Nursing students' attitudes toward statistics: Effect of a biostatistics course and association with examination performance

Background: Although statistical knowledge and skills are necessary for promoting evidence-based practice, health sciences students have expressed anxiety about statistics courses, which may hinder their learning of statistical concepts.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of a biostatistics course on nursing students' attitudes toward statistics and to explore the association between these attitudes and their performance in the course examination.

Design: One-group quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design.

Setting and participants: Undergraduate nursing students of the fifth or higher semester of studies, who attended a biostatistics course.

Methods: Participants were asked to complete the pre-test and post-test forms of The Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS)-36 scale at the beginning and end of the course respectively. Pre-test and post-test scale scores were compared, while correlations between post-test scores and participants' examination performance were estimated.

Results: Among 156 participants, post-test scores of the overall SATS-36 scale and of the Affect, Cognitive Competence, Interest and Effort components were significantly higher than pre-test ones, indicating that the course was followed by more positive attitudes toward statistics. Among 104 students who participated in the examination, higher post-test scores of the overall SATS-36 scale and of the Affect, Difficulty, Interest and Effort components were significantly but weakly correlated with higher examination performance.

Conclusions: Students' attitudes toward statistics can be improved through appropriate biostatistics courses, while positive attitudes contribute to higher course achievements and possibly to improved statistical skills in later professional life.