Question 1

Which statistic represents the number of individuals in a specific category divided by the number of individuals in the category?

Accepted Answer

A

Question 2

Data collected from births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, deaths, and fetal deaths are all considered

Accepted Answer

Data collected from births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, deaths, and fetal deaths are all considered vital statistics. Vital statistics are official records of life events that are collected and maintained by government agencies for public health purposes, such as monitoring disease trends and assessing health outcomes.

Question 3

Which denominator is appropriate for computing the maternal death rate?

Accepted Answer

The appropriate denominator for computing the maternal death rate is the total discharges (including deaths) of obstetrical patients. This is because maternal death refers to the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy, and obstetrical patients are those who are pregnant, in labor, or have recently given birth. Therefore, including all hospital discharges, including surgical patients, would not provide an accurate representation of the maternal death rate. Only obstetrical patients should be included in the denominator.

Question 4

Which is a measure of dispersion that is computed by taking the square root of the variance, thereby demonstrating how the values are spread around the mean?

Accepted Answer

Standard deviation is the measure that demonstrates how the values are spread around the mean by taking the square root of the variance.

Question 5

What is the term for the number of new cases of a disease?

Accepted Answer

The term for the number of new cases of a disease is incidence.

Question 6

Which statistic is most appropriate to use when describing ordinal or ranked data?

Accepted Answer

Ordinal or ranked data involves the order or ranking of the variables, so the most appropriate statistic would be the median, as it represents the middle value in the ranked data. The mean is not appropriate for ordinal data because it assumes that the variables are evenly spaced, which is not necessarily true for ranked data. The mode is not useful because it does not provide any information about the order of the variables, and the standard deviation is not relevant for ordinal data because it assumes interval or ratio data.

Question 7

Which of the following retains the original vital statistics certificate for permanent filing?

Accepted Answer

The state registrar retains the original vital statistics certificate for permanent filing, as they are responsible for maintaining all vital records for the state. NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics) is a federal agency that provides oversight and guidance for vital statistics reporting but does not retain the original certificates. Hospitals may retain a copy of the certificate but are not responsible for permanent filing.

Question 8

When should the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) be used?

Accepted Answer

The SMR should be used when age-specific rates are not available.

Question 9

What is the major difference between the gross and net autopsy rates?

Accepted Answer

The major difference is that the net autopsy rate excludes unautopsied coroner's cases, which means it provides a rate based on the autopsies actually performed excluding those cases not autopsied under the jurisdiction of a coroner or medical examiner.

Question 10

A type I error is when the researcher

Accepted Answer

A type I error occurs when the null hypothesis is true, but the researcher rejects it. This means that the researcher concludes that there is a significant effect, when in fact there is not.

Question 11

When two groups have very different means, it is best to compare their

Accepted Answer

The coefficient of variation is a standardized measure of dispersion of a probability distribution or frequency distribution. It is useful for comparing the degree of variation from one data series to another, even if the means are drastically different.

Question 12

The ranking of variables according to some criterion is called _____ data.

Accepted Answer

The ranking of variables is based on a specific order, hence making it ordinal data. Nominal data is categorical data without any order, discrete data takes on a limited set of values, and continuous data can take on any value within a range.

Question 13

What is the term for the number of existing cases of a disease?

Accepted Answer

Prevalence refers to the number of existing cases of a disease in a population at a specific time. Incidence, on the other hand, refers to the number of new cases of a disease that occur within a specified period of time. Mortality refers to the number of deaths caused by a disease or condition, while morbidity refers to the prevalence of illness or disease in a population.

Question 14

When intervals are used in frequency distribution tables, the intervals should be

Accepted Answer

Intervals in frequency distribution tables should be of equal width to ensure consistency and comparability, have endpoints that do not overlap to avoid ambiguity in which interval an observation belongs to, and typically, the number of intervals should be between 5 and 20 to balance detail and comprehensibility.

Question 15

What is the major disadvantage of the range?

Accepted Answer

The major disadvantage of the range as a measure of dispersion is that it is based on the two extreme values (the highest and the lowest) in a data set and ignores all other values. This can make the range unrepresentative of the variability in the entire data set, especially if the data contains outliers.

Question 16

What was the average length of stay for the following patients: 4, 3, 2, 5, 5,10?

Accepted Answer

To find the average length of stay, we add up all the lengths of stay and divide by the total number of patients: (4+3+2+5+5+10)/6 = 29/6 = 4.8. Therefore, the answer is B.

Question 17

If a hospital has an SMR of 2.53 for a specific DRG, this means that the hospital has a _____% higher mortality for the DRG than was expected.

Accepted Answer

The SMR (Standardized Mortality Ratio) measures the ratio of observed deaths in a hospital for a specific DRG compared to the expected deaths based on the general population. An SMR of 2.53 means that the hospital had 2.53 times more deaths than expected. To calculate the percentage increase in mortality, we subtract 1 from the SMR (2.53 - 1 = 1.53) and multiply it by 100 to get the percentage (1.53 x 100 = 153%). Therefore, the hospital has a 153% higher mortality for the DRG than expected.

Question 18

What type of data is weight, height, temperature, pulse, cost, or charges in dollars?

Accepted Answer

Weight, height, temperature, pulse, cost, and charges in dollars are all measurements that can be expressed as continuous data because they can take on any value within a certain range.

Question 19

A sample is a subset of a population that is valid if it is a True representation of

Accepted Answer

A sample is considered valid if it accurately represents the population from which it was drawn. This means that the sample's characteristics, such as age or gender distribution, should reflect those of the population. The mean or median of the population may or may not be relevant, depending on the research question.

Question 20

What is an infection called that occurs more than 72 hours after admission?

Accepted Answer

A nosocomial infection is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or healthcare setting. It is also known as a healthcare-associated infection (HAI). If the infection occurs more than 72 hours after admission, it is considered to be a nosocomial infection. Community-acquired infections are acquired outside of a hospital or healthcare setting, while comorbidity refers to the presence of one or more additional medical conditions that occur simultaneously with the primary condition. Complication refers to a negative outcome that occurs as a result of a medical condition or treatment.

Quiz 10: Statistics and Data Presentation