Are outcomes of hospital care different on weekends than wee

Are outcomes of hospital care different on weekends than weekdays? In a random sample of 500 patients who experienced sever medical complications after admisssion to acute care wards in three U.S. states form 1999 and 2001, 119 had been admitted on a weekend and 381 had been admitted on a weekday. This compares with a large population of people at risk for such complications in which 14.8% are admitted on weekends and 85.2% are admitted on weekdays (Bendavid et al. 2007).

a. In the 500 sampled patients with severe complications, what fraction had been admitted on weekends? is this higher or lower than the fraction of all at-risk patients admitted on weekends?

b. Name two statistical methods that could be used to test whether the probability of severe used to test whether the probability of sever complications in at-risk patients admitted to hospitals differs between weekend and weekday. State the advantages and disadvanteges of both.

C. state the null and alternative hypotheses for such a test.

D. Test the hypotheses. State your conclusion clearly

Solution

Answer to the question)

Total n = 500

weekend : x1 = 119

Weeday : x2 = 381

Weekend proportion p1 = 14.8%

Weeday proportion p2 = 85.2%

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Part a)

Sample proportion admitted on weekend is: 119/500 = 0.234

Sample proportion p1^ = 23.4%

The population proportion is P1 = 14.8%

thus the sample proportion p1^ 23.4% is higher that the population proportion p1 14.8%

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Part b)

We can make use of :

2 sample T test

Single factor ANOVA can also be used to compare the means of weekdays and weekend

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Part c)

Null hypothesis: The proprotion of patients admitted during weekend and weekday is same

Alternate Hypothesis; The proportion of patients admitted of weekend is DIFFERENT from the proportion of patients admitted during weekends

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