A Practical Approach to Using Statistics in Health Research

Cluster randomised trials are trials in which groups (or clusters) of individuals are randomly allocated to different forms of treatment. In health care, these trials often compare different ways of managing a disease or promoting healthy living, in contrast to conventional randomised trials which randomise individuals to different treatments, classically comparing new drugs with a placebo. They are increasingly common in health services research. This book addresses the statistical, practical, and ethical issues arising from allocating groups of individuals, or clusters, to different interventions. Key features: Guides readers through the stages of conducting a trial, from recruitment to reporting. Presents a wide range of examples with particular emphasis on trials in health services research and primary care, with both principles and techniques explained. Topics are specifically presented in the order in which investigators think about issues when they are designing a trial. Combines information on the latest developments in the field together with a practical guide to the design and implementation of cluster randomised trials. Explains principles and techniques through numerous examples including many from the authors own experience. Includes a wide range of references for those who wish to read further. This book is intended as a practical guide, written for researchers from the health professions including doctors, psychologists, and allied health professionals, as well as statisticians involved in the design, execution, analysis and reporting of cluster randomised trials. Those with a more general interest will find the plentiful examples illuminating.

A Practical Approach to Special Care in Dentistry Learn to treat dental patients with disabilities or who are medically compromised A Practical Approach to Special Care in Dentistry delivers a comprehensive and robust overview of special care dentistry reflecting the most common compromised clinical conditions dentists will regularly encounter. It discusses more than 50 topics based on real-world clinical cases focusing on two main areas: patients with disabilities and medically compromised patients. The book uses a problem-based learning approach and helps the reader to apply knowledge in a clinical case context. Each chapter contains a case report establishing the main risk factors relating to the provision of dental treatment. That is followed by a practical and realistic set of adaptations for the reader to follow to minimise the rate and severity of potential complications for their patient. The book also includes: A thorough introduction to patients suffering from disabilities, including physical disabilities, like cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and cognitive impairments, like Down’s Syndrome Comprehensive explorations of the treatment of medically compromised patients, like those with infectious diseases, endocrine diseases, hepatorenal disease, and cardiovascular disease Practical discussions of other special patient situations, like those with allergies, antiresorptive and antiangiogenic drugs, terminal patients, underhoused patients, and pregnant or breastfeeding patients Perfect for general dentists, undergraduate students of odontology, and graduate students of special care dentistry, A Practical Approach to Special Care in Dentistry is also a must-read resource for dental specialists in special care dentistry, hospital odontology, geriatric odontology, oral surgery, and dental hygienists.

Perfect your transferable dental clinical skills with this new and highly practical reference A Practical Approach to Operative Dentistry delivers a thorough exploration of the theoretical and practical aspects of operative dentistry, followed by an illustrated step-by-step guide of common clinical procedures. Designed to remind students of the key steps of a variety of operative procedures, it is heavily illustrated with over 400 images of clinical procedures and covers core topics such as: Instruments and matrices, isolation, dental charting, and the use of minimally invasive dentistry Treatment of intracoronal restorations, including pit and fissure caries, posterior approximal restorations, anterior restorations and restorations in the cervical third Exploration of extracoronal restorations, including gold restorations, porcelain fused to metal and ceramic crowns A Practical Approach to Operative Dentistry is the perfect textbook for undergraduate dental students. It is also useful to dentistry graduates undertaking clinical rotations during their Dental Foundation Training, and overseas graduates preparing to take the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE) held by the General Dental Council, or the License in Dental Surgery (LDS) exam of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Written, reviewed, and edited in a collaborative effort by cardiology fellows and faculty of one of the most prestigious academic centers in the country, this concise volume gives cardiology fellows the book they have long needed. Keeping coverage of the underlying pathophysiology and mechanism of disease to a minimum, the authors focus on the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disorders. Practical and easily accessible at the time of decision making, the book relays important concepts through concise and to-the-point pearls and by utilizing algorithm charts and illustrations.

Concisely covers all the important concepts in an easy-to-understand way Gaining a strong sense of signals and systems fundamentals is key for general proficiency in any electronic engineering discipline, and critical for specialists in signal processing, communication, and control. At the same time, there is a pressing need to gain mastery of these concepts quickly, and in a manner that will be immediately applicable in the real word. Simultaneous study of both continuous and discrete signals and systems presents a much easy path to understanding signals and systems analysis. In A Practical Approach to Signals and Systems, Sundararajan details the discrete version first followed by the corresponding continuous version for each topic, as discrete signals and systems are more often used in practice and their concepts are relatively easier to understand. In addition to examples of typical applications of analysis methods, the author gives comprehensive coverage of transform methods, emphasizing practical methods of analysis and physical interpretations of concepts. Gives equal emphasis to theory and practice Presents methods that can be immediately applied Complete treatment of transform methods Expanded coverage of Fourier analysis Self-contained: starts from the basics and discusses applications Visual aids and examples makes the subject easier to understand End-of-chapter exercises, with a extensive solutions manual for instructors MATLAB software for readers to download and practice on their own Presentation slides with book figures and slides with lecture notes A Practical Approach to Signals and Systems is an excellent resource for the electrical engineering student or professional to quickly gain an understanding of signal analysis concepts – concepts which all electrical engineers will eventually encounter no matter what their specialization. For aspiring engineers in signal processing, communication, and control, the topics presented will form a sound foundation to their future study, while allowing them to quickly move on to more advanced topics in the area. Scientists in chemical, mechanical, and biomedical areas will also benefit from this book, as increasing overlap with electrical engineering solutions and applications will require a working understanding of signals. Compact and self contained, A Practical Approach to Signals and Systems be used for courses or self-study, or as a reference book.

