Deck 5: Epidemiology

Question 1

In which of the following circumstances would it be more helpful to use the wheel model of epidemiology than the epidemiological triangle model?

A) When factors outside the triangle model are involved
B) When there are multiple causes for a chronic disease
C) When research has not yet determined the exact cause
D) When trying to explain the situation to a lay person

Answer 1

When there are multiple causes for a chronic disease

Question 2

Which of the following best describes a model that demonstrates the progression of disease from prepathogenesis through disease outcome?

A) Epidemiological model
B) Ecosocial model
C) Natural history model
D) Wheel model

Answer 2

Natural history model

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the importance of discovering all of the variables that may be involved in creating a disease state in some persons?

A) People want an explanation of why they are ill.
B) Knowing causes helps obtain funds for research to try to create a cure.
C) Finding variables that are susceptible to prevention or early intervention is important.
D) It is important to educate communities on how to avoid any risk factors.

Answer 3

Finding variables that are susceptible to prevention or early intervention is important.

Question 4

Which of the following has been determined to be a major variable in transmission of sexually transmitted infections?

A) The pathogenesis of the involved agents
B) The susceptibility of the host
C) The environment in which the hosts live
D) The amount of sex education provided in the schools

Question 5

A community health nurse determined exactly how many cases of a particular disease were currently occurring in the community. Which of the following actions should the nurse take before determining what interventions should be planned?

A) Analyze whether the disease was a priority to the nurse's agency
B) Compare the current rate with the previous rate of disease
C) Determine what resources are available to intervene
D) Share the findings with the public health agency leadership

Question 6

Which of the following statements best describes why the incidence and prevalence of gonorrhea is unknown?

A) Gonorrhea is not a reportable condition.
B) Gonorrhea can vary in how long the infection remains in the body.
C) Gonorrhea can be cured with antibiotics, so people do not remain infected.
D) People are ashamed to admit they have gonorrhea.

Question 7

In a particular community, the rate of new cases of diabetes and the rate of new cases of flu during the month of January were precisely the same. Which disease would have the higher prevalence rate?

A) As an acute condition, flu would have the higher prevalence rate.
B) As a chronic condition, diabetes would have the higher prevalence rate.
C) Flu would have the higher prevalence rate because people can get flu several times in one season.
D) Flu would have the higher prevalence rate because it is so contagious.

Question 8

An epidemiologist has written a summary of a food poisoning outbreak, including its cause and ways to prevent it from occurring in the future. Which of the following best describes what has been done?

A) Analytic epidemiology
B) Descriptive epidemiology
C) Prospective cohort study
D) Retrospective cross-sectional survey

Question 9

One hundred women received notification that their screening tests suggested that they might have a serious health problem. Which of the following actions should the nurse take to ensure that they will complete follow-up testing?

A) Compliment them on their willingness to be tested and suggest an immediate appointment before they have too much time to think about the issue.
B) Imply that the test could be wrong; the testing materials may not be effective, but the only way to be sure is to be tested further.
C) Point out that screening is only suggestive and that not all positive screenings mean they actually have the health problem.
D) Reassurance is not therapeutic; reality must be faced. Emphasize the need for immediate treatment.

Question 10

Which of the following groups should be used to determine the community's pregnancy rate?

A) All persons between 15 and 45 years old in the community
B) The total population of the community
C) The total population of women in the community
D) Women between 15 and 45 years old in the community

Question 11

Two brothers played with their cousin. One brother later became quite ill, whereas the other did not. Which of the following provides the best explanation for this occurrence?

A) Difference in length of time exposed
B) Difference in how actively the children played
C) Difference in genetic inheritance between the two brothers
D) Difference in lifestyle between the two brothers

Question 12

A newspaper published an article stating that the athletic banquet at the local high school had approximately 1000 family members in attendance. Exactly 650 persons became ill within 24 hours, complaining of severe diarrhea, vomiting, and cramping. Which of the following best describes the attack rate?

A) 650 persons
B) 1000 persons
C) 650:1000
D) 6.5%

Question 13

When trying to determine whether the swine flu outbreak was getting worse, which of the following rates should be carefully observed?

A) The crude death rate
B) The age-specific death rate
C) The swine flu incidence rate
D) The swine flu prevalence rate

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the advantage of the web of causation model in comparison with the epidemiological triangle model?

A) The web of causation model is easier to understand and use.
B) The web of causation model is more widely known and publicized.
C) The web of causation model is more recent and current.
D) The web of causation model shows the relationships among variables.

Question 15

A nurse conducted a study of two skin lotions: (1) an inexpensive one and (2) an expensive one. The nurse found that there was a relative risk of 0.7 for skin sores using the inexpensive one and a relative risk of 1.2 using the expensive one. Which skin lotion should the nurse use?

A) Impossible to tell from the data given
B) It made no difference which lotion was used
C) The expensive lotion
D) The inexpensive lotion

Question 16

People were very concerned about another outbreak of swine flu. All care providers were asked to report, without individual names, any new cases to the public health department for tracking. Which of the following would be most helpful for the local media to report to keep citizens informed?

A) The ongoing incidence rate
B) The ongoing prevalence of the illness
C) How many were hospitalized
D) How many had died so far in local hospitals and care facilities

Question 17

Which of the following research studies would determine the attributable risk of a sedentary lifestyle in cardiac disease?

