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In many medical schools, the teaching of statistics remains woefully
inadequate, the same problem existing in many undergraduate
courses for other healthcare professionals. Yet, more than ever, all
healthcare professionals need a firm understanding of key principles
of statistics. Practitioners of evidence-based care need to be able to
appraise scientific papers to see whether they answer the clinical
problem in question, and to assess the robustness of results presented.
Clinicians wishing to audit their practice need to be able accurately to
summarise and interpret their findings in order to learn whether they
are providing appropriate care. In addition, an increasing number of
practitioners wish to develop and conduct their own research in order
to answer important clinical questions.
Most books on statistics are written for the specialist, often being
full of formulae and jargon. This is unfortunate because computer
programs for performing statistical tests are readily available,
removing the need to perform long, complicated calculations. The
users of these programs still, however, need to know the principles
behind them so that they can chose correctly between the wide
variety of tests and techniques available. It is refreshing, therefore, to
come across a book that introduces key statistical issues in clear,
uncomplicated language. |
