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Apr 6 2009, 8:33 AM EDT schardt 1 word added, 3 words deleted

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General overview of statistical concepts:






Perhaps the finest series of short articles on the use of statistics is the occasional series of Statistics Notes started in 1994 by the British Medical Journal.

Many clinicians report that they cannot read the medical literature critically. To address this difficulty, Grimes and Schulz provide a primer of clinical research for clinicians and researchers alike.

From the Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Tips Working Group. What distinguishes this series is that it targets not only clinician learners but also the teachers of EBM principles. These teachers regularly communicate the principles of critical appraisal to clinician learners in a variety of settings, including ward rounds, at the bedside, during journal club exercises and in formal lectures and seminars. There are 2 versions of the articles: one for learners and one for teachers, which includes supplemental materials.



  • A difficult challenge in teaching EBM to clinical students is teaching the methodological and statistical concepts needed to be able to read and understand research studies. This is especially true in clinical programs where the students are training to be clinicians, not researchers. Here is the link to the PowerPoint presentation developed by the biostatician who co-teaches EBM with me for our physician assistant students. (Submitted by Mike Kronenfeld)

    Statistical Concepts - http://www.atsu.edu/ebm/step3/stats_basic.htm

    This presentation was developed by Dr. Curtis Bay for the Fall, 2006 EBM class for the Physician Assistant Program at the A.T. Still Univ. of the Health Sciences – Mesa Campus.

Good site for clearly explanation of EBM concepts

Stephen Simon is a Research Biostatistician at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. His website has lots of information about EBM and statistics and he's easy to understand. Scroll down a bit and check out the pdf of "An introduction to diagnostic testing". Further down, under "All Topics", check out diagnostic testing. We really liked his explanation of number needed to treat, in the "Ask Professor Mean" section...

Online course in Biomedical Statistics (free)
Series of web-based modules by Stephen Simon From Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Nice overview of relevant topics.


Therapy/Harm:





  • Evidence-Based Practice Teaching Tips - from the Centre for Health Evidence, University of Alberta [Click on “Balancing Benefits and Risk”, “Number Needed to Treat”, and/or “Risk and Risk Reduction” on the left side of the screen under “Therapy --“Risk”]



  • Show me the evidence: Using Number Needed to treat. Southern Medical Journal. 100(9):881-4, September 2007.

Diagnosis:


  • Diagnostic Test Calculator Developed by Dr. Alan Schwartz Assistant Professor of Clinical Decision Making in the Department of Medical Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.


Systematic Reviews;

  • Interpreting and understanding meta-analysis graphs. (forest plots). A practical guide. Australian Family Physician 36(8):635-8, August 2006.