In a skewed distribution of hospital stay duration for appendicectomy patients (positively skewed, range 1–45 days), the best measure of central tendency to report for policy planning is:
- A Median, as it is resistant to extreme outliers and best represents the typical patient ✓
- B Arithmetic mean, as it uses all data points
- C Mode, as it represents the most frequent value
- D Geometric mean, as it is always appropriate for skewed data
Correct answer: A. Median, as it is resistant to extreme outliers and best represents the typical patient
Explanation
In a positively skewed distribution, the arithmetic mean is pulled upward by a few very long-stay outliers and overestimates the typical patient's experience. The median divides the distribution at the 50th percentile and is not affected by extreme values, making it the best descriptor of central tendency for skewed data in policy planning. The geometric mean is specifically useful for log-normally distributed data (e.g., dilution titres, growth rates), not simply any skewed distribution.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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