For this part of your course project you will be analyzing the data you collect to provide at least 3 descriptive statistics and at least one chart or graph for a topic area of the hospital for which you can find data in a 1-2 page paper with properly cited APA references (not including your data and chart/graph information). Make sure to include adequate explanation of the statistic used and its importance as related to the topic. The topic is open for you to pick so you can select an area that fits with your degree program, career aspirations, or personal interests.
For example, students focusing on Healthcare Administration might want to focus on topics related to finance, operations or quality; whereas, Health Information Management students might focus on topics related to clinical outcomes, reimbursements, or specific diseases. Personal options might be if you have a special condition or are planning to have a baby and want to perform your statistical analysis focusing on those areas of the hospital as it relates to local and national data. (If you have questions or need ideas, please email your instructor.)
Descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, frequencies, ranges, percentiles, etc. can be used. Your textbook is a great resource for ideas on statistics you can analyze.
You will most likely need to use some statistical analysis software to help make your calculations. Most students already have Excel installed and can find YouTube videos for ‘Descriptive Statistics in Excel’. If you have another software package that you are comfortable using for your job or are feeling adventurous to learn something new, feel free to select a different software to help with your analysis . One you might consider taking a look at is http://spss.brothersoft.com/spss-student-version.html which has a student version.
Some healthcare data resources that might help you can be found in the following list, so you can compare your hospital with other local and national facilities of comparable size and service options. If you find the website URLs have changed, search for the organization and locate the data it offers.
- CMS Hospital Compare Tool
- AHRQ
- http://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/ provides access to health statistics and information on hospital inpatient and emergency department utilization.
- Healthypeople.gov: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/Data/searchData.aspx
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
- CDC Chronic Disease Indicator database http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/cdi/
- National Library of Medicine Data Tools and Statistics: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/datasites.html
- CMS Data: https://dnav.cms.gov/Views/Search.aspx
- CMS Research, Statistics, Data, and Systems: http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems.html
- National Vital Statistics: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm
- Google for your Local State Department of Health, some resources may be listed here: http://www.statelocalgov.net/50states-health.cfm
Remember to include properly cited APA references and save any sources used for an annotated bibliography that you will be creating as a project deliverable later in the course.
Submit your completed assignment to the drop box below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.
Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:
Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504
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