| Course | HI230 Quality Assurance and Statistics in Health Information 1 |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | Statistical display |
| Length | About 840 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Information Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HI230 Unit 9
One Page and Fifteen Minutes: A Unit 9 Statistical Display of Eight Quarters of Average Length of Stay for Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics, Shown as a Table With Discharge Counts and as a Directly Labeled Line Chart
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HI230: Quality Assurance and Statistics in Health Information 1
Unit 9 Statistical Display
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The hospital, its services and every figure are composite; the display principles and the sources cited are real.
Purpose
Prepared for the Medical Staff Quality Committee, January meeting. The question: is average length of stay drifting on any of the three adult service lines over the last two years?
Exhibit 1. Average Length of Stay in Days, by Service Line and Quarter, Adult Inpatients, 2024 to 2025
Values are average length of stay in days, followed by the number of discharges in the quarter, for Quarter 1 2024 through Quarter 4 2025 in order.
1. Medicine: 4.6 (1,420); 4.7 (1,385); 4.6 (1,360); 4.8 (1,410); 4.9 (1,455); 4.9 (1,390); 5.0 (1,372); 5.1 (1,430).
2. Surgery: 3.8 (760); 3.8 (775); 3.7 (790); 3.7 (770); 3.6 (785); 3.5 (800); 3.5 (810); 3.4 (795).
3. Obstetrics: 2.4 (305); 2.5 (298); 2.4 (312); 2.4 (290); 2.3 (301); 2.4 (296); 2.4 (309); 2.4 (288).
Note: Average length of stay equals total length of stay for patients discharged in the quarter divided by the number of those discharges (Horton, 2017). Newborns and observation stays are excluded. Source: composite hospital discharge abstract, extracted January 6.
Exhibit 2. Average Length of Stay in Days, by Service Line, Adult Inpatients, Quarter 1 2024 to Quarter 4 2025
The chart plots the same three series as lines across eight quarters. The horizontal axis carries the quarters in order, labeled Q1 2024 through Q4 2025. The vertical axis runs from 0 to 6 days in steps of 1, with light gridlines. Each line is labeled once, in its own color, at its right-hand end: Medicine 5.1, Surgery 3.4, Obstetrics 2.4. The three lines also differ in style, solid for medicine, dashed for surgery and dotted for obstetrics, so the chart still reads when a committee member prints it in grayscale. There is no legend, no background shading and no third dimension. A note under the chart reads: the vertical axis starts at zero; on this scale a half-day change is visible but not exaggerated. The table answers how much; the chart answers which way. A committee member should be able to use either one without the other.
Why the Display Looks Like This
Lines suit a measure tracked across time because the eye follows the slope from one quarter to the next, while bars would invite comparisons between unconnected heights. Labels at the end of each line spare the reader the trip to a legend and back, a small saving that matters when the page is read in a meeting. The zero baseline was a judgment call. A baseline at 2 days would make medicine's rise look dramatic, and this committee has in the past started reviews on the strength of steep-looking charts, so the honest scale was the safer choice. Decorations that add ink without adding information, such as shading, three-dimensional effects and heavy borders, were left out (Tufte, 2001). The table stays on the page because committee members quote exact numbers, and statisticians who argue for turning tables into graphs still accept that exact values sometimes need a table beside the picture (Gelman et al., 2002). Each discharge count sits beside its average so that a reader can weigh the figures. Obstetrics rests on about 300 discharges a quarter, so a movement of a tenth of a day there means less than the same movement in medicine, which carries more than 1,300.
What the Display Shows
Medicine's average rose from 4.6 to 5.1 days across the eight quarters, a gain of half a day, with five of the seven quarter-to-quarter changes pointing up. At about 1,400 discharges a quarter, half a day amounts to roughly 700 extra bed days each quarter. Surgery fell steadily from 3.8 to 3.4 days. Obstetrics held between 2.3 and 2.5 days throughout, the variation expected from a few hundred births.
What It Does Not Show
The display shows that medicine's stays are longer. It does not show why. A rise of this kind can come from older or sicker patients, from delays in moving patients to rehabilitation or skilled nursing, or from a change in who is counted, such as short stays moving to observation status. The figures above cannot separate these explanations, and the committee should not assume any one of them.
Suggested Next Step
The one breakdown worth requesting is medicine's length of stay by discharge disposition for the same eight quarters: home, home with services, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and death. If the rise sits in patients going to skilled nursing, the problem is likely placement delay; if it is spread evenly, case mix becomes the next question. The same display format would serve that request, with five lines instead of three.
