A study designed to evaluate the effect of the herbal remedy

A study designed to evaluate the effect of the herbal remedy Echinacea purpurea randomly assigned healthy children 2 to 11 years old to receive either Echinacea or a placebo. Each time a child had an upper respiratory infection treatment with Echinacea or the placebo was given for the duration of the infection. Parental assessment of the illness severity was measured. The following are the counts from the study:

Group

Parental assessment

Echinacea

Placebo

Mild

153

170

Moderate

128

157

Severe

48

40

Calculate the x² statistic

Determine whether the results are significant at the alpha=o.oo5 level.

Would you advocate for the use of Echinacea in order to reduce the severity of upper respiratory infections? Why or why not?

Solution