JAMAevidence Users' Guides to the Medical Literature

JAMA Guide to Statistics and Methods

Dec 5, 2019

Edward Livingston, MD, a distinguished editor, and Roger J. Lewis, MD, PhD, a physician and biostatistician, dive into the complexities of medical statistics. They emphasize the need to balance statistical rigor with accessibility, ensuring clinicians can confidently interpret data. The duo critiques traditional stats education and stresses real-world applications, featuring feedback praising the clarity of their book. They also explore the evolution of statistical methods, highlighting advancements like causal analysis. This discussion aims to make research more relevant and digestible for healthcare practitioners.

13:43

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Episode guests

Edward Livingston, MD

Roger J. Lewis, MD

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Quick takeaways

Clinicians struggle with the complexity of statistics in research, necessitating simplified explanations to effectively apply findings in practice.

The authors emphasize the importance of balancing statistical rigor with clarity, ensuring methodologies are presented in an accessible manner for busy healthcare professionals.

Deep dives

Understanding Statistics for Clinicians

The podcast emphasizes the challenge clinicians face in interpreting clinical research due to the technical nature of statistics taught in medical schools. Many clinicians find the mathematical complexities challenging and are often left uncertain about applying research findings to their practice. To tackle this issue, the authors created a series that distills complicated statistical concepts into accessible pieces, enabling clinicians to grasp crucial methodological concepts. This approach aims to empower healthcare professionals to critically assess research reports and make informed decisions in their clinical practice.

Intro

4min

Balancing Statistical Rigor and Accessibility in Medical Literature

2min

Reassessing Medical Statistics Education for Clinicians

2min

Positive Feedback on Statistical Methodology Accessibility

2min

Evolving Methodologies in Clinical Research

4min

Clinical researchers and biostatisticians use highly specialized language to help them discuss statistics and research methods efficiently. In 2019 JAMA published the JAMA Guide to Statistics and Methods, a book of short reviews that translate that specialized language and explain statistics and methods to a broad physician readership. The book's editors and authors, Edward Livingston, MD, and Roger J. Lewis, MD, PhD, discuss their approach to choosing statistical topics and their objectives in compiling the reviews into book format.

Purchase the JAMA Guide to Statistics and Methods at:

McGraw-Hill: ja.ma/StatsGuideMH

Barnes and Noble: ja.ma/StatsGuideBN

Amazon: ja.ma/StatsGuideAmazon