WGU C784 APPLIED HEALTHCARE STATISTICS
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2025
Question 1:
A hospital records the number of patients admitted each day for the past month and
wants to know the average daily admissions. Which measure of central tendency is
most appropriate for determining the "typical" number of patients admitted each
day?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Range
Answer:
A) Mean
Rationale:
The mean is the most commonly used measure of central tendency when
determining the "typical" value for continuous data. In this case, the hospital is
interested in the average number of patients admitted each day, making the mean
the most appropriate measure.
Question 2:
A study examining the relationship between smoking and lung cancer reports a
correlation of 0.85. What does this correlation value indicate?
A) A strong positive relationship between smoking and lung cancer
B) A weak positive relationship between smoking and lung cancer
C) A strong negative relationship between smoking and lung cancer
D) No relationship between smoking and lung cancer
Answer:
A) A strong positive relationship between smoking and lung cancer
,Rationale:
A correlation of 0.85 indicates a strong positive relationship, meaning that as one
variable (smoking) increases, the other variable (lung cancer risk) also increases.
The closer the correlation is to 1, the stronger the relationship.
Question 3:
In a clinical trial, a researcher wants to know whether a new drug improves patient
recovery times compared to a placebo. Which of the following is the null
hypothesis for this study?
A) The new drug reduces recovery times more than the placebo.
B) The new drug has no effect on recovery times compared to the placebo.
C) The new drug improves recovery times in all patients.
D) The new drug is more effective than the placebo for a certain population.
Answer:
B) The new drug has no effect on recovery times compared to the
placebo.
Rationale:
The null hypothesis typically states that there is no effect or difference between the
groups being compared. In this case, the null hypothesis assumes that the new drug
has no impact on recovery times when compared to the placebo.
Question 4:
A researcher collects data on the amount of time patients spend in the waiting
room at a clinic and finds that the data are approximately normally distributed.
What is the most appropriate measure of central tendency for this data?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Range
Answer:
, A) Mean
Rationale:
For normally distributed data, the mean is the best measure of central tendency
because it represents the average value and is not influenced by extreme values
(outliers) in symmetric distributions.
Question 5:
A hospital administrator wants to determine if there is a significant difference in
the average wait times between three different hospital departments: Emergency,
Radiology, and Surgery. What statistical test should be used to analyze the data?
A) T-test
B) Chi-square test
C) ANOVA
D) Linear regression
Answer:
C) ANOVA
Rationale:
ANOVA is used when comparing the means of more than two groups. In this case,
there are three departments (groups) being compared, making ANOVA the
appropriate choice.
Question 6:
A sample of 100 patients is selected to estimate the average number of days they
spend in the hospital. A 95% confidence interval is calculated, and the results show
that the average number of days is between 5 and 7 days. What does this
confidence interval suggest?
A) The true average number of days spent in the hospital is exactly 6 days.
B) We can be 95% confident that the average number of days spent in the
hospital is between 5 and 7 days.
C) 95% of the patients spent between 5 and 7 days in the hospital.
, D) There is no uncertainty about the average number of days spent in the
hospital.
Answer:
B) We can be 95% confident that the average number of days spent in
the hospital is between 5 and 7 days.
Rationale:
A confidence interval gives a range of values that is likely to contain the true
population parameter. The statement "95% confident" refers to the probability that
the interval includes the true average number of days, based on the sample data.
Question 7:
In a study, the null hypothesis is rejected at the 0.05 significance level. What does
this imply about the p-value?
A) The p-value is greater than 0.05.
B) The p-value is less than 0.05.
C) The p-value equals 0.05.
D) The p-value is irrelevant in hypothesis testing.
Answer:
B) The p-value is less than 0.05.
Rationale:
A p-value less than 0.05 indicates that the null hypothesis can be rejected at the
0.05 significance level, suggesting that the observed result is statistically
significant.
Question 8:
A hospital conducts a study on the effectiveness of two treatments for a disease.
The results show a p-value of 0.03. Which of the following conclusions is correct?
A) The difference between the two treatments is not statistically significant.
