One of the most serious health problems in India is malaria. Consequently, Indian hospital administrators must have the resources to treat the high volume of malaria patients that are admitted. Research published in the National Journal of Community Medicine (Vol. 1, 2010) investigated whether the malaria admission rate is higher in some months than in others. In a sample of 192 hospital patients admitted in January, 32 were treated for malaria. In an independent sample of 403 patients admitted in May (4 months later), 34 were treated for malaria.
a. Describe the two populations of interest in this study.
b. Give a point estimate of the difference in the malaria admission rates in January and May.
c. Find a 90% confidence interval for the difference in the malaria admission rates in January and May.
d. Based on the interval, part c, can you conclude that a difference exists in the true malaria admission rates in January and May? Explain.