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Bio 001 Mat 2

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20 views

Bio 001 Mat 2

Uploaded by

ghenevwede1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BASIC BIOSTATISTICS

Definition and Meaning of Basic Biostatistics


Biostatistics is the scientific process of collecting, collating, analyzing, presenting, interpreting and
disseminating health and health-related data in estimating the magnitude of associations and testing
hypotheses.
Statistics therefore are pieces of facts or information generated from items, individuals or numbers that may
form values such as averages and rates. Biostatistics can further be defined as a biological science and a
branch of medicine that involves the processes of collection, collation, analysis, interpretation, presentation
of health and health- related information that may lead to conclusion and decision-making.
Statistics applied in biological sciences is simply called Biostatistics or Biometry meaning biological
measurement. Many investigations in the biological sciences measured quantitatively with observations
consisting of numerical information are called datum for singular and data for plural.
Statistics applied in biological sciences is simply called Biostatistics or Biometry meaning biological
measurement. Many investigations in the biological sciences measured quantitatively with observations
consisting of numerical information are called datum for singular and data for plural.

Branches of Basic Biostatistics


Biostatistics has two main branches:
1. Descriptive biostatistics concerned with summarizing and presenting data in understandable form
and
2. Inferential biostatistics that deals with drawing conclusions about a population based on
observations made on a subset (sample).

Applications of Basic Biostatistics


The followings are some important applications and uses of Biostatistics as veritable tool in health and
health-related areas:
1. In Disease Surveillance.
2. In Operation of Healthcare services such as; in the assessment of existing health conditions and their
place in interventions considering the merits of various methods. In providing information on changing
trends in health status in a given population.
3. In Public Health epidemiology, health services, healthcare policy and management.
4. In the evaluation of Healthcare services.
5. In decision-making e.g.in descriptive statistics, the researcher uses tables and diagrams to transform
collected data to meaningful information. The researcher uses probability parameters to measure the level
of certainty about an outcome. The researcher uses inferential statistics to draw conclusion about a large
body of data by examining only a part (sample) of it.
6. In prioritization of Healthcare service implementation e.g. the application of Biostatistics helps in
quantifying the magnitude of health and health-related problems and informs planning, implementation and
further evaluation of such services and programs.
7. In comparison of health indices e.g. in defining what is normal or healthy in a given population and the
limits of normal values; in finding the difference between means and proportions of normal values at two
places or in different periods.
8. For the projection of health trends
9. For the analysis of health and health-related data.
10. In Health Research e.g. in design and analysis of clinical and field trials in medicine e.g. testing
vaccines, drugs or interventions and finding out if differences observed are statistically significant. In drug
tests, e.g. finding the action of drugs, potency of new drugs and comparison of drugs. In epidemiological
studies when the role of causative factors are tested. To find out association between attributes in disease
causation. Testing the strength of associations and identified signs and symptoms of a disease or syndrome.
11. In population genetics, statistical genetics in order to link variation in genotype with a variation in
phenotype. This has been used in agriculture to improve crops and animal husbandry e.g. animal breeding.
12. In ecological forecasting
13. In biological sequence analysis.
14. In systems biology for gene network inference or pathways analysis.

STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Define Biostatistics.
2. Enumerate the main branches of Biostatistics.
3. State Six (6) applications of Biostatistics.

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