In the UK, there are several screening programs for significant health concerns, such as prostate cancer. A new screening test for prostate cancer is being assessed in comparison to the traditional use of PSA testing. There are concerns that this test may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment, as it detects many cases of prostate cancer that may never cause harm.
What type of bias is this?
What is the primary purpose of funnel plots?
You record the age of all of your students in your class. You discover that your data set is skewed. Which of the following would you use to describe the average age of your students?
A medical researcher is designing a study to examine a hypothesised link between exposure to a chemical found in a particular brand of paint, and the subsequent development of skin cancer. He recruits young decorators who have been diagnosed with skin cancer, and another group of those who have not been diagnosed with it. He plans to assess their prior exposure to this brand of paint.
Which bias is a particular problem in these types of studies?
A psychology student conducts a study amongst her peers investigating the effect of age on memory. She found that participants over the age of 50 showed significantly worse memory performance compared to participants under the age of 50 with a significance level of p<0.05. Later on in her project, she conducts a systematic review which finds no significant effect of age on memory. What statistical mistake is the student likely to have made in her initial study?
A childcare assistant is setting up the nursery equipment. One set of thermometers consistently measures temperature 5% lower than the actual value.
What is the issue with this set of thermometers?
A 28-year-old individual seeks your guidance on mental wellness. They were interested in trying mindfulness until they stumbled upon a study that demonstrated no impact. Upon reading the study, a randomized controlled trial with only 10 participants and no mention of a power calculation, it was found that there was no difference between mindfulness and no intervention for mental well-being.
What potential error could have taken place in this study?
Which of the following methods of economic evaluation utilize the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)?
Which one of the following statements regarding relative risk is accurate?
You review a study measuring a patient’s age against their diastolic blood pressure. The data is normally distributed and you wish to determine the degree of correlation between these two factors.
What is the most appropriate significance test for this study?