what are the potential misuse of statistics in health?
411024
It can go far beyond that, as well.  If a study wasn't set up correctly, then there can BE no 'correct' interpretation.  This is especially common in drug testing.  Often companies are in such a hurry to get a new drug on the shelf that they don't take all the precautions in setting up their studies that they probably should.  For example, they don't conduct tests on as many people as they should, or they inadvertantly bias their data by not taking a random sample.  The problem usually stems from the fact that a doctor is the one responsible for running the tests, not a statistician.
814446
This question would be a lot better if you had included some examples to see what you are getting at.\n\nI think statistical data is risky at best.  It makes a large body of assumptions, and those assumptions are not usually spelled out when legislators or voters (in the case of ballot propositions) look at the stats.  \n\nNow as to "circumstantial events," I am at a loss to know what you mean.  All events are circumstantial; this does not tell us what sort of events or what sort of circumstances you mean to include.  Circumstantial evidence, in law, is evidence that points one way, but could be interpreted some other way.  \n\nIt is very hard to prove a criminal case on circumstantial evidence because of the high standard of proof: beyond a reasonable doubt.  Most people have no such high standards when they study statistics.  If something is like 90% or 95%, then possibly you are reasonable in taking those stats seriously.  But often legislators and voters get little more than a scant majority in the figures offered, and those could be off by quite a bit.  We need to know the complete design of the survey before we can take statistics seriously, and we seldom get that much detail.\n\nAdd to this the fact that statistics are never a valid indicator, in themselves, of what is right or wrong, but only what is popular or unpopular.  Think and act independently, and vote accordingly.
96188
I am truly wondering where you have found this statistic? I have not seen that this is true in any sense
509983
How you use statistical tools to analyze your data depends entirely on what kind of data you have and the questions you are trying to answer with your data.  Some kinds of data lend themselves to descriptive analysis, in which you summarize your findings with means, medians, standard deviations, etc.  Other data are suitable for formal hypothesis testing, which calls for the application of statistical tools such as t-tests, analysis of variance, linear regression, multiple regression, proportional hazards modeling, life table analysis, etc.  Ideally, the preparatory phase of a research project would include a consultation with someone familiar with biostatistics before the data are ever collected.\n\nHowever, you can make a start by going to the following website:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics\n\nYou will learn a lot in a short period of time by going there.  But be careful!  Application of statistical tools in biomedical research is not a cookbook operation.  You would be well advised to consult with someone knowledgeable, who can inspect your data and offer advice about how to analyze them.  Such a person can also help you interpret the results of any statistical testing you do.  This is not always straightforward; misinterpretation of data and their analysis will lead to failure to get your papers published, at best, or worse, the misleading of the medical community and the general public about potentially serious issues.
924986
There are many applications of statistics to basic human needs.  One branch of statistics, sampling, can indicate the most cost effective way to check populations for disease or water supplies for safety.  Statistics are also used to detect differences between "control" and "treatment" groups in medical studies.  Statistics can also help evaluate economic aid programs, such as "micro-loans".
235430
Biostatistics is the application of statistical techniques to scientific research in health-related fields, including medicine, biology, and public health, and the development of new tools to study these areas. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the field of biostatistics has become an indispensable tool in improving health and reducing illness.\n\nBiostatisticians play essential roles in designing studies, analyzing data and creating methods to attack research problems as diverse as the determination of major risk factors for heart disease, lung disease and cancer; \nthe testing of new drugs to combat AIDS; \nthe evaluation of potential environmental factors harmful to human health, such as tobacco smoke, asbestos or pollutants. \n\nI hope some of this is of some help.  It was a  new area for me to learn about!!  Thanks for taking me there!
615933
Teaching graduate students the proper ways to analyze data statistically is one of the most difficult things- It isnt interesting to them, it's hard to grasp, and there are rules for variance, independent and dependent variables, sample populations and distribution, even and uneven sampling comparisons..on and on.
466452
Assuming you are not doing research and you are trying to identify a specific skill. You don't need to worry too much. You should use your clinical judgment.  If you are trying to decide if the child is in need of services then you have many tools you can use to help make this decision.  If you are trying to get a baseline then adding counting will deflate your sample, not inflate it.  It may be more important for you to decide if the counting was appropriate?
1009282
I would go the WHO (World Health Organization) website, there you should be able to get timeline statistics.
1021536
theoretically the importance of statistics in management is to provide a factual basis for decision making - however, in my personal experience statistics are generally manipulated in order to support the personal aims of the manager concerned
661615
There is a lot of evidence. It's just not good evidence. Anecdotal evidence is also evidence. It just doesn't prove much.
315361
Not sure what exactly type of statistics you are looking for, but here are two pages\nhttp://www.mdeda.org/info.asp\nhttp://www.unos.org/
1157784
mathematically, you CAN take an average of averages. \n\nBut statistically, it won't be meaningful, because you will be combining information from non-identical studies.
614693
You can get an idea about what the distribution of the population is by looking at the five number summary (Minimum, 1st Quartile (Q1), Median (Q2), 3rd Quartile (Q3), Maximum).  For example, if the minimum and Q1 are close together, but Q3 and the maximum are far apart, then you can say that your data is right skewed, meaning that the outliers tend to be larger values.\n\nWith a sample, it is hard to say whether the population is normally distributed or any other specific distribution with a sample alone.  You need to know something about the population to make a statement like that.
461896
Wikipedia reveals all.\n\nThe third link lists online statistics textbooks.  The Statistics Homepage is especially good.
156831
If you are talking about surveys similar to a public opinion survey then the size of the sample, the make up of the sample, and the wording of the question are several sources of error
401965
Here is a lengthy article on the ethics of using Nazi medical experimental data:\nhttp://www.jlaw.com/Articles/NaziMedEx.html