Original R
esearch Article
Difficulty in Understanding Statistics: Medical
Students’ Perspectives in a Nigerian University
Omokhoa A Adeleye*, Antoinette N Ofili
Department of Community
Health, School of Medicine, University of Benin, Benin
City, Nigeria.
Tel:
+2348037212596
Email:
adeleyeoa@gmail.com
Received:
22-May-09 Revised: 15-Jun-09
Accepted: 18-Jun-09
International Journal of Health Research,
September
2009; 2(3):
233-242
Abstract
PURPOSE:
The
study was conducted to examine the characteristics of
medical students vis-à-vis difficulty in understanding
statistics and to explore the perceived causes of this
difficulty among those affected.
METHODS:
In a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based
survey, 293 consenting final year medical students of
the University of Benin were interviewed.
RESULTS:
Eighty-seven (29.7%) respondents expressed difficulty in
understanding statistics. Their major reasons (from
multiple-response questions) were the unsatisfactory
teaching of statistics, 58, (66.7%); their unseriousness
about statistics, 21, (24.1%); and a perception that
statistics itself was difficult, 19, (21.8%). Females
were more likely than males to blame their difficulty on
the unsatisfactory teaching of the subject (p=0.09;
OR=0.34). Respondents whose interest in statistics
ranged from “good” to “excellent” were also more likely
to blame their difficulty on the unsatisfactory teaching
of the subject (p=0.034; OR=0.37) but less likely to
blame this on their unseriousness about the subject
(p=0.00; OR=9.84) than those whose interest ranged from
“fair” to “very low”.
CONCLUSION: Most
medical students who had difficulty in understanding
statistics blamed the situation mainly on poor teaching
of the subject and their self-rated unseriousness about
the subject. Skilled medical statistics teachers should
be engaged to teach the subject and to motivate students
to learn it.
Keywords:
Medical students, Medical education, Statistics, Gender,
Nigeria.
