Expert Answer and Explanation
Application of Statistics in Healthcare
The use of statistics in nursing 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.