Continuous data (variable) Health Dictionary

A method for treating babies who suffer from alveolar collapse in the lung as a result of HYALINE MEMBRANE DISEASE (see also RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME).... continuous positive airways pressure

Any quantity that varies. Any attribute, phenomenon or event that can have different values.... variable

A variable or fact that confuses a result. A confounder distorts the ability to attribute cause to a treatment, for example, because it is likely something else is confusing the result.... confounding variable

See TRANSFUSION.... continuous autologous transfusion

Items of information. continuous data: Data with a potentially infinite number of possible values along a continuum (e.g. height, weight). discrete data: Data that can be arranged into naturally occurring or arbitrarily groups or sets of values. individual data: Data that have not been put into a frequency distribution or rank ordered.... data

This legislation puts into e?ect the UK European Directive 95/46/EC on the processing of personal data, whether paper or computer records. The Act is based on eight principles, the ?rst of which stipulates that ‘personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully’. Unfortunately this phrase is open to di?erent interpretations. Clari?cation is required to determine how the common-law duty of con?dentiality affects the health services in the context of using data obtained from patients for research work, especially epidemiological studies (see EPIDEMIOLOGY). Health authorities, trusts and primary care groups in the NHS have appointed ‘Caldicott guardians’ – named after a review of information that identi?es patients. A prime responsibility of the guardians is to agree and review internal protocols for the protection and use of identi?able information obtained from patients. The uncertainties over the interpretation of the legislation require clari?cation, but some experts have suggested a workable solution: to protect patients’ rights, researchers should ensure that data are fully anonymised whenever possible; they should also agree their project design with those responsible for data protection well in advance of its planned starting date. (See ETHICS.)... data protection act 1998

In a statistical analysis, the outcome variable(s) or the variable(s) whose values are a function of, or dependent on the effect of other variable(s) (called independent variables) in the relationship under study.... dependent variable

See “data”.... discrete data

A variable that precedes, influences or predicts the dependent variable.... independent variable

See “data”.... individual data

A widely agreed upon and generally accepted set of terms and definitions constituting a core of data acquired for e.g. assessment purposes.... minimum data set

Information not available for a subject (or case) about whom other information is available.... missing data

The sum of all the activities which create desired change in quality. In the health care setting, quality improvement requires a feedback loop which involves the identification of patterns of the care of individuals (or of the performance of other systems involved in care), the analysis of those patterns in order to identify opportunities for improvement (or instances of departure from standards of care), and then action to improve the quality of care for future patients. An effective quality improvement system results in step-by-step increases in quality of care.... quality improvement / continuous quality improvement

The entire set of information that has been collected, before any cleaning, editing or statistical manipulation begins.... raw data

This type of analysis utilizes existing data sources either through synthesis or integration; meta-analysis is an example of secondary data analysis.... secondary data analysis

Any information given different weights in calculation or data in which values for some cases have been adjusted to reflect differences in the number of population units that each case represents.... weighted data

the route that a patient takes through the health-care system, from first admission to a hospital or treatment centre to final discharge. This may consist of one or more *spells in particular hospitals and one or more *finished consultant episodes. For example, a patient admitted to a district general hospital, transferred to a tertiary hospital for a specialist procedure, and then transferred back to the district general hospital for recovery would experience one continuous patient pathway but three spells.... continuous patient pathway

the administration of insulin by continuous infusion into the subcutaneous tissue via a small pump worn under the clothing and connected to the skin by a tube and a fine needle. The insulin is delivered at a precalculated background rate, but patient-activated *boluses can be administered at meal times. This method is particularly appropriate (as an alternative to regular injections) for patients with repeated or unpredictable episodes of hypoglycaemia.... continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion

see BiPAP.... variable positive airways pressure

legal safeguards relating to the use and storage of personal information about a living person. Under the Data Protection Act 2018, which implements the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and supersedes the Data Protection Act 1998, individuals have a basic right to control information stored about them. Information concerning health, considered ‘sensitive personal data’ under the legislation, must be used only for the purpose (health care of the individual) for which it was gathered, must be kept secret, and cannot be used or passed on to others without the knowledge of the subject. However, anonymized health data from individual patients’ electronic records may be used for research purposes or to improve medical treatment and health-service delivery.... data protection