Biostatistics

BIOSTATISTICS

Biostatistics in the public health context consists primarily of developing descriptive statistics describing the overall health and well being of a population. These statistics include such measures as birth, death, and infant death rates; disease incidence and prevalence; and trends of this data over time. Proper adjustment of these rates so as to allow for correct interpretation of and comparison among populations also falls within the purview of the public health biostatistician. The biostatistician works closely with other public health disciplines to develop outcome measures to ascertain the effectiveness of programmatic activities and to develop the means to collect such measures, which may include surveys, lab reports, and hospital discharge data.

NEIL CASEY

(SEE ALSO: Birth Certificates; Data Sources and Collection Methods; Statistics for Public Health; Vital Statistics)