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Practical Statistics for Nursing and Health Care
Second Edition
Jim Fowler
Former Principal Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
Philip Jarvis
Statistician, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
and
Mel Chevannes
Professor of Nursing and Head of Department of Nursing, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
This second edition first published 2021
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Edition History John Wiley & Sons Ltd. (1e, 2002)
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Preface
Background
Demographic, economic, political and environmental changes have been taking place at a phenomenal pace, nationally and internationally. Many of these changes affect people's needs for health care. At the same time, the demand for health care mounts from a more informed public having access to information from online sources and websites. Campaigns for safe and speedy intervention determine the treatments available and those yet to enter the health care system. The twin axes of patients' safety and the personalized treatment they need require nurses and health care professionals to be confident in the use of statistics, for example, in calculating dosages in oral, liquid, tablet, intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous forms. Nurses and health care professionals should be familiar with the meanings and significance of the numbers they encounter in the context of the care they provide.
While it is estimated that there are already approximately 35 million nurses and midwives worldwide contributing to the total health care workforce, there are increasing numbers of other persons seeking to acquire nursing skills at different levels and in a variety of settings, for example, in hospitals, in the community, in the workplace and in people's own homes. One approach to increasing the number of people entering nursing has been to expand the educational programmes. The Long‐Term Plan for the NHS (2019 ) backs six routes into nursing, including a degree course and a pilot accelerated postgraduate programme.
In the United Kingdom, professional regulatory bodies, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018 ) established evidence‐based proficiency standards of care to underpin pre‐registration nursing education and practice. The proficiency standards of care require, amongst other forms of knowledge and skills, an understanding of relevant research and statistics.
Changes in the Context of Health Care
The context of health care is changing, most notably between primary care/home/community‐based services and those provided in acute hospitals. Public expectation of wellness and patterns of disease have also changed, for example, patient referral with symptoms indicative of cancer is more rapid, leading to quicker diagnosis and treatment.
