BASIC BIOSTATISTICS

#1
PubH 2012

Tolesa Bekele (MPH, Assist Professor)

Dep’t of Public Health
Feb 2017
 • What do you expect from this
Course?

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 Course objectives
At the end of the course students will be able
to:
– Define statistics and biostatistics
– Describe the role of statistics in health sciences
and explain the main uses of statistical methods
in the broader field of health care;
– Describe methods of data collection, recording,
coding and handling data;
– Calculate measures of central tendency and
dispersion and present data in the form of
tables, graphs, etc.
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 Course objectives
– Understand principles of probability
– Apply different techniques of sampling;
– Explain the context and meaning of statistical
estimation and statistical significance.
– Determine sample size
– Understand hypothesis testing and measures
of association
– ..\..\Biostatistics course outline MPH Jan
[Link]
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 Methods of Instruction
• Lectures
• Take-home assignments
• In-class practical exercises
• Questions and answers
• Group discussions
• Independent reading on exercises
• Attendance at classes is strictly compulsory

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 Introduction to biostatistics
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• After completing this session, the student
will be able to:
 Define Statistics and Biostatistics
 Describe the importance and limitations of
statistics

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 Introduction to biostatistics

What is statistics?
• Statistics: A field of study concerned with:
– Collection
– Organization,
– Analysis,
– Summarization and interpretation of
numerical data, and
– Drawing of inferences about a body of data
when only a small part of the data is observed.
• Statistics helps us to use numbers to
communicate ideas
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 Introduction to Bio….

What is Statistical data?

• It refers to numerical descriptions of things.
• These descriptions may take the form of counts
or measurements.
Eg: statistics of malaria cases in one of malaria
detection and treatment posts of Ethiopia include
 fever cases, number of positives obtained, sex
and age distribution of positive cases, etc.

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 Characteristics of statistical data
• In order that numerical descriptions may be called
statistics they must possess the following
characteristics:
1. They must be in aggregates – This means that
statistics are „number of facts‟
• A single fact, even though numerically stated, cannot
be called statistics.
2. They must be affected to a marked extent by a
multiplicity of causes- statistics are aggregates of
facts only as grow out of a 'variety of circumstances'.
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 Characteristics of statistical…

3. They must be enumerated or estimated according

to a reasonable standard of accuracy

4. They must have been collected in a systematic

manner for a predetermined purpose.
 It should be compiled in a properly planned manner
and for a purpose about which the enumerator had a
definite idea.

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 Characteristics of statistical..

5. They must be placed in relation to each other

 They must be comparable
 Numerical facts may be placed in relation to each
other either in point of time, space or condition.

 Statistics are everywhere – just look at any

newspaper or the current medical and public health
literature.

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 What does Statistical Methods Mean?
• It refers to a body of methods that are used for
collecting, organizing, analyzing and interpreting
numerical data for understanding a phenomenon or
making wise decisions.
• It is a branch of scientific method and helps us to
know in a better way the object under study.
• When the different statistical methods are applied in
biological, medical and public health data they
constitute the discipline of Biostatistics.

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 Definition of Biostatistics
“bio” - life; “statistics” – science dealing with the
collection, organization, analysis and interpretation of
numerical data.
Biostatistics: The application of statistical methods to
the life sciences like biology, medicine and public
health.
• It is concerned with interpretation of biological data
& the communication of information derived from
these data

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 Reasons to know about biostatistics:

• Medicine is becoming increasingly quantitative.

• The planning, conducting and interpretation of much

of medical research are becoming increasingly reliant
on the statistical methodology.

• Statistics pass through the medical literature.

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 What are the Roles of Biostatistics in
Clinical Medicine?
• Documentation of medical history of diseases.

• Planning and conduct of clinical studies.

• Evaluating the merits of different procedures.

• In providing methods for definition of “normal” and

“abnormal”.

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 Roles of Biostatistics in patient care
• In increasing awareness regarding diagnostic,
therapeutic and predict uncertainties and providing
rules of probability to delineate those uncertainties

• In providing methods to integrate chances with value

judgments that could be most beneficial to patient

• In providing methods such as:

 sensitivity-specificity and predictivites that help

choose valid tests for patient assessment
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 What are the Roles of Biostatistics in
Preventive Medicine?
• To provide the magnitude of any health problem in
the community.

• To find out the basic factors underlying the ill-health.

• To evaluate the health programs which was

introduced in the community (success/failure).

• To introduce and promote health legislation.

