Lesson 1 - Introduction to Biostatistics

Note* Biostatistics and Epidemiology will help us understand how data is collected, analyzed, and
interpreted to make it an information when the use will become an pa

Nature of Biostatistics

- Data
o raw material of statistics (kung wala nito, walang iaanalyzed,or ioorganize or
isasummarize)
o may also be define as numbers.
- Statistics
o a field of study concerned with the collection, organization, summarization, and analysis
of data (descriptive) and the drawing of interferences about a body of data when only a
part of the data is observed (inferential). Note* a part of data – sample (use to
represent the population)
- Biostatistics
o the application of statistical methods to the life sciences like biology, medicine, and
public health. Note* Public Health – science and art of preventing disease, prolonging
life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society
organization, public and private communities and individuals.
o It is a science that helps in managing medical uncertainties for example is incomplete
knowledge.
- Sir Francis Galton
o father of biostatistics
o known in his pioneering studies of human intelligence
o According to his theory – naniniwala siya na yung intelligence and most of the physical
and mental characteristics of human were inherited and biologically-based

Examples of questions where applications of biostatistics are crucial:

- What is the prevalence of diabetes among Filipinos? Note* Prevalence – existing new cases and
old cases

Examples of applications of Biostatistics:

- Smoking causes lung cancer.

- Is Lagundi is effective as the leading brand in treating cough and asthma.

Other Disciplines Requiring the Application of Biostatistics

- Epidemiology
o the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events
(including diseases), in a specified population and the application of this study to the
control of health problems. Note* Distribution – frequency & pattern of health events in
population; Frequency – refers not only on numbers but also to the relationship of that
number to the size of population; Pattern – refers to the occurrence of health related
events by time (e.g. seasonal, weekly, annual), place (e.g. geographic parasion) , and
 person (depends on behavior, environmental exposure, and socioeconomic status).
Determinants of health-related states and events – anything that causes and other
factors that influence the occurrence of disease and other health related events.
- Demography
o the scientific study of human population specifically the:
1. population size – pertains to the number of individuals in the population
2. population structure and composition – e.g. how the population is divided up
between male and female of different age groups.
distribution of population
3. Population distribution in space -
geographic area
o looks for the changes in population according into these three aspects and the factor
affecting these changes. Note* pedeng maapektuhan nito yung birthrate, death rate,
and migration (emigration and immigration).
- Health Economics
o A branch of economics concerned with the issues related to efficiency, effectiveness,
value, and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare.
o The way the health system is financed and organized is the key health determinant of
population health and well-being.
o Available funds are still insufficient to ensure equitable access to basic and essential
health services. In addition, health financing in many settings relies heavily upon in and
out packet payments made directly by the patient to providers. So, lack of ability to pay
prevent some people from seeking or continuing care. While, for those who seek care
gets financial burdens and some are pushed into poverty. As a result, raising additional
funds where health needs are high and revenues insufficient becomes the work of
health economics.
- Genetics and Genomics
o Genetics
 The study of heredity
 Scrutinize the functioning and composition of a single gene
o Genomics
 Study of genes and their functions and related techniques addresses all the
genes in their interrelationship in order to determine their combined influence
on the growth and development of the organizations.

Branches of Statistics

- Descriptive (dinedescribe lang!)

o used to describe the basic feature of the data in the study.
o provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures. Note* ginagamitan ng
mga central tendencies
o it only collects, summarize, and process data to transform data into information.
o ginagamitan siya ng iba’t ibang tools like tabulation, graphical presentation, measures of
central tendency dispersion and location.
o Example:
  Constructing statistical table to show the number of cph students according to
the degree of program
 Drawing a graph to present a number of infants given different types of vaccine
 Computing the mean age of BHWs in certain municipalities.
- Inferential
o Methods involved in order to make generalizations and conclusion about target
population based on results from a sample.
o Gumagawa ka ng intervention unlike descriptive
o Tumitingin kung may difference or association unlike descriptive na nagdedescribe ka
lang
o Includes 2 approaches:
 Estimation
 based on the distinction between the sample and population
 consist of guessing the value of the measure and population when only
the value of sample is known.
 Hypothesis Testing
 based on the distinction between the sample and population
 We make a hypothesis about a population
 Example:
o Determining the mean waiting of the patient time at OPD of
PGH based on the interviews done on a sample of patients
o Determining the trust rate of government official from the SWS
survey
o Determining if there is a difference between the prevalence of
smoking among students in public and private high school
o Types of Inferential Statistics

PARAMETRIC NON PARAMETRIC

Based on assumptions about the
distribution of population from
which the sample was taken.
Based on assumptions – NORMAL
distribution (bell shape –
mean=mode=median)
Not based on assumptions; the data can be
collected from a sample that does not follow a
specific distribution.
Not based on assumption – Not Normal
distribution

SCALE OF MEASUREMENT: SCALE OF MEASUREMENT: CATEGORICAL

QUANTITATIVE Nominal – define an attribute (e.g. gender,
Interval – interval between
observations in terms of fixed point
of measurements; no true value of 0
(e.g. temperature)
Ratio – the scale has a fundamental
zero point (e.g. age, income)
marital status)
Ordinal – rank or order the observations as
scores or categories from low to high in terms
of “more or less” (e.g. education,
attitude/opinion scale)

WHEN TO USE:
ANOVA
- Comparing the means
(average) of (more than
two) samples
- E.g. score of BSMT 1-2, 1-3,
and 1-4
Chi-Square Test
- Testing “goodness of fit” to
an assumed distribution.
F-test
- Comparing variances of 2
samples. Note* Variance –
measure of dispersion
t-test
- Comparing the mean to a
value, or the means of 2
samples
- less than 30 samples
z-test (u-test)
- as t-test but a large samples
- more than 30 samples

SITUATION PARAMETRIC NONPARAMETRIC

1. Data type Ratio or Interval Ordinal or Nominal
2. Usual central measure Mean Median
3. Correlation Test Pearson Spearman
4. Independent measures Independent measure t- Mann whitny-test
2 groups test
5. Independent measure One way independent Kruskal-wallis test
more than 2 groups measure ANOVA
6. Repeated Measure 2 Matched Pair t-test Wilcoxon test
conditions
7. Repeated measure One way repeated Friedman’s test
more than 2 conditions measure ANOVA