Introduction to Biostatistics

SHEILA N. TANTE, MD, PHSAE

Research Unit – EVRMC
Tacloban City
What are Statistics? Y= X1a + X2b +X3c
+e
Why you should care?
• Without knowledge of statistics, you are lost.
• It’s a part of medical studies now and in your future
practice.
DATA
ANALYSIS
Why need to learn biostatistics?

•Essential for scientific method of investigation

–Formulate hypothesis
–Design study to objectively test hypothesis
–Collect reliable and unbiased data
–Process and evaluate data rigorously
–Interpret and draw appropriate conclusions

• •Essential for understanding, appraisal and

critique of scientific literature
You can:
• provide objective criteria for evaluating hypotheses
• Help synthesize information (not without information
loss… keep your raw data!)
• help detect patterns in messy data
• help optimize effort
• help you critically evaluate arguments
You can’t:
• tell the truth (probabilistic conclusions only!)
• compensate for poor design
• indicate biological significance: statistical
significance does not mean biological
significance, nor vice versa!
 Statistics definition

Regarded in 2 ways:
 as a method; which is the collection,
organization, analysis, interpretation, and
presentation of information that can be stated
numerically.

as data that refers to quantitative (specific

number) data affected to a marked extent by a
multiplicity of causes
 Biostatistics

is simply statistics as applied to the biological

sciences, health, and medicine.

it is concerned with collection, organization,

summarization and analysis of data.

We seek to draw inferences about a body of data

when only a part of the data is observed.
Why Biostatistics? What’s the difference?

• Because some statistical methods are more

heavily used in health applications than
elsewhere e.g. survival analysis, longitudinal
data analysis

• Illustrates how to apply methodology to

similar problems encountered in real life
 Uses of Statistics

• Almost all fields of study benefit from the

application of statistical methods
 Uses of Statistics
• To collect and use empirical data efficiently to gain
the most value with the least cost
• To use empirical data to describe the world around
us.
• Interpretation of data
• To use empirical data to understand the world
around us
• To characterize replicable processes
• To distinguish random noise from pattern
 Statistics
Specific number
– numerical measurement determined by a set of
data (sample)

Example: Twenty-three percent (23%) of people

interviewed said that they are aware of Dengvaxia
vaccination program.
 Data Classification
• Data are numbers which can be
measurements or can be obtained by
counting. 

• Biostatistics is concerned with the

interpretation of the data and the
communication of information about the
data.   

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 Other Data Classification
(according to subjects)

a) Demographic - i.e., population size, age, sex, geographical

distribution, births, mortality, etc.
b) Health Status – i.e. causes and distribution of morbidity
and mortality, as to residence, place of occurrence, age, sex,
etc.
c) Health Resources – i.e. number and distribution of health
facilities, health manpower, health expenditures, service
statistics, etc.
d) Health-related socio-economic environmental
factors - i.e. water supply, excreta disposal, school
enrolment, food establishments, income groups, transport,
food intake/habits, etc.
 Sources of data
Data are obtained from:
• Analysis of records
• Surveys
• Counting
• Experiments
• Reports
 Deductive and Inductive reasoning

•Deductive reasoning: general principles are applied to

the specific situation at hand in order to reach the best
decision possible for a particular patient. This type of
reasoning – from the general to the specific –

•Inductive reasoning: We study a few patients (or

experimental animals), and from what we observe. we
try to make rational inferences about what happens in
general. This type of reasoning – from the specific
subject(s) at hand to the general
 Probability
 The coverage of probability should be
closely tied to the subsequent coverage of
statistics.
 The key is to present the basic rules of
probability by using probability to describe
populations and random sampling from
populations.
 Use of realistic statistical examples.
 cs
bi l i ty ? ati sti
ob a St
Pr
Science of chance, Science of data
uncertainties
Collecting, processing,
What is possible? presentation, analyzing
What is probable? and interpretation of
data

Mathematical formula Numbers with context

 In Summary Biostatistics is…..

Data Statistical tool Information