Biostatistics in public health examples

Here are six ways biostatistics in public health is changing healthcare research, policy and delivery:

Clinical trials.
Public health programs.
Epidemiological studies.
Estimating the severity of a disease and survival rates.
Meta-analysis and evidence-based medicine.
Genome sequencing data analysis.

The Role of Biostatisticians

Clinical trials: Studying the evaluation of treatments, screening, and prevention methods in populations.
Epidemiological: Studying the causes and origins of disease in humans.
Human Genetics: Studying the genetic differences associated with diseases and disease states.

As integral members of the public health discipline, biostatisticians may analyze cancer and infectious disease treatment, partner with environmental and occupational health science groups, or use their research to assist governments, healthcare centers, and non-profits. Their work contributes to clinical trials.

Introduction

Biostatistics is the application of statistical principles to questions and problems in medicine, public health or biology.
One can imagine that it might be of interest to characterize a given population (e.g., adults in Boston or all children in the United States) with respect to the proportion of subjects who are overweight or the proportion who .

What are Biostatistics & Epidemiology?

Biostatistics are applied statistics in biological and medical sciences for public health practice.
Based on the data and models they provide, epidemiology — the study of the causation, spread and control of disease across time and space — gives us information about health status, morbidity and mortality in human populations.

What are some examples of Biostatistics in healthcare?

The best examples are all of these infectious diseases and the efforts to control them, but even in smaller, local epidemics, such as:

salmonella

we always look to biostats for answers.
Because of the great importance of biostatistics in healthcare, the field is continuously evolving and developing.

Why are biostatisticians important?

Why Biostats.
Biostatisticians play a unique role in safeguarding public health and improving lives through quantitative research.
By combining across quantitative disciplines, biostatisticians are able to collaborate with other biomedical researchers to identify and solve problems that pose threats to health and to quality of life.

Measure of quality of health, or magnitude of public health change caused by actions

Health indicators are quantifiable characteristics of a population which researchers use as supporting evidence for describing the health of a population.
Typically, researchers will use a survey methodology to gather information about a population sample, use statistics in an attempt to generalize the information collected to the entire population, and then use the statistical analysis to make a statement about the health of the population.
Health indicators are often used by governments to guide health care policy or to make goals for improving population health.