Abstract
BackgroundAlthough a substantial number of studies focus on the teaching and application of medical statistics in China, few studies comprehensively evaluate the recognition of and demand for medical statistics. In addition, the results of these various studies differ and are insufficiently comprehensive and systematic.ObjectivesThis investigation aimed to evaluate the general cognition of and demand for medical statistics by undergraduates, graduates, and medical staff in China.MethodsWe performed a comprehensive database search related to the cognition of and demand for medical statistics from January 2007 to July 2014 and conducted a meta-analysis of non-controlled studies with sub-group analysis for undergraduates, graduates, and medical staff.ResultsThere are substantial differences with respect to the cognition of theory in medical statistics among undergraduates (73.5%), graduates (60.7%), and medical staff (39.6%). The demand for theory in medical statistics is high among graduates (94.6%), undergraduates (86.1%), and medical staff (88.3%). Regarding specific statistical methods, the cognition of basic statistical methods is higher than of advanced statistical methods. The demand for certain advanced statistical methods, including (but not limited to) multiple analysis of variance (ANOVA), multiple linear regression, and logistic regression, is higher than that for basic statistical methods. The use rates of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and statistical analysis software (SAS) are only 55% and 15%, respectively.ConclusionThe overall statistical competence of undergraduates, graduates, and medical staff is insufficient, and their ability to practically apply their statistical knowledge is limited, which constitutes an unsatisfactory state of affairs for medical statistics education. Because the demand for skills in this area is increasing, the need to reform medical statistics education in China has become urgent.
Highlights
Medical statistics is an applied discipline that combines statistical principles and methods for data collection, collation, analysis, and inference with their applications in medical research [1,2,3]
The surveys reported by Tang Juan and others indicate that 95.5% of clinicians cannot use more complex, advanced statistical methods, such as multiple linear regression and survival analysis, and only 13.0% of clinicians are familiar with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) or software or statistical analysis software (SAS) [22]
Fewer than 55% of graduates express a demand for advanced statistical methods [20]. These results suggest that among undergraduates, graduates, and medical staff with different education levels, many understood of and could apply commonly used, basic statistical methods
Summary
Medical statistics is an applied discipline that combines statistical principles and methods for data collection, collation, analysis, and inference with their applications in medical research [1,2,3]. In the 21st century, knowledge of medical statistics has become a required tool for clinicians and researchers who engage in clinical work and scientific research [4,5,6,7]. Because of an inadequate grasp of medical statistics, these students lack the skills necessary for the application of statistical design and analysis. The results of these various studies differ and are insufficiently comprehensive and systematic
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