Statistics and risk
Clinical significance
Whether a result is large and relevant enough to matter to patients or practice.
What it means
Definition
Clinical significance. Clinical significance asks whether an effect is meaningful, not merely detectable. It requires context: severity of outcome, burden of treatment, harms, costs and patient priorities.
What it can tell you
It can help clarify what sort of evidence or claim is being discussed.
What it cannot tell you
It cannot, by itself, prove that the headline is accurate or clinically important.
Headline trap
Why this matters in headlines
A statistically significant improvement on a questionnaire may be too small for patients to notice.