Prof Malcolm Hooper raises concerns about the use of statistics in current research:
Statistics and the conclusions drawn from them are nowhere more crucial than in the delivery of medical care. Drawing appropriate conclusions from correctly processed and interpreted data is vital. Where this doesn’t happen, the consequences can be devastating.
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are seen as the gold standard – so how is it possible to arrive at a translation into clinical practice that presents a nightmare to some of the sickest people in the country? This is what happened with the PACE Trial, in which it was possible for a participant to deteriorate physically over the course of the trial yet still be reported as having “recovered”.
PACE is the acronym for “Pacing, Activity, and Cognitive behavioural therapy, a randomised Evaluation”; it cost over £5 million and was described as a Government-funded RCT of rehabilitation strategies for patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)…
