Regression modeling strategies: An illustrative case study from medical rehabilitation outcomes research

The practice of outcomes research is growing in all segments of the health care industry, yet few practitioners and researchers are prepared to deal w ith the completion of statistical analyses that characterize the new focus on results. This article discusses basic model formulation and interpretati on. It also encourages the use Of statistical models that study the simulta neous effects of many variables on an outcome and gives examples of relatio nships among variables that are not simple and linear The methods are illus trated with a dataset consisting of stroke rehabilitation inpatients discha rged during a 3-year period with an admission date that is within 1 year af ter stroke.