The nursing profession is one that is continually being confounded by statistical data that needs to be analysed in the course of their profession. There are many statistical methods that one can choose to use in the data analysis one of them being descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics is a statistical tool used to describe data in a way that is easily understood by highlighting the patterns that the data displays if any and how this specific data is spread. This essay focuses on the value of descriptive statistics in helping individuals understand data, when and why descriptive statistics should be used. In addition, it will establish the kind of variables to be used in descriptive statistics as well as data and design table to represent information on medical cannabis.
Value of Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics are very useful in the nursing profession and are considered an essential aspect of the biometric analysis as well as an important factor in the understanding of further statistical calculations. These further statistical calculations are necessary for the process of drawing inferences which are useful in the final data interpretation. This is, however, possible when the researcher has collected and evaluated the data in a correct manner which is acceptable in the medical arena. Descriptive statistics are treasured when it comes to offering a clear description of statistical data with absolute numbers which aim at characterizing the features of specific data. The results can then be presented in tables and graphs for a clear understanding of the statistical information in question.
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Descriptive data can be used when analysing statistical data which is aimed at helping individuals to show, describe or summarize data in a way that is meaningful so as to establish patterns in a data set. As a result, one can make meaningful conclusions from the data by making out what the data is showing as compared to analysing raw data. More so descriptive statistics helps individuals to see the distribution of data (Spriestersbach et al., 2009). Descriptive statistics are treasured in describing the measures of central tendency including the mean, mode and the median where an individual can note the trend in the statistical data represented (Spriestersbach et al., 2009). Furthermore, descriptive statistics are used to measure the measures of spread in a data set which are important in summarizing the range of scores. The measures of spread include quartiles, range standard deviation, and variance.
Variables to Be Used In Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics can use either continuous or discrete variable in its statistical analysis. The variables can be defined as the particular characteristics of interest in any research study which are quantifiable and measurable and which tend to vary between the different research individuals (Larson, 2006). Discrete variables assume readily countable and fixed values such as sex, education level and ethnic/racial group. On the other hand, continuous variables can only assume an infinite number of values depending on the time the measurement was taken. Examples of continuous variables include height, age, weight, survival time among others (Larson, 2006). In addition, discrete variables can be divided into either ordinal or nominal variable. While nominal values are unordered, the ordinal variables are ordered. These variables are important since they help the researcher to order his or her data in an intelligible way which is easier to understand and infer to.
Study for Medicinal Cannabis for Clinical Therapy
Medical marijuana use in clinical treatment has been a hot debate topic across the country as more and more people are finding some medicinal benefits in its use. Medical cannabis is said to have the ability to relieve chronic pain from patients. In as much as its legislation into law, it is a bit nervous as more people, and health providers are prescribing it to their patients. In the United States at least fourteen states have allowed the physicians to either provide legal defences for their patients if they are prosecuted for using medical cannabis. In addition, these countries allow the medical providers to recommend medical marijuana to the patients (Nunberg et al., 2011). In a descriptive study conducted on 1,655 patients who sought physician’s prescription and recommendation to use medical cannabis. The researcher conducted the study in a span of 3 months through the analysis of the physician’s records as well as questionnaires from the patients being seen by the doctor.
The study aimed at filling gaps concerning the ailments, characteristics and medical histories of the patients seeking medical cannabis treatments. The data was acquired from doctor interviews and medical charts in the months of June to August in 2006. The patient’s genders were put at 73 percent male and 27 percent females with these females being the older types and being more of African American race as compared to their male counterparts (Nunberg, 2011). The study also incorporated the level of education, having medical insurance, employment status, and disability status. The study found out that 4.2 percent of the women in the study were unemployed as a result of disability. 23.4 percent of the women in this study were insured with 8.8 per cent of them having less than high school education and a further 82.4 per cent of them being employed (Nunberg, 2011).
Characteristics of patients requiring medical cannabis therapy
| All | Females | Males | |
| N= 1655 | N= 452 | N=1203 | |
| Male | 72.5% | - | - |
| Females | 29.5 % | - | - |
| White | 54.6% | 25.4% | 20% |
| Black Americans | 23.4% | 13.8% | 23.4% |
| Hispanic | 23.8% | 16.3% | 12.8% |
| 15-25 years old | 1.8% | 0.5% | 1.2% |
| 26-36 years old | 3.5% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| 37-47 years old | 10.1% | 5.8% | 4.6% |
| 48-58 years old | 3.8% | 1.3% | 2.1% |
| 59+ years old | 1.8% | 1% | 1.2% |
| High school graduate | 17.8% | 13.2% | 13.8% |
| College graduate | 27% | 14.8% | 12.8% |
| Employed | 23.4% | 17.6% | 12.4% |
| Disabled | 6.3% | 4.2% | 2.4% |
| Medically insured | 47.8% | 23.5% | 32.6% |
Courtesy of Nunberg (2011)
In conclusion, descriptive statistics are an important part of statistics that are highly useful in the medical practice. Descriptive statistics is quite valuable in helping individuals meaning into data whether it is ordered or unordered. Descriptive statistics can either use continuous or discrete variables as its parameters depending on whether there is a need for either nominal or ordinal kind of analysis. The use of medical cannabis has been studied, and various researchers have come up either descriptive statics aimed art painting a clear statistical picture for the consumers of such information.
References
Larson, M. G. (2006). Descriptive Statistics and Graphical Displays. Circulation, 114, 76-81.
Nunberg, H. et al., (2011). An Analysis of Applicants Presenting to a Medical Marijuana Specialty Practice in California. Journal of Drug Policy Analysis, 4 (1), 1. doi: 10.2202/1941-2851.1017.
Spriestersbach, A., Röhrig, B., Prel, J. D., Gerhold-Ay, A. & Blettner, M. (2009). Descriptive Statistics. Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 106 (36). Retrieved from https://www.aerzteblatt.de/int/archive/article/65868.