B) The difference between the two treatments is statistically significant.
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2025
Question 1:
A hospital records the number of patients admitted each day for the past month and
wants to know the average daily admissions. Which measure of central tendency is
most appropriate for determining the "typical" number of patients admitted each
day?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Range
Answer:
A) Mean
Rationale:
The mean is the most commonly used measure of central tendency when
determining the "typical" value for continuous data. In this case, the hospital is
interested in the average number of patients admitted each day, making the mean
the most appropriate measure.
Question 2:
A study examining the relationship between smoking and lung cancer reports a
correlation of 0.85. What does this correlation value indicate?
A) A strong positive relationship between smoking and lung cancer
B) A weak positive relationship between smoking and lung cancer
C) A strong negative relationship between smoking and lung cancer
D) No relationship between smoking and lung cancer
Answer:
A) A strong positive relationship between smoking and lung cancer
,Rationale:
A correlation of 0.85 indicates a strong positive relationship, meaning that as one
variable (smoking) increases, the other variable (lung cancer risk) also increases.
The closer the correlation is to 1, the stronger the relationship.
Question 3:
In a clinical trial, a researcher wants to know whether a new drug improves patient
recovery times compared to a placebo. Which of the following is the null
hypothesis for this study?
A) The new drug reduces recovery times more than the placebo.
B) The new drug has no effect on recovery times compared to the placebo.
C) The new drug improves recovery times in all patients.
D) The new drug is more effective than the placebo for a certain population.
Answer:
B) The new drug has no effect on recovery times compared to the
placebo.
Rationale:
The null hypothesis typically states that there is no effect or difference between the
groups being compared. In this case, the null hypothesis assumes that the new drug
has no impact on recovery times when compared to the placebo.
Question 4:
A researcher collects data on the amount of time patients spend in the waiting
room at a clinic and finds that the data are approximately normally distributed.
What is the most appropriate measure of central tendency for this data?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Range
Answer:
, A) Mean
Rationale:
For normally distributed data, the mean is the best measure of central tendency
because it represents the average value and is not influenced by extreme values
(outliers) in symmetric distributions.
Question 5:
A hospital administrator wants to determine if there is a significant difference in
the average wait times between three different hospital departments: Emergency,
Radiology, and Surgery. What statistical test should be used to analyze the data?
A) T-test
B) Chi-square test
C) ANOVA
D) Linear regression
Answer:
C) ANOVA
Rationale:
ANOVA is used when comparing the means of more than two groups. In this case,
there are three departments (groups) being compared, making ANOVA the
appropriate choice.
Question 6:
A sample of 100 patients is selected to estimate the average number of days they
spend in the hospital. A 95% confidence interval is calculated, and the results show
that the average number of days is between 5 and 7 days. What does this
confidence interval suggest?
A) The true average number of days spent in the hospital is exactly 6 days.
B) We can be 95% confident that the average number of days spent in the
hospital is between 5 and 7 days.
C) 95% of the patients spent between 5 and 7 days in the hospital.
, D) There is no uncertainty about the average number of days spent in the
hospital.
Answer:
B) We can be 95% confident that the average number of days spent in
the hospital is between 5 and 7 days.
Rationale:
A confidence interval gives a range of values that is likely to contain the true
population parameter. The statement "95% confident" refers to the probability that
the interval includes the true average number of days, based on the sample data.
Question 7:
In a study, the null hypothesis is rejected at the 0.05 significance level. What does
this imply about the p-value?
A) The p-value is greater than 0.05.
B) The p-value is less than 0.05.
C) The p-value equals 0.05.
D) The p-value is irrelevant in hypothesis testing.
Answer:
B) The p-value is less than 0.05.
Rationale:
A p-value less than 0.05 indicates that the null hypothesis can be rejected at the
0.05 significance level, suggesting that the observed result is statistically
significant.
Question 8:
A hospital conducts a study on the effectiveness of two treatments for a disease.
The results show a p-value of 0.03. Which of the following conclusions is correct?
A) The difference between the two treatments is not statistically significant.
B) The difference between the two treatments is statistically significant.
