Deck 7: Epidemiology in the Community

Question 1

An instructor is discussing the worldwide distribution of AIDS with a group of nursing students. The instructor should categorize this situation as a(n) :

A) epidemic.
B) pandemic.
C) endemic.
D) pathogenicity.

Answer 1

pandemic.

Question 2

After a class describing the contributions of Florence Nightingale to epidemiology, the instructor determines that the class needs additional instruction when they state that which accomplishment is associated with Nightingale?

A) Establishment of the need for a clean environment
B) A sophisticated coding system for medical conditions
C) Proper wound cleansing and bandaging techniques
D) Separation of infected individuals from those injured

Answer 2

A sophisticated coding system for medical conditions

Question 3

When applying the epidemiologic triad model to a community's plan of care, which would the community health nurse address?

A) Incidence, prevalence, and case fatality
B) Health, illness, and injury
C) Host, agent, and environment
D) Immunity, causation, and risk

Answer 3

Host, agent, and environment

Question 4

Which would the community health nurse identify as a key component of the host?

A) Infectivity
B) Antigenicity
C) Virulence
D) Inherent resistance

Question 5

Which statements apply to the concept of causality? Select all that apply.

A) Causality is the relationship between cause and effect.
B) The chain of causation is the most recent theory of causality.
C) The web of causation theory is the most recent theory of causality.
D) The chain of causation clearly explains causation in noninfectious disease.
E) Epidemiology has changed its view of causality over time.

Question 6

A community health nurse is explaining the chain of causation to a family that includes a child who has developed Lyme disease. The nurse correctly describes the opening in the child's skin caused by the actual tick bite as the:

A) reservoir.
B) mode of transmission.
C) portal of entry.
D) host.

Question 7

Which would the community health nurse include when integrating epidemiology of wellness into practice?

A) Lifestyle with its self-created risks
B) Communicable disease control
C) The natural history of disease
D) Vital statistics and reportable diseases

Question 8

The nurse is examining the possibility that multiple factors are involved in the development of cerebral palsy. Which is the nurse is applying?

A) Chain of causation
B) Web of causation
C) Strength of association
D) Temporality

Question 9

The nurse is reviewing a research article that describes the use of the bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to prevent tuberculosis that was given to individuals who were exposed to leprosy. The individuals did not develop the leprosy. The nurse interprets this as most accurately demonstrating which type of immunity?

A) Herd immunity
B) Passive immunity
C) Cross-immunity
D) Active immunity

Question 10

The nurse educator knows that a nursing student understands the basics of immunity when the student nurse states:

A) herd immunity only pertains to cows.
B) active immunity can be attained via the use of vaccines.
C) passive immunity can be attained via the use of vaccines.
D) cross-immunity is immunity that causes a person who is immune to one disease to be also immune to a completely different infectious agent.

Question 11

When assessing several populations, the nurse notes each population's relative risk. Using the relative risk ratio below, which population would require a major emphasis for risk reduction intervention?

A) 0.59
B) 1.13
C) 1.79
D) 2.45

Question 12

A community health nurse is discussing populations at risk with a student nurse. Which statements made by the student nurse indicates a need for further education about risk? Select all that apply.

A) "Risk is the probability that a disease or unfavorable health condition will develop."
B) "Risk means that the person who has the most negative influences will definitely develop the disease or unfavorable health condition."
C) "Risk refers to positive and negative influences on a person's likelihood of developing a specific disease."
D) "Risk can be measured using the relative risk ratio, which is based on the ratio of incidence in an exposed group to incidence rate in unexposed group."
E) "Risk is unimportant when determining the most effective points for community health intervention."

Question 13

While visiting a family's home, the community health nurse finds out that the two children in the home were exposed to chickenpox. Assessment of the children reveals no signs of fever or lesions. The nurse determines that the children may be in which stage of the disease?

A) Susceptibility
B) Subclinical disease
C) Clinical disease
D) Resolution

Question 14

During which stage of the natural history of a communicable disease would quarantine be most effective?

A) Susceptibility stage
B) Subclinical disease stage
C) Clinical disease stage
D) Resolution stage

Question 15

The nurse is reviewing actual census data for information for use in an epidemiologic study. Which information would the nurse be least likely to find?