A) Measuring all cases of cardiac problems in a specific community
B) Comparing the number of persons with cardiac disease among athletes with the number among nonathletes in a community
C) Subtracting the rate of cardiac disease among athletes from the rate of cardiac disease among nonathletes
D) Calculating the relative risk and then subtracting the attack rate to determine the attributable risk

Question 18

Which of the following would be the best method to increase the positive predictive value of a screening test?

A) Test a large population at once
B) Test a group at high risk for the health problem
C) Use a very sensitive screening test
D) Use a very specific screening test

Question 19

A student athlete receives a screening examination before being active in school sports. Which of the following levels of prevention is being used?

A) Health prevention
B) Primary prevention
C) Secondary prevention
D) Tertiary prevention

Question 20

For which of the following would a screening test be most appropriate?

A) Disease A, which must be caught early because society punishes those known to have the disease
B) Disease B, which can be controlled if caught early in the disease process
C) Disease C, which people need to know whether they have contracted, even though there is no treatment for the disease
D) Disease D, because people may want to use that information in family planning

Question 21

One famous study followed a cohort of nurses over their lives, collecting data and health histories as they aged. Which of the following would be the most appropriate categorization of this study?

A) Cross-sectional study
B) Prospective study
C) Retrospective study
D) True experiment

Question 22

A researcher is examining potential risk factors in comparison with disease at a specific time through collecting data regarding current exercise, sleep patterns, and current health status among 12-year-olds. Which of the following research studies would be most appropriate?

A) Cross-sectional study
B) Prospective study
C) Retrospective study
D) True experiment

Question 23

An epidemiologist is gathering data to determine which factors may lead to disease. Which of the following data will be gathered? (Select all that apply.)

A) Demographic characteristics
B) Disease characteristics
C) Geographic data
D) Health protection measures taken
E) Length of the disease process
F) When disease struck the area

Question 24

A researcher, interested in the onset of early menses, compared the life experiences and history of 1000 14-year-old girls, half of whom had monthly periods and half of whom did not, to determine what variables might be observed. Which of the following would be the most appropriate categorization of this study?

A) Cross-sectional study
B) Prospective study
C) Retrospective study
D) True experiment

Question 25

Which of the following factors are necessary to assume there might be a cause-effect relationship between a particular variable A and a specific illness? (Select all that apply.)

A) It is easy to understand how the variable A could lead to the illness.
B) Research studies consistently demonstrate a relationship between variable A and the illness.
C) The illness is frequently seen without the presence of variable A.
D) The more of variable A present, the sicker the person becomes.
E) Variable A is always found after the person becomes ill.
F) Variable A is never found in the presence of other illnesses.

Question 26

Which of the following best describes the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?

A) It provided excellence in research design.
B) It used an extensive subject base leading to confirmed conclusions.
C) It developed information about the causes and treatment of syphilis.
D) It implemented unethical and racist treatment of uninformed subjects.

Question 27

A researcher has limited time and funds. Which of the following research designs would be most appropriate?

A) Cohort study
B) Incidence study
C) Longitudinal study
D) Retrospective study

Question 28

A nurse wanted a screening test that was very sensitive in determining who might have a particular illness. What might be a problem with using such a sensitive test? (Select all that apply.)

A) Many persons have true negative test results.
B) Persons who test negative are able to celebrate their healthy state.
C) Persons who do not have the illness are told that they might, which leads to anxiety, as well as time and cost of follow-up diagnostic tests.
D) Such a test may have lower specificity, so some persons with the disease are told they are disease free and hence do not receive care.
E) There is no problem; it is best to use the most sensitive screening test available.
F) Persons who have the disease are notified and receive treatment.

Question 29

Which of the following is the most effective way to determine if Healthy People 2020 is improving the health of Americans?

A) Availability of relatable data on total population's health problems
B) Comprehensive and systematically collected surveillance data on the health status of various population groups
C) Increased financing to allow ongoing collation of information
D) Willingness of individuals to share health information with the federal government

Question 30

A researcher wanted to engage in the best possible research design to obtain reliable information about the possible cause(s) of a disease. Which of the following designs would the researcher choose?

A) Cross-sectional study
B) Descriptive study
C) Prospective study
D) Retrospective study

Question 31

On the basis of findings related to elevated blood levels of cholesterol, a researcher wanted to determine whether a new drug would notably lower the blood levels of cholesterol in otherwise healthy persons. Which of the following studies would the researcher most likely use?

A) Cross-sectional study
B) Experimental study
C) Prospective study
D) Retrospective study

Question 32

Which of the following information must be analyzed to derive an adequate explanation of disease? (Select all that apply.)

A) Description of commonalities among those who became ill
B) Depiction of the possible pathogen
C) Explanation of the health care system in the community
D) Portrayal of the geographic area where people became ill
E) Review of the methods by which disease can be spread
F) Substances that are effective in sanitizing the area described

Question 33

A client has developed pellagra because of a lack of certain B vitamins. Which of the following best describes the classification of the nutritional deficiency?

A) Relative risk factor
B) Agent factor
C) Environment factor
D) Host factor

Question 34

Which of the following best describes the advantage of the ecosocial epidemiology model over both the web of causation model and the epidemiological triangle model? (Select all that apply.)

A) It decreases the focus on the individual person.
B) It demonstrates the usefulness of molecular epidemiology in disease prevention.
C) It emphasizes the role of complex political and economic context.
D) It is more useful in public policy campaigns in explaining what people need to do to protect themselves.
E) It reflects the current emphasis on ecology and the environment.
F) Its use suggests possible public policy interventions.