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 Role of Biostatics in Health Planning
and Evaluation
• In carrying out a valid and reliable health situation
analysis, including in proper summarization and
interpretation of data.
• In proper evaluation of the achievements and failures
of a health programme
• Evaluation of a new vaccine or drug
– What can be concluded if the proportion of people free
from the disease is greater among the vaccinated than the
unvaccinated?
– How effective is the vaccine (drug)?
– Is the effect due to chance or some bias?
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 Role of Biostatistics in Medical
Research
• In developing a research design that can minimize the
impact of uncertainties

• In assessing reliability and validity of tools and

instruments to collect the information

• In proper analysis of data

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 Example: Evaluation of Penicillin (treatment A) vs
Penicillin & Chloramphenicol (treatment B) for treating
bacterial pneumonia in children< 2 yrs.
• What is the sample size needed to demonstrate the significance
of one group against other?
• Is treatment A better than treatment B or vice versa?
 If so, how much better?
• What is the normal variation in clinical measurement?
 (mild, moderate & severe)
• How reliable and valid is the measurement ? (clinical &
radiological) ?
• What is the magnitude and effect of laboratory and technical
error ?
• How does one interpret abnormal values ?
 What does biostatistics cover?
Research Planning

Design The best way to

Biostatistical learn about
thinking biostatistics is to
Execution (Data collection)
contribute in follow the flow of a
every step in a research from
Data Processing
research inception to the
final publication
Data Analysis

Presentation

Interpretation
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Publication
 Types of Statistics
1. Descriptive statistics: are a means of organizing and
summarizing observations.
• Allow us to identify the general patterns in a large
set of data and extracting useful information
without conducting a formal test of a hypothesis
• Generate Hypothesis
• Also very important in conveying the final results of
a study
 Example: tables, graphs, numerical summary
measures
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 Types of Statistics…
2. Inferential statistics:
• Methods used for drawing conclusions about a
population based on the information obtained from a
sample of observations drawn from that population
• Example: Principles of probability, estimation,
confidence interval, comparison of two or more
means or proportions, hypothesis testing, etc.
• Tests the hypothesis

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 Types of Statistics …

 Descriptive Statistics  Inferential Statistics

Collect Predict and forecast
Organize values of population
Summarize parameters
Display Test hypotheses
about values of
Analyze data
population
parameters
Make decisions
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 Limitations of statistics

• It deals with only quantitatively measured and

numerically expressed data
• It deals on aggregates of facts and no importance is
attached to individual items
 Suited only if their group characteristics are desired
to be studied
• Statistical data are only approximately and not
mathematically correct

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 Basic concepts in biostatistics
Data : Set of values of one or more variables recorded
on one or more observational units

Sources of data 1. Routinely kept records

2. Surveys (census)
3. Experiments
4. External source
Categories of data
1. Primary data: observation, questionnaire, record form,
interviews, survey,
2. Secondary data: census, medical record, registry etc
 Basic concepts in biostatistics..
Research Design
• We can not study all subjects (e.g. all pregnant women,
or all people) living in a given geographical area
– Sampling technique
– Inclusion/exclusion criteria
– Sample size calculation
– Study design
– Method of data collection
– Etc

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 Basic concepts in biostatistics..

• Parameter: A descriptive measure computed

from the data of a population.
– E.g., the mean (µ) age of the target population
• Statistic: A descriptive measure computed from
the data of a sample.
– E.g., sample mean age ( )

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 Population and Sample
• Population: Refers to any collection of objects
• Target population: A collection of items that
have something in common for which we wish to
draw conclusions at a particular time.
• E.g., All hospitals in Ethiopia
– The whole group of interest
• Study (Sampled) Population: The subset of the
target population that has at least some chance of
being sampled
• The specific population group from which samples
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are drawn and data are collected
 Population
• Role of statistics
in using information
from a sample to make
inferences about the
population

Information

Sample

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 E.g.: In a study of the prevalence
of HIV among adolescents in
AA, a random sample of
adolescents in Lideta Kifle
Ketema of AA were included.

Sample Target Population: All

adolescents in AA
Study Population Study population: All
adolescents in Lideta Kifle
Target Population Ketema
Sample: Adolescents in Lideta
Kifle Ketema who were included
in the study

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 Draw conclusions
Collect information
about a rather
from a relatively
LARGE population
SMALL sample

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 Basic concepts in biostatistics..
Analysis:
• Analysis part is the major part of learning about
biostatistics
– There are dozens of different methods of analysis,
which makes difficult the choice of the correct
method for a particular case
– It is necessary to consider the philosophy that
underlies all methods of analysis:
• Use data from a sample to draw inference
about a wider population
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 Basic concepts in biostatistics..
Interpretation:
• Interpretation of results of statistical analysis is
not always straightforward, but is simpler when
the study has a clearer aim

• If the study has been well designed and correctly

analyzed the interpretation of results can be fairly
simple

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 Basic concepts in biostatistics..
Generalizability:
• Is a two-stage procedure:
• We need to be able to generalize from:
– the sample to the study population, &
– then from the study population to the target
population
• If the sample is not representative of the
population, the conclusions are restricted to the
sample & don‟t have general applicability
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