Statistical primer for athletic trainers: The difference between statistical and clinical meaningfulness

Objective: To explain statistical significance and clinical meaningfulness and to provide guidance in evaluating the clinical meaningfulness of a study. Background: Understanding the results and statistics reported in original research remains a large challenge for many certified athletic trainers, which in turn, may be among the biggest barriers to integrating research into athletic training practice. Description: Statistical significance reflects the influence of chance on the outcome, whereas clinical meaningfulness reflects the degree to which the differences and relationships reported in a study are relevant to athletic training practice. As consumers of original research, athletic trainers must understand the core factors, most notably sample size, that influence statistical significance. Recommendations: To assist clinicians in evaluating the clinical meaningfulness of a research study, authors should provide the core elements necessary for interpreting statistical significance and discuss the clinical meaningfulness of statistically significant findings.