The Final Project for this course involves using statistical techniques and applying them to real-world data. Your work on this project will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Use organizational and market data to explain and understand organizational performance for a group of hospitals.
• Develop and test hypotheses regarding performance of hospitals.
• Apply statistical methods of regression and comparison of means to interpret data.
• Summarize analyses in terms of meaningful findings and describe implications for health care professionals.

You must perform and complete all work for the Final Project individually. The project consists of three parts, which are detailed below. You will need to complete each of the tasks for these three parts using the VirginiaHospitals_2001-2005 database.

The Scenario

The acute care hospital has become the centerpiece of health care services and delivery of care in most communities. Hospitals play a significant role in ensuring the availability of medical technology, a variety of inpatient and outpatient services, and clinical expertise. Much of the available data for examining the performance of health services organizations is based on hospital information that is reported by the facilities themselves.

Health care professionals in leadership roles within hospitals have the responsibility of balancing costs with the availability and quality of services provided. These health care professionals must make tough decisions on staffing, services, and technology in order to provide for the community’s needs while maintaining their organization’s clinical integrity, operational efficiency, and financial viability. Organizational and market factors can have an impact on hospital performance, and these factors as well as their impact can change over time.

Final Project Details

In Part I of the Final Project (assigned and due in Week 6), you will be asked to calculate the means for selected variables and then to analyze differences in those variables between 2001 and 2005.

In Part II of the Final Project (assigned and due in Week 7), you will develop and run a multiple regression model to define relationships between independent variables and a dependent variable of interest.

In Part III of the Final Project (assigned and due in Week 8), you will consider the implications of the research findings for health care professionals, as well as limitations of the research.

Final Project, Part I

Calculation of Means and Comparison of Means

To prepare for this first Final Project assignment, it is suggested that you first review pertinent information that was presented in previous weeks of this course (e.g., topics related to measure of central tendency).

To complete the assignment, examine the data provided in the VirginiaHospitals_2001-2005 database. Save a version of this Microsoft Excel document to use to complete your assignment.

Next, calculate the mean for each of the variables below for the year 2001:

• Total Operating Expense
• Net Charity Care
• RN FTEs
• Payroll Expenses
• Bad Debt Expenses
• Staffed Beds
• Occupancy*
• Medicare Days
• Medicaid Days
• Total Surgeries
• Outpatient Visits
• Emergency Visits

*Occupancy must be calculated as Patient Days/(Licensed Beds X 365).

Then, calculate the mean for the same set of variables for the year 2005.

Finally, compute the changes between the two sets of means (for 2001 and 2005) and test for significant differences using a comparison of means test.

Note: Your version of Microsoft Excel may differ, but many students will be able to do this test by clicking on Tools, Data Analysis, t-Test Paired Two Sample for Means.

Once you have performed all of the above tasks, use the resultant data to complete the written analysis portion of this assignment, for which you will need to submit the following :

• A Microsoft Excel table that shows the calculated values for each year and the differences in means.
  
  
• A Microsoft Word document that includes:
  • A paragraph that summarizes these changes and reports the statistical significance of the differences between 2001 and 2005 for each of the above variables. (Indicate significance or no significance both in the Microsoft Excel table and in this paragraph.)
  • A one-half to 1 page that addresses the following: What can you conclude about the data? What are some implications for health care professionals regarding the performance of hospitals in this state in the period from 2001 through 2005? Provide your rationale.

Multiple Regression Analysis

To prepare for this second Final Project assignment, it is suggested that you review pertinent information presented in previous weeks of this course (e.g., topics related to hypothesis testing, descriptive statistics, and measure of central tendency).

To complete the assignment, use the saved version of the VirginiaHospitals_2001-2005 database to create a new worksheet by copying and pasting the variables listed below.

Next, run a multiple regression model using 2005 data that has Total operating expense_05 as the dependent variable and the following variables as independent predictors:

• Staffed beds_05
• Medicare Days_05
• Medicaid Days_05
• Total Surgeries_05
• RN FTE_05
• Occupancy
• Ownership
• System Membership
• Rural/Urban
• Teaching Affiliation
• Age 65+
• Crime Rate
• Uninsured

Then, write paper in which you:

• Specify the model in terms of a regression equation.
• For each predictor variable, state a hypothesis based on your understanding of the expected relationship of that variable to the dependent variable and provide your rationale for the stated hypothesis.
• Report summary descriptive statistics for each of the variables in your model (mean or percentage, and standard deviation).
• Report the coefficient and the sign (plus [+] or minus [–]) for each variable and the statistical significance of each variable (level of significance or nonsignificance), as well as the R-square for the model.
• Interpret the findings and explain what they would mean to a health care professional working in a hospital setting.

Final Project, Part III

Implications and Limitations of Research

To prepare for this third Final Project assignment, review the findings from your Part II Final Project assignment.

• Analyze the implications of the findings from your Part II Final Project assignment.
• Based on these findings, explain what actions you might take as a health care professional working in a hospital setting.
• Identify and briefly discuss the limitations of this research.

Price: $5.31

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 3 pages, 231 words.
Deliverable: Word Document