Each of these relationships reflects a correlation. Which relationship most likely reflects correlation but not causation?Choices:(A) For a patient, getting blood work done more often is associated with getting X-rays taken more often.(B) For a doctor, having more patients is associated with having less time to spend with each patient.(C) For a nurse, taking more blood pressures is associated with recording more information.
Q. Each of these relationships reflects a correlation. Which relationship most likely reflects correlation but not causation?Choices:(A) For a patient, getting blood work done more often is associated with getting X-rays taken more often.(B) For a doctor, having more patients is associated with having less time to spend with each patient.(C) For a nurse, taking more blood pressures is associated with recording more information.
Analyze Relationship: Analyze the relationship of option (A): Does getting blood work done more often cause a patient to get X-rays taken more often? While these two activities may occur more frequently for a patient with more complex medical needs, one does not necessarily cause the other. They could both be correlated with a third factor, such as the overall health status of the patient.
Analyze Patients and Time: Analyze the relationship of option (B): Does having more patients cause a doctor to have less time to spend with each patient? This seems to imply a direct cause-and-effect relationship, as the more patients a doctor has, the less time they can allocate to each, assuming the doctor's total available time is fixed.
Analyze Blood Pressure Recording: Analyze the relationship of option (C): Does taking more blood pressures cause a nurse to record more information? This relationship seems to be a direct result of the task at hand. If a nurse takes more blood pressures, they will naturally have more information to record. This implies a direct causation.
Select Correlation vs Causation: Finally, select the option that most likely reflects correlation but not causation. The answer is (A) 'For a patient, getting blood work done more often is associated with getting X-rays taken more often.' This relationship is likely to be correlated due to a third factor (overall health status) but does not imply that one action causes the other.