References
Gelman, A., Pasarica, C., & Dodhia, R. (2002). Let's practice what we preach: Turning tables into graphs. The American Statistician, 56(2), 121-130. https://doi.org/10.1198/000313002317572790
Horton, L. A. (2017). Calculating and reporting healthcare statistics (5th ed.). AHIMA Press.
Tufte, E. R. (2001). The visual display of quantitative information (2nd ed.). Graphics Press.
What the HI230 Unit 9 assignment asks for
Unit 9 usually supplies a data set, often several measures over time, and asks you to present it as a table, a chart or both, with a short written interpretation. The prompt typically names an audience, such as a committee or a department head, and the display is judged by how well it serves that reader. Expect to write numbered titles that state the measure, the population and the period; to label axes and units; to add a source line and a note defining the measure; and to explain your design choices briefly. Some sections specify the chart type, while others ask you to justify the one you chose. The narrative should say what the display shows and what it cannot show, and most prompts want at least one source on display design in APA 7.
How this HI230 Unit 9 example is built
The display opens with a two-sentence purpose naming the committee and its question. Exhibit 1 is a table of three service lines across eight quarters, each value followed by its discharge count, with a note defining average length of stay and a source line. Exhibit 2 describes the line chart in full: axis ranges, gridlines, direct labels, line styles and the note explaining the zero baseline. A highlighted line states the division of labor between the two exhibits. A rationale paragraph explains lines over bars, direct labels, the baseline and the absence of decoration, citing two well-known sources on display design. The narrative turns medicine's rise into about 700 extra bed days a quarter, then says plainly that the display cannot explain the rise. A suggested next step closes the page.
Reading the HI230 Unit 9 grading rubric
Display rubrics reward fit to the audience and accuracy of presentation. Points go to complete, informative titles; labeled axes with units; a sensible scale; a source line; and a definition of the measure. Choosing a chart type that suits the data, such as lines for change over time, earns credit, and so does explaining that choice. Graders look for a narrative that states the main pattern accurately without overclaiming causes, and many give credit for noting sample size where it affects interpretation. Avoiding clutter, three-dimensional effects and misleading baselines is part of the marks in most sections. A recommendation for the next analysis often earns the final points. The underlying numbers must match across table and chart, and sources on design should be cited in APA 7.
HI230 Unit 9 help: mistakes that cost points
The most common lost points come from vague titles, such as Length of Stay, that leave out the population and the period. Write the full title. Another frequent problem is a chart whose axis starts high enough to make a small change look dramatic, with no note to warn the reader. Students also rely on a legend in place of direct labels, use colors that vanish in grayscale or add decorative effects that distort values. In the narrative, avoid explaining causes the data cannot show. Leaving out discharge counts hides how much weight each figure can bear. If you have a data set and an audience in mind, send them and we can build the table, the chart description and the narrative together. Check that every number in the chart appears identically in the table.
Get an HI230 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Send the data your Unit 9 assignment provides, or describe it if it sits in a course file, plus the instructions, the rubric and any required software or chart type. The custom display, table, chart and short narrative together, is built from your figures and arrives in 24-48h. The first sample is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HI230 Unit 9 questions, answered
Should the display be a table or a chart?
Often both, because they do different jobs. A table gives exact values a committee member can quote; a chart shows direction and pace at a glance. Both appear in the example for the same data, each under its own title. Where only one is allowed, the question decides: a table for exact comparison, a chart for change over time.
Does the vertical axis always have to start at zero?
For bars, yes, since bar length encodes the value. Line charts are more flexible, and a non-zero baseline can be defensible when it is clearly marked. The example starts at zero because its audience is a committee likely to overread small movements, and it explains the choice in a note so the decision is visible rather than hidden.
What software should the chart be made in?
Whatever your section specifies; spreadsheet charting is usually enough. The grading in this unit looks at titles, labels, scales, sources and fit to the question, none of which depend on the tool. The example was laid out to survive printing in grayscale, which is worth doing whenever a committee might photocopy the page for a meeting.
Where can I find a free HI230 Unit 9 sample paper?
This page carries the full Unit 9 display: a table of eight quarters for three service lines, a fully described line chart and the short narrative for the committee.
Should a line chart for length of stay start at zero?
Starting at zero keeps a small change from looking larger than it is. A higher baseline can be defended for a technical audience if the chart clearly notes it.