A) Occupational status
B) Housing quality
C) Births recorded
D) Educational level

Question 16

A community health nurse is looking for data on the use of nursing home services and the common diagnoses of those using these services. Which source of information would be most appropriate for the nurse to investigate?

A) National Center for Health Statistics
B) Consumer Product Safety Commission
C) Environmental Protection Agency
D) Cancer disease registries

Question 17

Which statements are true about incidence and prevalence? Select all that apply.

A) Prevalence is the number of new cases of a disease or health condition.
B) Incidence is the number of new cases of a disease or health condition.
C) Prevalence refers to all of the people with a particular health condition existing in a given population at a given point in time.
D) Incidence refers to all of the people with a particular health condition existing in a given population at a given point in time.
E) When determining if a disease is endemic in a specific area, the statistic that is most helpful is prevalence.

Question 18

A community health nurse is preparing to carry out an experimental epidemiologic study. Which action would be most important for the nurse to take?

A) Focus the study on evaluating the cause of a disease.
B) Ensure carefully controlled conditions during the study.
C) Expose both groups to the same factor or condition.
D) Ensure that there are a substantial number of subjects.

Question 19

A community health nurse is participating in a case-control observational study. Which statement best explains this type of study?

A) Description of patterns of occurrence of illness and injury in a population
B) Investigation of development of health-illness conditions over a long period of time
C) Studying of a cohort with evaluation of variables associated with the disease or injury
D) Comparison of persons with and without a health-illness condition

Question 20

After teaching a group of students about the various types of epidemiologic research studies that can be done, the instructor determines that the teaching was effective when the students describe a community trial as:

A) "A type of experimental study conducted at the community level."
B) "An inexpensive type of analytic research study."
C) "A study that gathers volunteers for the experimental group."
D) "A way to locate health problems in a variety of communities."

Question 21

When using descriptive epidemiology, which type of study would the community health nurse expect to include?

A) Prevalence study
B) Case-control study
C) Cohort study
D) Count study

Question 22

Organize the following steps in the epidemiologic study from the first step to the last.
1) Collect the data.
2) Identify the problem.
3) Analyze the findings.
4) Disseminate the findings.
5) Review the literature.
6) Develop conclusions and applications.
7) Design the study.

A) 2, 5, 7, 1, 3, 6, 4
B) 2, 7, 1, 5, 6, 3, 4
C) 5, 2, 7, 1, 3, 6, 4
D) 5, 2, 7, 1, 6, 3, 4

Question 23

When implementing an epidemiologic research study, which would the community health nurse complete as the final step?

A) Analyze the data.
B) Design the study.
C) Disseminate the findings.
D) Review the literature.

Question 24

The community health nurse is investigating an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness from a foodborne pathogen in the local community. How would the nurse identify this outbreak occurrence?

A) Pandemic
B) Epidemic
C) Secular trend
D) Hyperendemic

Question 25

The community health nurse is discussing the chain of causation with a student nurse. Which statement made by the student nurse indicates no further need for additional teaching on the chain of causation?

A) "Humans can be considered a reservoir in the chain of causation."
B) "Bats are the largest reservoir of malaria identified in the chain of causation."
C) "The chain of causation begins with the portal of exit."
D) "The last link in the chain of causation is the agent itself."

Question 26

The community health nurse is discussing mortality rates with a student nurse. Which statement made by the student nurse indicates that no further teaching is needed regarding the calculation of mortality rates?

A) "Mortality rates are informative for fatal diseases."
B) "Mortality rates provide information about existing disease in clustered areas."
C) "Mortality rates are calculated using a population estimate every 10 years."
D) "Mortality rates indicate the genetic risk of developing a particular disease."

Question 27

The community health nurse is investigating how many cases of STDs have occurred in the local high school during the past month. Which approach is the nurse applying in the investigative process?

A) Experimental epidemiology
B) Analytical epidemiology
C) Descriptive epidemiology
D) Prevalence epidemiology

Question 28

The nurse is interviewing a caregiver who has three small children. The children are being seen for an upper respiratory infection. The caregiver has not developed any symptoms that the children are experiencing. The nurse interprets this as most accurately demonstrating which type of immunity?

A) Herd immunity
B) Passive immunity
C) Cross-immunity
D) Active immunity