Question: 1- I was in the same mind frame Sarah, how will I use statistics in my field? If I stop and think about it now, it is used with so much. Like your example an increase in falls and UTI's. My place of work is using hand hygiene observations and rechecking of abnormal blood pressure readings. I believe the BP rechecks are being tracked to increase the awareness of possible patients that may need to be referred back to their PCP's for further evaluation regarding HTN. Our goal in our clinic is to be at at least 70% by the end of the year. I was never a math wiz, so I pray that I don't struggle too much with this class.
2- I agree, if we don't do our own research to be sure the data is coming from a crediable source/study, we could be giving out false information. What if we took this information and gave it to our patient and it lead to a poor outcome. I try to take what I hear and see with a grain of salt, because I know that the information is more than likely not the whole truth. If I truly am interested, I would take the time to research the information for myself. I'm very tight lipped when it comes to spouting of statistics about anything, for one I don't know it for fact, I did not do the research.
3- You are right, if the person being surveyed is not honest this could definitely skew the results. We do depression screenings on all of our patients (12 and up) that are being seen in our office for their yearly physical. The providers have noticed that the younger patients are not honest on their paper screening if a parent is in the room with them when they are filling it out, but they will be honest with the provider when the parent is out of the room. We have used this to now remove the parent from the room (with their consent) to allow the child to fill out the questionnaire in privacy (we also step out of the room). By doing this, the providers are finding that they are getting more accurate answers on paper and when they ask them during the appointment.