醫療人員如何應用次級資料分析

Secondary Data Analysis for Healthcare Providers

現今醫療人員除了負責日常臨床工作外，往往需要兼顧學術研究的產出，但蒐集研究資料耗時耗費，每每令醫療人員對研究工作望而卻步。運用前人已蒐集的資料進行次級次料分析的研究，不但費用較低，收案時間亦可以縮。此外，部分資料庫樣本數目龐大，有利研究較為罕見的案例。若資料的抽樣是以整體人口結構為標準時，結果更具該人口的代表性。然而，次級資料分析亦有一些研究限制，例如變項的效度和重要的干擾因子是否缺乏等。整體而言，次級資料分析在獲得研究資料較為省時，但研究過程的其它階段與一般研究大同小異，嚴謹的學術態度和具臨床價值的研究主題仍是基本和重要的條件。本文旨在簡述次級次料分析的優點、限制及研究流程，以提供醫療人員研究、培訓及持續進修的參考。

In addition to the daily routine clinical responsibilities, healthcare providers often have to concern with their research output in modern era. However, owing to the time and cost associated with data collection, they may be reluctant to engage in research work. Using secondary data analysis on databases with previously collected information not only can reduce the cost but also shorten the time of data collection. In addition, certain databases with large sample sizes can facilitate studies of rare events. If the data were sampled based on the structure of the population, the results can well represent the target population. Nevertheless, there are certain limitations on secondary data analysis such as the validity of the variables and the availability of important confounding factors. In general, aside from the saving time associated with data collection, the research process of secondary data analysis is not considerably different from that of typical research studies. A conscientious attitude and a research topic with clinical significance are still the most basic and important requirements. The present paper aimed to illustrate the advantages, limitations, and research process of secondary data analysis. Healthcare providers can use this as a basis for planning their research work and as a part of their continuing education.