PAHS: 306 Health Statistics and Information

Introduction to Biostatistics

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 Outline
❑Biostatistics

❑Data

❑Variable

❑Measurement scales

❑Nominal scale

❑Ordinal scale

❑Interval scale

❑Ratio scale

❑Trial tests

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 Learning objectives
❑At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:

– Explain data and the various sources of obtaining

data

– State and explain the various types of variables

– Explain the various types of scales used in statistical

research

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 Biostatistics
❑ The term statistics is
used in almost every ❑When the data to be
discipline to mean used are derived from
different things the biological sciences
and medicine, it is
◦ Business statistics called
______Biostatistics
◦ Social statistics

◦ Biostatistics
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The biostatical research process
Initial observation
Data
(research question)

Generate theory

Identify variables Generate hypothesis

Measure variables Collect data to test theory

Graph data
Analyse data
Fit a model
 Data
❑ Data refer to the raw ❑ Statistics is concerned
material of statistics with two things:

▪ The collection,
❑ Data are streams of organisation,
raw facts representing summary and analysis
events occurring in of data
organizations or the
physical environment ▪ Drawing inferences
before they are from a body of data
when only a part of
processed for use the data is observed
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 Sources of health data

❑Routine records – births and deaths, patient records,

administrative records, claims records

❑Surveys

❑Experiments – medical and non-medical experiments

❑External sources (e.g. published reports, data banks

etc)

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 Data
• Data may be gotten from a population or a
sample
Largest collection of subjects Example, collecting data
for which a researcher has from a sample of students
interest
to:

• determine their
experience using
university health services

• Their satisfaction with

Part or sub-set teaching and learning
of a population
 Variable
❑A characteristic that takes on different values
in different persons, places or things

❑Examples
▪ Age
▪ Gender
▪ Health status
▪ Profession
▪ Wellbeing

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 Variables cont.
❑Variables may be classified as:
▪ Quantitative
▪ Qualitative

Or
▪ Radom variable
▪ Discrete random variable
▪ Continuous random variable

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 Quantitative variable
❑ A variable that can be measured in the usual sense

❑ Variable that can be recorded on a naturally occurring

numerical scale

❑ Example
▪ Height of stunted children
▪ Weight of teenage mothers
▪ Number medical checks ups

❑ Quantitative variables usually involve the use of numeric

to explain phenomenon

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 Qualitative variable

Variable that cannot be quantified

Variable that can not be measured on a natural

numerical scale

Examples

• Patient condition
• Health worker qualification
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• Care quality
• Patient experience
 Random variable
❑ Values that cannot be exactly predicted in advance

❑ They assume numerical values from a random

phenomenon

❑ Two types of random variables

▪ Discrete

▪ Continuous

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 Discrete random variable
❑ A variable characterized by gaps or interruptions in the values
that it assume

❑ They assume countable number of distinct values

❑ Examples
◦ Number of patients reporting for elective surgeries be given as
◦ X = 0,1,2,3…..n

◦ Number of seizures an epileptic patient has in a given week:

◦ X = 0,2,3,4……n

◦ Number of patients seen by a doctor in a day

◦ X = 1,2,3,4…….n

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 Continuous random variable
❑ Does not posses gaps or interruptions characteristic of discrete random
variable

❑ It can assume any value within a specified relevant interval of values

❑ They are usually measurements

Example
▪ Height

▪ Weight

▪ Distance

▪ Time

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 Measurement and measurement
scales
❑ Measurement: the assignment of numbers to objects or events according to
a set of rules

❑ Measurement scales arises from the fact that measurement may be carried
out under different set of rules

❑ Four types of measurement scales

▪ Nominal

▪ Ordinal

▪ Interval

▪ Ratio

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 Nominal scale
❑ Naming observations or classifying them into various
mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive
categories

❑ Examples

▪ Male/Female

▪ Genotype

▪ Blood type

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 Ordinal scale
❑ Observations that can be ranked according to some criterion

Example

❑ Cancer patients may be classified according socioeconomic status such

as:

– Low, Medium, High

❑ The conditions of patients recovering from surgical procedures may be

categorised as:

– Fairly improved, improved and very much improved

❑ Did you notice that the examples are ranked in order of magnitude?
 Interval scale
❑ This type of scale can be ordered and the distance between any
two measurement is known

❑ Example
❑ The age of patients reporting for outpatient care may be played
on an interval scale as follows:

15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34

❑ Note that the age groups are ordered and with the same intervals

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 Ratio scale
❑ The highest level of measurement is the ratio scale

❑ Ratio scale has the properties of magnitude, equal intervals

and absolute zero points

• Examples
▪ Height
▪ Weight
▪ Length

❑ For a measurement scale to have absolute zero point, it means that in

theory, at one end of the scale, nothing at all of the attribute being
measured exists.

❑ Example:
❑ Weight of 0 kg means no weight
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Variables and scales

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Properties of the scales of
measurement

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 Assignment 1
❑ A study is conducted to determine the impact of COVID-19 on
socio-economic wellbeing.

❑ Design a suitable questionnaire by including two questions or

variables each under the four scales of measurement:

– Nominal
– Ordinal
– interval
– Ratio

❑ Note: do not include demographic variables, eg. Age, sex,

education etc.

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 Individual assignment 2
❑Identify the following variables as either discrete
or continuous

1. The amount of flu vaccine in a syringe

2. The heartbeat per minute of a hypertensive patient
3. The barometric pressure of a given location
4. The number of surgical errors committed in a hospital
5. The distance travelled by a hospital ambulance each day
6. The time taken by a doctor to complete consultation
7. The respiratory record of a severe accident patient in the ICU

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Thank you

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