Evidence-based practices and research in the medical field have provided enormous information that can be applied in clinical practice. However, it is important to understand the differences between statistical and clinical significance since they are important aspects in the clinical field, application of evidence-based research, as well as clinical projects. Therefore, Sharma, (2021) explains that the main difference between clinical and statistical significance is that clinical significance observes dissimilarity between two groups or two treatment modalities while statistical significance on the other hand shows whether there is any mathematical significance to the carried analysis of the results or not.
Additionally, Alsoufi, (2018) adds that statistically significant results do not necessarily mean that the results are clinically relevant because many outcomes can be statistically significant but not clinically relevant. An example of clinical significance can be explained using two different chemotherapy agents for cancer whereby drug A is less expensive as compared to the usual chemotherapy agents and it increases the survival of treated patients by five years while drug B is more expensive than the usual chemotherapy drugs and increases the survival of the treated patient five months. Drug A is considered to be clinically significant because it increases the patients’ survival by five years and it is inexpensive while the statistical significance is the difference in values recorded in analysis when differentiating the years and months of patient survival.
Statistical and clinical significance is very important and can be applied in clinical practice to improve service quality. Clinically significant research outcomes are considered to be clinically viable and can be implemented in healthcare facilities to improve the quality of healthcare services thus improving patient outcomes (Polit, 2017). From the example provided earlier in comparing the effectiveness of drugs A and B, drug A can be used in healthcare facilities in the treatment cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy thus improving their survival by five years.
References
Alsoufi, B. (2018). Statistical versus clinical significance. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 155(1), 344-345.DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2017.08.108
Place your order