Course Syllabus

 SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE STUDIES

 BHS 247  Statistics for the Health Professional

Link

 

Credits:                       3

Course Instructor:       Yvonne Vissing.PhD

Professor, Department of Healthcare Studies

E-Mail:                        yvissing@salemstate.edu

Phone:                         978-542-6144

Office:                         240 Enterprise Center, Central Campus

Office Hours:              Before/after class and by appointment

 

Course Description:

This introductory course provides the students with statistical concepts used for analyzing health care research and data. Students will explore statistical methods for establishing correlations, interpreting trends, conducting time series analysis, and prediction. Probability and sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, effect size, and statistical power will be examined from a theoretical perspective.  Students will be prepared to critically examine research articles and utilize evidence based practice.

Required Texts:

Joseph Healey.  Essentials of Statistics. 2015.  Boston: Centage Publishers.

You will also need a calculator.  It can be on your phone or laptop as well as a hand-held calculator.  A simple one is fine – just must add, subtract, multiply, divide AND be able to do a square root!  No need to buy an expensive one. 

Recommended Texts:

APA. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6^th Ed. 

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

 

Boyle Single, P. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing: A streamlined process from choice of

            topic to final text. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing LLC.

 

DePoy, E. & Gitlin, L. (2011). Introduction to research: Understanding and applying multiple

            strategies. 4^th Ed. St. Louis, MI: Elsivier, Mosby.

 

Griffith, A. (2007). SPSS for Dummies, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, Publishing, Inc.

 

Keilhofner, G. (2006). Research in occupational therapy: Methods of inquiry for enhancing

            practice.  Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.

 

Kellar, S., & Kelvin, E.(2013). Munro’s statistical methods for health care research. 6^th Ed.

            Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

 

Stringer, E., & Genat, W. (200r) Action Research in Health.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

 

Teaching/Learning Methods:

Course instruction will include lecture, small and large group activities, in-class and/or online discussion and experiential learning with a focus on application of learned information to actual and fictitious research scenarios.

 

Global Goals:

1. Familiarize student with different statistical techniques used in health care.
2. Provide a theoretical foundations for statistics, probability, and hypothesis testing
3. Support use of statistical methods for examination of research data.
4. Develop student skills in interpretation of data
5. Become familiar with statistical software package SPSS

 

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the student will be able to:

1. Discuss basic language of statistics
2. Communicate data effectively
3. Identify the relevance and importance of statistics in health care research
4. Understand descriptive and inferential statistics
5. Be able to calculate basic descriptive and inferential statistics
6. Be able to analyze data and come up with meaningful results and explanations
7. Be able to use statistical information for policy and practical purposes

 

Course Materials

 

In Healy’s book, you will focus on the following chapters:

Chapter 1        Introduction to Statistics

Part I               Descriptive Statistics

Chapter 2        Basic Descriptive Statistics

Chapter 3        Measures of Central Tendency

Chapter 4        Measures of Dispersion

Chapter 5        The Normal Curve

MIDTERM     The midterm will focus on Descriptive Statistics.  The test will consist of the following types of questions:

            Multiple Choice

            True/False

            Short Answer

            Calculations

            Analysis and Reporting

Part II              Inferential Statistics

Chapter 6        Intro to Inferential Statistics, Sampling Distribution

Chapter 7        Hypothesis Testing: Rules and Theory

Chapter 8        Hypothesis Testing: 1 and 2 Samples

Chapter 9        Analysis of Variance

Chapter 10      Chi Square

Chapter 12      Regression and Correlation

FINAL EXAM   The final will focus on hypothesis testing and chapters 6 - 10, 12.  It will also make use of SPSS analytical techniques.

 

Policies and Procedures:

Salem State University is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act and The Americans with Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations, aids and adjustments. Any student who has a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately. Students with Disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule an appointment with the Office for Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services.

Salem State University assumes that all students come to the University with serious educational intent and expects them to be mature, responsible individuals who will exhibit high standards of honesty and personal conduct in their academic life. All members of the Salem State University academic community have a responsibility to insure that scholastic honesty and academic integrity are safeguarded and maintained. Cheating and plagiarism are unfair, demoralizing, and demeaning to all of us. Cheating, plagiarism, and collusion in dishonest activities are serious acts which erode the University’s educational role and cheapen and diminish the learning experience not only for the perpetrators, but also for the entire community. It is expected that Salem State University students will understand and subscribe to the ideal of academic integrity and that they will be willing to bear individual responsibility for their work. Materials (written or otherwise) submitted to fulfill academic requirements must represent a student’s own efforts.

 Attendance and/or regular participation is expected for all classes. It is mandatory to notify the course instructor of any absence from class.

It is expected that all work submitted meet the academic standards as specified in the SSU Catalog and Student Handbook. Papers must be typed and referenced in APA 6^th Ed format unless otherwise specified. A student dissatisfied with his/her grade on written assignments may request to meet with the faculty member to review the paper.

In the event of a university declared critical emergency, Salem State University reserves the right to alter this course plan. Students should refer to salemstate.edu for further information and updates. The course attendance policy stays in effect until there is a college declared critical emergency. In the event of an emergency, please refer to the alternative educational plans for this course located in the OT Lab policy manual. Students should review the plans and gather all required materials before an emergency is declared

 An appointment should be scheduled with the course instructor to discuss any questions or comments pertaining to grades or assignments.

 

Grading Criteria:

 A             =             93-100                   C+           =             77-79                     D-           =             60-62

A-           =             90-92                     C             =             73-76                     F              =             Below 60

B+           =             87-89                     C-            =             70-72    

B             =             83-86                     D+          =             67-69    

B-            =             80-82                     D             =             63-66

 

Course Assignments

 

Module 1:       Scholar versus Lay Use of Statistics            (5%)

Module 2:       Homework: Descriptive Statistics                (20%)

Module 3:       Midterm Exam: Descriptive Statistics         (20%)

Module 4:       Homework Inferential Statistics                  (20%)

Module 5:       Final:  Inferential Statistics                          (25%)

Module 6:       Revisiting Scholar versus Lay Use of Statistics: What Have You Learned? (5%)

Participation and Professional Behavior (5% of Grade)

 

Communication is crucial to professional development.  Examples of professional behavior include: attending regular classes, arriving to class on time, contacting faculty if you are late, or will be absent from class, effectively communicating issues of concern with faculty or peers, maintaining professional body language, helping classmates, answering questions, participating in class, and turning in assignments in on time.

 

Course Outline

 

Modules	Weekly Course Content	Course Readings
1	Introduction Lay versus Scholar Use of Statistics	H   Preface, 1 Class assignment
2	Descriptive Statistics	H  2-5
3	Midterm,	H 1-5 + class
4	Inferential Statistics Parametric Statistics Nonparametric Statistics	H 6-10, 12
5	Inferential Exam	H 6-10, 12, + class
6	Revisiting Scholar vs Lay Use of Statistics	paper
8	Participation