The acclaimed guide to quickly and confidently diagnosing and treating sleep disorders in neurological disease—now with more algorithms and tables The diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders can be extremely challenging for physicians, especially when there is underlying neurological disease. In addition to the primary sleep disorders, there is a growing clinical interest in sleep disturbances associated with common neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease. This updated and expanded edition of the critically acclaimed Sleep Disorders in Neurology: A Practical Approach provides doctors with expert recommendations and clear guidance on identifying sleep disorders in patients suffering from neurological diseases and providing effective treatment plans. In creating this Second Edition doctors Overeem and Reading made every effort to further enhance the practical approach of the first edition by adding additional algorithms and tables to assist physicians in more rapid decision making. In addition, they expanded the content to include greater coverage of primary sleep disorders. Classification and diagnosis chapters have been revamped to follow the 3rd International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Offers physicians, with a practical approach to diagnosing and treating complex sleep disorders Draws on the expertise of neurologists who specialize in the disorders under discussion Features quick-access algorithms that help physicians rapidly diagnose and treat primary and secondary sleep disorders with confidence Provides guidance on when to consult a sleep specialist in managing a particular sleep disorder and Written by a multinational author team who provide a wider perspective and range of clinical experience Sleep Disorders in Neurology: A Practical Approach, Second Edition is an essential resource for sleep medicine specialists, as well as clinicians and health care professionals not specifically trained in sleep medicine, but who nevertheless need to manage neurologically damaged patients with increasingly recognized sleep/wake disturbances.

Provides a step-by-step approach to statistical procedures to analyze data and conduct research, with detailed sections in each chapter explaining SPSS® and Excel® applications This book identifies connections between statistical applications and research design using cases, examples, and discussion of specific topics from the social and health sciences. Researched and class-tested to ensure an accessible presentation, the book combines clear, step-by-step explanations for both the novice and professional alike to understand the fundamental statistical practices for organizing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from research data in their field. The book begins with an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics and then acquaints readers with important features of statistical applications (SPSS and Excel) that support statistical analysis and decision making. Subsequent chapters treat the procedures commonly employed when working with data across various fields of social science research. Individual chapters are devoted to specific statistical procedures, each ending with lab application exercises that pose research questions, examine the questions through their application in SPSS and Excel, and conclude with a brief research report that outlines key findings drawn from the results. Real-world examples and data from social and health sciences research are used throughout the book, allowing readers to reinforce their comprehension of the material. Using Statistics in the Social and Health Sciences with SPSS® and Excel® includes: • Use of straightforward procedures and examples that help students focus on understanding of analysis and interpretation of findings • Inclusion of a data lab section in each chapter that provides relevant, clear examples • Introduction to advanced statistical procedures in chapter sections (e.g., regression diagnostics) and separate chapters (e.g., multiple linear regression) for greater relevance to real-world research needs Emphasizing applied statistical analyses, this book can serve as the primary text in undergraduate and graduate university courses within departments of sociology, psychology, urban studies, health sciences, and public health, as well as other related departments. It will also be useful to statistics practitioners through extended sections using SPSS® and Excel® for analyzing data. Martin Lee Abbott, PhD, is Professor of Sociology at Seattle Pacific University, where he has served as Executive Director of the Washington School Research Center, an independent research and data analysis center funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Abbott has held positions in both academia and industry, focusing his consulting and teaching in the areas of statistical procedures, program evaluation, applied sociology, and research methods. He is the author of Understanding Educational Statistics Using Microsoft Excel® and SPSS®, The Program Evaluation Prism: Using Statistical Methods to Discover Patterns, and Understanding and Applying Research Design, also from Wiley.

Nursing is a growing area of higher education, in which an introduction to statistics is an essential component. There is currently a gap in the market for a 'user-friendly' book which is contextulised and targeted for nursing. Practical Statistics for Nursing and Health Care introduces statistical techniques in such a way that readers will easily grasp the fundamentals to enable them to gain the confidence and understanding to perform their own analysis. It also provides sufficient advice in areas such as clinical trials and epidemiology to enable the reader to critically appraise work published in journals such as the Lancet and British Medical Journal. * Covers all basic statistical concepts and tests * Is user-friendly – avoids excessive jargon * Includes relevant examples for nurses, including case studies and data sets * Provides information on further reading * Starts from first principles and progresses step by step * Includes 'advice on' sections for all of the tests described