Characterization of the historical trends in the teaching of Biostatistics

Abstract

Introduction: Statistics is a discipline that has become an effective tool to describe the values of economic, political,
social, psychological, biological or physical data, and facilitates relating and analyzing such data, thus preparing future
professionals for apply methods that consist of collecting, summarizing, presenting information and interpreting the
results, in particular, to the student of Medical Sciences. Objective: Characterize the historical ones that determined the teaching of Biostatistics in students of the Medicine career. Material and Methods: Theoretical sources were used such
as: review of specialized literature, methodological guidelines of educational centers, educational policies established
at required times, Study Plans, among other documents. Results: The subject of the interpretation of its results has not
been widely addressed from its didactic projection, since there are difficulties with the interpretation of the biostatistical
results and the way of professional action from the Main Integrative Discipline as a fundamental axis in the identification
and solution of health research problems and the use of research results in decision-making in comprehensive medical
care and health management, with the help of the rest of the training disciplines. Discussion: The purpose of Biostatistics
is to prepare the Medical Sciences student in the collection, processing, presentation and interpretation of health data,
making efficient use of statistical tools designed for this purpose. In this sense, various authors recognize that the
teaching of Biostatistics has been included, for a long time, in professional training as a seal to promote scientificity in
the investigative performance of the doctor. The interpretation of biomedical data is one of the pillars of the scientific
method, once the data analysis phase has been reached, which has been greatly simplified thanks to the development
of computer packages, making it easier for the researcher to draw conclusions and present the data in communications
and scientific publications. (Herrera, 2013. Conclusions: The trend study carried out revealed that the actors of the
process recognize the constant improvement regarding Biostatistics in all its historical evolution, however, difficulties still
appear in the teaching-learning process of the health professional to use the interpretation of data in the understanding
of the empirical study of facts and phenomena inherent to the science that is studied.