Collective Statistical Illiteracy: A Cross-Cultural Comparison With Probabilistic National Samples

Gigerenzer, Gerd

doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2009.515

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…For example, it is possible that some of the obgyns who had difficulty answering questions or were not confident that they could answer the questions did not return the survey. Compared with other physician samples (Estrada, Barnes, Collins, & Byrd, 1999;Gigerenzer, 2010;Gigerenzer et al, 2007), respondents to this survey performed slightly better on the Schwartz measure; other studies using convenience samples at grand rounds reported that 72% (Gigerenzer et al, 2007) and 60% (Estrada et al, 1999) answered all three questions correctly. Using a subjective scale such as the SNS might help to increase response rates; however, little is known about how well subjective numeracy correlates with objective numeracy, especially among physicians.…”

Section: Limitationscontrasting

confidence: 58%

Untitled

2014

Journal for Healthcare Quality

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Section: Limitationscontrasting

confidence: 58%

Untitled

2014

Journal for Healthcare Quality

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“…The scope of the problem is dramatic, with 45% of adults at risk for limited health literacy,134,135 which indicates that many people with adequate general literacy may have difficulty applying this in specific health contexts 125,136. Numeracy, particularly regarding statistics, is another important related concept 137. A recent study found that, of a sample of American and German adults, 64.5% and 68.5%, respectively, could answer nine simple questions related to statistical numeracy, with wide disparities across social class seen especially in the US 138.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving health outcomes with better patient understanding and education

Adams¹

2010

RMHP

293

234

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A central plank of health care reform is an expanded role for educated consumers interacting with responsive health care teams. However, for individuals to realize the benefits of health education also requires a high level of engagement. Population studies have documented a gap between expectations and the actual performance of behaviours related to participation in health care and prevention. Interventions to improve self-care have shown improvements in self-efficacy, patient satisfaction, coping skills, and perceptions of social support. Significant clinical benefits have been seen from trials of self-management or lifestyle interventions across conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the focus of many studies has been on short-term outcomes rather that long term effects. There is also some evidence that participation in patient education programs is not spread evenly across socio economic groups. This review considers three other issues that may be important in increasing the public health impact of patient education. The first is health literacy, which is the capacity to seek, understand and act on health information. Although health literacy involves an individual’s competencies, the health system has a primary responsibility in setting the parameters of the health interaction and the style, content and mode of information. Secondly, much patient education work has focused on factors such as attitudes and beliefs. That small changes in physical environments can have large effects on behavior and can be utilized in self-management and chronic disease research. Choice architecture involves reconfiguring the context or physical environment in a way that makes it more likely that people will choose certain behaviours. Thirdly, better means of evaluating the impact of programs on public health is needed. The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework has been promoted as one such potential approach.

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“…Unfortunately, physicians’ numeracy has been overlooked as it is often thought that the problem with statistical literacy is restricted to patients. However, both patients and physicians can contribute to the problems with statistical illiteracy (Gigerenzer, ). Like patients, physicians have been found to make compromised judgments when statistical results are not presented in transparent formats (Covey, ; Forrow, Taylor, & Arnold, ).…”

Section: Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like patients, physicians have been found to make compromised judgments when statistical results are not presented in transparent formats (Covey, ; Forrow, Taylor, & Arnold, ). The term “collective statistical illiteracy” is used to describe patients’ and physicians’ lack of understanding health literacy (Gigerenzer, ).…”

Section: Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical Literacy in Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Anderson

Gigerenzer

Parker

et al. 2014

Journal for Healthcare Quality

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The Obstetrician-Gynecologist Statistical Literacy Questionnaire (OGSLQ) was designed to examine physicians' understanding of various number tasks that are relevant to obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) practice. Forty-seven percent of the nationally representative, practicing ob-gyns responded. Physicians did poorly on the questions about numerical facts (e.g., number of women living with HIV/AIDS), better on questions about statistical concepts (e.g., incidence, prevalence), and best on questions about numerical relationships (e.g., convert frequency to percentage) with 0%, 7%, 36%, answering all correctly, respectively. Only 19% correctly estimated the number of U.S. women with cancer. Sixty-six percent were able to use sensitivity and specificity to choose a test option. Around 90% could translate between frequency and probability formats. Forty-nine percent of respondents were able to calculate the positive predictive value of a mammography screening test. Physicians lack some understanding of statistical literacy. It is important that we monitor physicians' statistical literacy and provide training to students and physicians.

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Collective Statistical Illiteracy: A Cross-Cultural Comparison With Probabilistic National Samples

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

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Improving health outcomes with better patient understanding and education

Statistical Literacy in Obstetricians and Gynecologists

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