Rev Bras Oftalmol.2021;80(2):89-90
The important role played by Biostatistics in Health professionals’ training
DOI: 10.5935/0034-7280.20210016
The year 2020 has turned Biostatistics, whose image is significantly controversial among Health professionals, into an unexpected protagonist. Even the non-specialized media has given unusual emphasis to “graphs”, “tables” and “incidences”. We evolved into discussions around “Rt”, “mortality and lethality rates”, “moving averages” and “increase and decrease rates”. Now we have become quite familiar with “phase-3 tests” and “effectiveness rates”. Managers started discussing about using “models”, “projections” and “estimates” as subsidy for planning and actions associated with public policies. ()
However, the discipline ‘Biostatistics’ is always associated with the following question, mainly among undergraduate students: “why is it necessary to study this subject?” This question is overall accompanied by the following statement: “we, in the healthcare field, have little affinity for numbers!” the Discipline matrix structure of undergraduate courses in the Health field comprises one or two Biostatistics disciplines, which are often taught in the initial terms. This thinking tends to change as the course advances, since students need to deal with academic papers, as well as with activities carried out in leagues, tutoring and scientific initiation programs. Once graduated, these professionals start to feel the weight of deficient statistics training, either as researchers or at the time to read scientific articles. (–)
[…]