Question

Compare clinical significance and statistical significance; include which one is more meaningful when considering application of findings to nursing practice.

Answer 1

Ans) Statistically significant findings for treated versus control groups, many researchers are renewing efforts to investigate the meaningfulness of individual change.

- Several statistical methods are available to evaluate the meaningfulness of client's changes occurring as a result of treatment.

- Clinical significance concept describes the various methods for defining improvement, recovery, and clinically significant change examines current criticisms of the methods; and describes the current use of the methods in practice.

- Clinical researchers need to present clinically meaningful results, and clinicians need to know how to interpret and implement those results in their evidence‐based approach to clinical decision making.

- Interpretation of clinical research outcomes should not be based solely on the presence or absence of statistically significant differences.

So when considering application of findings to nursing practice, I would consider clinical significance:

- Because of the heterogeneity of patient samples, small sample sizes, and limitations on hypothesis testing, clinicians should consider other clinically‐relevant measures such as effect size, clinically meaningful differences, confidence intervals, and magnitude‐based inferences.