Laopaiboon M, Lumbiganon P, Walter S D
Department of Biostatistics and Demography, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
J Med Assoc Thai. 1997 Feb;80(2):130-7.
Medical doctors need to keep abreast of new developments in medicine. This is often done by reading medical journals and carrying out research activities that require an understanding of statistical methods. This study was designed to assess the knowledge of statistics among doctors in Thailand. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire with nine multiple-choice questions on basic statistical issues was used. In a survey of university hospital staff, there were 365 doctors, including 156 specialists, 152 residents and 57 final year medical students (externs). The overall response rate was 40.0 per cent. The overall median number of correct answers was 4.0 (95% CI 3.0, 4.0). Specialists had a significantly higher median score, 4.0 than residents, and externs, 3.0's, (p = 0.02). Respondents who had previously attended statistical workshops had a significantly higher median score (5.0) than those who had not (3.0) (p < 0.01). These results indicate that doctors in our hospital have insufficient knowledge of the basic statistical concepts that are commonly used in medical journals. Continuing education in statistics for doctors during residency and post doctoral training must be given serious consideration.
医生需要跟上医学的新发展。这通常通过阅读医学期刊和开展需要理解统计方法的研究活动来实现。本研究旨在评估泰国医生的统计学知识。使用了一份经过预测试的、自我填写的问卷，其中包含九个关于基本统计问题的多项选择题。在对大学医院工作人员的调查中，有365名医生，包括156名专科医生、152名住院医生和57名医学专业最后一年的学生（实习生）。总体回复率为40.0%。正确答案的总体中位数为4.0（95%置信区间3.0，4.0）。专科医生的中位数得分显著高于住院医生和实习生，分别为4.0和3.0（p = 0.02）。以前参加过统计研讨会的受访者的中位数得分（5.0）显著高于未参加过的受访者（3.0）（p < 0.01）。这些结果表明，我们医院的医生对医学期刊中常用的基本统计概念了解不足。必须认真考虑在住院医师培训和博士后培训期间为医生提供统计学继续教育。
