Analytical Methods of Healthcare Leaders -
D514(126 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS)
In conversations with her patients, a physical therapist notices that
patients who are on Workman's Compensation and have supportive
supervisors, eager for them to return to work, have more positive
outcomes in rehabilitation than those patients whose supervisors have
a negative attitude toward their employee's injury: insisting they not
return to work until they are at 100% because if anything less they are
"useless to the job".
What type of test could the therapist use to see if these two factors
have a measurable relationship?
Linear regression
Data analysts at a large metropolitan hospital need to determine risk
factors associated with readmission within 30 days via the hospital's
emergency room among patients with COPD. The variables of interest
include age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and family
support. Which statistical technique should be used?
Regression analysis
Several community health centers across a rural state are gathering
data on their pre-diabetic patients and using A1c levels as a baseline
measurement to include patients in a research project. Three different
interventions will be applied.
,One group of patients will receive a special diet to follow; the second
group will work with physical therapists on a regular exercise program;
the third group will follow the diet and engage in the exercise.
Which statistical test will be appropriate to use to determine which
treatment is most effective in controlling pre-diabetes?
ANOVA
A hospital CFO is analyzing the cost benefits of using the patient
reminder system, which was implemented over a year ago, to see if the
automated system results in less missed appointments ("no-shows").
She is comparing quarterly reports from this past year on volume of
patients who did not show up to their appointments, to the volume of
patients of the previous year, who did not show up to their
appointments, to see if the automated system has proven effective. She
is considering other variables as she reviews the data, but is primarily
analyzing the number of "no-show" patients from last year's quarterly
reports to this year's.
time series
There are two standard treatments for children with ADHD who display
a specific set of characteristics. One treatment is a cognitive behavioral
intervention, and the other is a dietary and biomedical intervention.
Both treatments have equally strong clinical evidence supporting their
efficacy. A researcher proposes a comparison of the two interventions
to determine which is preferable. The children will be randomized to
one of two groups: half of the children will receive the cognitive
behavioral intervention and the other half of the children will receive
, the dietary and biomedical intervention. Which test is appropriate to
determining the preferable treatment?
Cross-sectional
The vice president, CMO, and Operations Team collected data on
resources used by patients who have undergone coronary bypass and
the length of stays for a defined population of patients who received
CABG surgery. Since the raw data is complex to discuss and evaluate,
the team will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data to support
their decisions for recommendations.
Which of the following descriptive statistics could prove the most
useful?
The mean (average) length of stay and
The mean number of providers seeing each patient each day
Operates through CDC; the National Health Care Surveys are designed
to answer key questions of interest to health care policy makers, public
health professionals, and researchers.
National Healthcare Survey
Operates through the CDC: data on birth, death, marriages, divorces,
and fetal deaths.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Incidence and prevalence of diseases, survival statistics, high-risk
populations, trends over time. Data gathered from medical records,
surveys, interviews. NCHS has responsibility for these databases.
Public Health Databases
D514(126 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS)
In conversations with her patients, a physical therapist notices that
patients who are on Workman's Compensation and have supportive
supervisors, eager for them to return to work, have more positive
outcomes in rehabilitation than those patients whose supervisors have
a negative attitude toward their employee's injury: insisting they not
return to work until they are at 100% because if anything less they are
"useless to the job".
What type of test could the therapist use to see if these two factors
have a measurable relationship?
Linear regression
Data analysts at a large metropolitan hospital need to determine risk
factors associated with readmission within 30 days via the hospital's
emergency room among patients with COPD. The variables of interest
include age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and family
support. Which statistical technique should be used?
Regression analysis
Several community health centers across a rural state are gathering
data on their pre-diabetic patients and using A1c levels as a baseline
measurement to include patients in a research project. Three different
interventions will be applied.
,One group of patients will receive a special diet to follow; the second
group will work with physical therapists on a regular exercise program;
the third group will follow the diet and engage in the exercise.
Which statistical test will be appropriate to use to determine which
treatment is most effective in controlling pre-diabetes?
ANOVA
A hospital CFO is analyzing the cost benefits of using the patient
reminder system, which was implemented over a year ago, to see if the
automated system results in less missed appointments ("no-shows").
She is comparing quarterly reports from this past year on volume of
patients who did not show up to their appointments, to the volume of
patients of the previous year, who did not show up to their
appointments, to see if the automated system has proven effective. She
is considering other variables as she reviews the data, but is primarily
analyzing the number of "no-show" patients from last year's quarterly
reports to this year's.
time series
There are two standard treatments for children with ADHD who display
a specific set of characteristics. One treatment is a cognitive behavioral
intervention, and the other is a dietary and biomedical intervention.
Both treatments have equally strong clinical evidence supporting their
efficacy. A researcher proposes a comparison of the two interventions
to determine which is preferable. The children will be randomized to
one of two groups: half of the children will receive the cognitive
behavioral intervention and the other half of the children will receive
, the dietary and biomedical intervention. Which test is appropriate to
determining the preferable treatment?
Cross-sectional
The vice president, CMO, and Operations Team collected data on
resources used by patients who have undergone coronary bypass and
the length of stays for a defined population of patients who received
CABG surgery. Since the raw data is complex to discuss and evaluate,
the team will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data to support
their decisions for recommendations.
Which of the following descriptive statistics could prove the most
useful?
The mean (average) length of stay and
The mean number of providers seeing each patient each day
Operates through CDC; the National Health Care Surveys are designed
to answer key questions of interest to health care policy makers, public
health professionals, and researchers.
National Healthcare Survey
Operates through the CDC: data on birth, death, marriages, divorces,
and fetal deaths.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Incidence and prevalence of diseases, survival statistics, high-risk
populations, trends over time. Data gathered from medical records,
surveys, interviews. NCHS has responsibility for these databases.
Public Health Databases
