Statistical Literacy among Practicing Clinicians from India: A Brief Survey

Abstract

Objectives: To understand statistical literacy among practicing clinicians as well as to take suggestions on its implementation in medical curriculum. Methods: A web based online survey was conducted among practising clinicians of India. The questionnaire consisted of 30questions in three parts. Part A included questions on general information (5 questions), Part B included questions on application of statistical concepts (20 questions), and Part Casked for opinions on integration of biostatistics in medical curriculum (5 questions). Part B questions were rated on a 5-point Likert scale in which 1 indicated no confidence and 5indicated complete confidence. Results: A total of 416 clinicians responded to the questionnaire. Complete confidence in the use of SPSS software was seen in 15.8% whereas 26.7% had no confidence in it. The highest confidence was seen in statistical equations like graphical representation of data (44.7%), and sensitivity and specificity (45.2%) whereas lowest confidence was seen in COX proportional hazard regression (12.9%) and ROC curves (11.7%). Out of 416 clinicians, 136 (32.4%) had done training in statistics at undergraduate level, 128 (30.5%) did self-learning and 152 (37.1%) had received no formal training.