Introduction
Statistics have an essential place in modern-day healthcare, directly affecting its most significant components. In particular, the correct application of statistics contributes to the quality and safety of care and promotes beneficial health practices. Furthermore, statistics can point to more effective leadership practices, improving the care process. This paper utilizes a two-pronged design to underscore the significance of statistics. In the first section, the application of statistics is discussed in a general context, as evidence provided supports the notion of statistics playing an important role in quality, safety, leadership, and health promotion aspects of care. In the second section, statistics are reviewed from the perspective of the home care area of the nursing specialty. Both sections depict statistics as one of the most valuable instruments in contemporary healthcare.
Discussion
In terms of quality, statistics present the necessary data for positive change in this aspect of care. For example, the 2021 statistical report by the European Society of Cardiology explicitly highlights clinical risk factors contributing to cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. In particular, the report provides statistics on elevated blood pressure prevalence, high cholesterol prevalence, obesity, and diabetes prevalence across Europe (Timmis et al., 2022). As a result, clinicians receive a vivid representation of risk factors that should be addressed to combat the CVD spread. Ultimately, the application of statistics makes it possible for healthcare professionals to enhance the quality of care by focusing on the most dangerous risk factors.
From the care safety perspective, statistical analysis allows clinicians to reveal and eliminate or reshape hazardous practices that can threaten patient and staff safety. For instance, the mandatory French Hospital certification review between 2014 and 2018 found safety infractions in over 60% of 2,218 French hospitals (Amalberti & Vincent, 2020). Due to this timely inspection, the hospitals received a strict warning and an opportunity to improve risk management practices. Without scrutiny with an application of statistics, insufficient adherence to safety standards would likely have remained undetected. As such, statistics should be considered necessary for maintaining satisfactory patient and staff safety.
From the health promotion standpoint, statistics allow healthcare organizations to reveal risk factors associated with patient lifestyles. For instance, statistics demonstrate that smoking, insufficient physical activity, and high consumption of dietary fats increase the risk of CVD development. On the other hand, a 200g/day intake of fruit, vegetables, or fruit and vegetables combined decreases the relative risk of CVD by 8-13% (Timmis et al., 2022). Therefore, an application of statistics allows healthcare institutions to determine harmful and beneficial health behaviors. Consequently, harmful behaviors can be corrected, while positive ones can be promoted and reinforced. In this regard, statistics serve as a tool for managing patient behaviors, shifting them in a beneficial direction.
Finally, an application of statistics allows healthcare institutions to determine and institutionalize leadership practices that improve patient satisfaction, care quality, and administrative quality within an organization. For example, Asif et al. (2019) conducted a personnel survey of 123 public hospitals in Pakistan and confirmed that participative leadership boosts medical and administrative quality, improving patient satisfaction with care. Therefore, statistics provide solid empirical evidence that may help convince healthcare institutions to redefine their views on leadership.
As a registered nurse in the home care area, I can confirm from personal experience that statistics have an important role in this specialty. The influence of statistics on concrete aspects of care, such as quality, safety, and leadership, is also present in care. In terms of obtaining the data for analysis, patient records and external databases represent the most popular sources of information. For example, Dick et al. (2019) used the data from Home Health Compare and Provider of Services databases to examine trends and performance of home care organizations. In particular, the overall quality, or Q index, allowed the researchers to trace the substantial progress achieved by organizations in the industry (Dick et al., 2019). By assessing such datasets, a home care organization can compare its performance against the competitors and pinpoint the departments that require improvements.
In terms of statistical knowledge application in day-to-day operations, statistical analysis results are typically used to justify policy recommendations within home care organizations. The baseline data for analysis can be obtained from the staff. For instance, Ree and Wiig (2020) surveyed 139 professionals from Norwegian home care services in order to study relationships between transformational leadership, work engagement, and patient safety culture. Ultimately, transformational leadership alone explained a 35.7% variance in patient safety culture and a 17.5% variance in work engagement (Ree & Wiig, 2020). Since the effect appeared to be significant, statistical knowledge would provide a rationale for a corresponding change in day-to-day operations.
Finally, statistics have a pronounced effect on decision-making in the home care industry. Interviews with 19 Norwegian practitioners determined three themes: the importance of a good start for the patient and the family, the importance of collaboration across the health system, and the importance of collaboration within primary care (Danielsen et al., 2018). Consequently, home care organizations received empirically-based guidance for setting decision-making priorities in communication. In particular, the survey results may make home care organizations more inclined to arrange home meetings between patient, their family, and practitioners. In this respect, statistical knowledge provides home care organizations with a factual basis for making evidence-based decisions instead of acting on assumptions.
Conclusion
Overall, statistics possess general significance for the healthcare industry. Statistical knowledge enhances the quality and safety of the care process and promotes beneficial health and leadership practices. Statistical data allows healthcare organizations to set priorities correctly and achieve improvements in essential care aspects. Regarding the home care area, statistics obtained from datasets, patient records, and practitioners allow home care organizations to make evidence-based adjustments to day-to-day operations and decision-making processes. In the end, the application of statistical knowledge enables home care organizations to make informed decisions instead of relying on assumptions and general logic.
References
Amalberti, R., & Vincent, C. (2020). Managing risk in hazardous conditions: Improvisation is not enough. BMJ Quality & Safety, 29(1), 60-63. Web.
Asif, M., Jameel, A., Sahito, N., Hwang, J., Hussain, A., & Manzoor, F. (2019). Can leadership enhance patient satisfaction? Assessing the role of administrative and medical quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(17), 3212. Web.
Danielsen, B. V., Sand, A. M., Rosland, J. H., & Førland, O. (2018). Experiences and challenges of home care nurses and general practitioners in home-based palliative care – A qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care, 17(1), 1-13. Web.
Dick, A. W., Murray, M. T., Chastain, A. M., Madigan, E. A., Sorbero, M., Stone, P. W., & Shang, J. (2019). Measuring quality in home healthcare. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(9), 1859-1865. Web.
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