Admissions to a mental health emergency room and full moons
A dataset with 36 observations on the following 3 variables.
Month |
Month of the year |
Moon |
Relationship to full moon: After, Before, or During |
Admission |
Number of emergency room admissions |
Some researchers in the early 1970s set out to study whether there is a "full-moon" effect on emergency room admissions at a mental health hospital. They separated the data over 12 months into rates before the full moon (mean number of patients seen 4-13 days before the full moon), during the full moon (the number of patients seen on the full moon day), and after the full moon (mean number of patients seen 4-13 days after the full moon).
The original discussion of the study is in Blackman, S., and Catalina, D. (1973). "The moon and the emergency room." Perceptual and Motor Skills 37, 624-626.