Abstract

Statistics is an important component of the knowledge base for health care professionals. In this essay, it is argued that statistical knowledge for teaching (SKT) should be considered an important component of their preparation as well. Health care professionals often must help others understand the statistical basis for recommendations they make. A COVID-19 press briefing is used to illustrate the need for SKT when making high-stakes recommendations related to public health. It is conjectured that efforts to educate the public during the press briefing would have been enhanced if the presenters had deeper knowledge of the general public’s common statistical thinking patterns, the typical statistics curriculum experienced by members of their audience, and contemporary tools for teaching statistics. The importance of such knowledge to support smaller-scale individual interactions is also discussed. A call for SKT-centered partnerships between educational researchers and medical researchers is made; such partnerships could be mutually beneficial to the development of both fields and to society at large.

摘要

统计数据是卫生保健专业人员知识库的重要组成部分。在本文中，有人认为教学统计知识 (SKT) 也应被视为其准备工作的重要组成部分。卫生保健专业人员通常必须帮助其他人了解他们提出建议的统计基础。COVID-19 新闻发布会用于说明在提出与公共卫生相关的高风险建议时需要 SKT。据推测，如果演讲者对公众普遍的统计思维模式、听众所经历的典型统计课程以及当代统计教学工具有更深入的了解，那么在新闻发布会上教育公众的努力就会得到加强。还讨论了此类知识对支持小规模个人互动的重要性。呼吁在教育研究人员和医学研究人员之间建立以 SKT 为中心的伙伴关系；这种伙伴关系可以对两个领域和整个社会的发展互惠互利。