the
practice treatment effect size that exists. It is considered among the most important factors
that help in driving the decisions of treatment procedures. Even, it also directly refers to the
magnitude of the actual treatment effect. The clinical significance helps in determining if the
findings of the trial are likely to impact the ongoing medical practice. Also, it has been
indicated in literatures that clinical significance reflects the cost-effectiveness, consumer
acceptability and ease of implementation of any treatment. On the other hand, statistical
significance is highly dependent on the size of the sample of any study. If the treatment effect
is small but the sample size is large then also the study can be statistically significant due to
its large sample size. It is a widely used concept in the statistical hypothesis testing that
indicates the probability of the difference between the variation and control of the study
(Ranganathan, Pramesh & Buyse, 2015).
However, the main difference between clinical and statistical difference is, in clinical
significance it pertains to all the benefits of real life of any research findings. Again, in case
of statistical significance, it refers to decision of an individual to reject the null hypothesis
which is dependent on the established criterion (Francis & O'Brien, 2019).
Clinical significance is defined within the realm of psychology. Skin-to-skin contact
for a newborn with the mother provides many short as well as long term benefits according to
the literatures that includes the maternal depression reduction and others.

References
Francis, G., & O'Brien, M. (2019). Teaching clinical skills in pre-registration nurse
education: value and methods. British Journal of Nursing, 28(7), 452-456.
Ranganathan, P., Pramesh, C. S., & Buyse, M. (2015). Common pitfalls in statistical analysis:
Clinical versus statistical significance. Perspectives in clinical research, 6(3), 169.