The Importance of Standardisation, Research Paper Example

Standardization is a concept that is used to enable a valid comparison of groups that differ in regard to relevant determinants. This concept is applied as a general method of controlling confounding factors in a population. Standardization uses two approaches, which are either direct or indirect standardization. Direct standardization is applicable where the population is large so that age rates are stable, whereas indirect standardization is applicable where the population is small, and standardization is used to produce standardized rates. The importance of using standardized stems from the ease of comparison as standardized form a summary of indices as contrasted with multiple strata in the lack of standardization (Lance & Carol, 2004). Standardization aims to summarize tends across the population in order to come up with representative figures that apply across the population.

A rate is the number of events, in this case disease and health, in a population at a given period or over a period. The importance of rates is that it assists in the comparison of changes in health or disease from one subpopulation to another. This in essence establishes the difference between the variables in the subpopulations in order to derive solutions to the problems in the subpopulation (James et al, 2008). In this regard, the rates help in the determination of variance between subpopulations that in turn help to compare the health and disease rates. This comparison is crucial as it forms the basis of developing strategies in the alleviation of the problem within the subpopulation. Comparing rates also assist in the determination of correlated factors between disease and suspected causes in subpopulations. These rates also determine the effectiveness of intervention measures used in the control of diseases.

Reference list

James, F. M, Robert, R. P., & Jerome E. K. (2008). An Introduction to Community Health. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Lance, A. W., & Carol, A. G. (2004). Applied Spatial Statistics for Public Health Data. John Wiley & Sons,