Elementary Statistics, Sixth Edition (Bluman)Chapter 2: Frequency Distributions and GraphsHow Serious Are Hospital Infections? According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, hospital infections occur in nearly 2 million patients every year. Just how serious a problem is this? It is very serious since the article further reports that one out of every six patients who develop an infection while in the hospital dies. In the first 3 months of 2004, hospitals in Pennsylvania reported that there were 2253 hospital-acquired infections, and 388 deaths resulted from these infections. That is about 17%. The type and number of infections are shown in the following table.
Looking at the numbers presented in a table does not have the same impact as presenting numbers in a well-drawn chart or graph. The article did not include any graphs. This chapter will show you how to construct appropriate graphs to represent data and help you to get your point across to your audience. See Statistics Today—Revisited at the end of the chapter for some suggestions on how to represent the data graphically. |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
