Aim.

To evaluate the current scientific evidence of the relationship between attitude towards statistics and performance in the Biostatistics course in Medicine students.

Subjects and methods.

A search was performed in the Google Scholar database of all those articles published from January 2010 to February 2020 in English or Spanish that evaluated attitudes towards statistics according to the Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS) instrument and performance in the field of Biostatistics in Medicine students. The combination by means of meta-analysis of the mean scores on the subscales and total of SATS and its correlation coefficients with the performance in the field of Biostatistics were performed using a random effects model.

Results.

Four studies were selected, published between 2012 and 2020, and carried out in three different countries: China, Serbia and Spain. Two were carried out in medical degree students and two in postgraduate. Overall, medical students maintained positive attitudes towards statistics, although they conceived it as a difficult subject. The positive attitude towards statistics was correlated with a higher achievement in the subject.

Conclusions.

The positive attitude towards statistics has a beneficial impact on the performance of Biostatistics. Therefore, from the degree, a good attitude towards statistics must be fostered through the use of real examples, problem-based learning, specific computer workshops and research work with real data, among others.

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