Deck 12: Epidemiology

Question 1

A nurse is studying the characteristics of an agent as part of the epidemiologic triangle.Which of the following is the nurse most likely studying?

A) Human population distribution
B) Salmonella
C) Genetic susceptibility
D) Climate

Answer 1

Salmonella

Question 2

An epidemiologist wants to know what caused severe diarrhea and vomiting in several people at a local banquet.Which of the following principles is being applied in this situation?

A) Descriptive epidemiology
B) Analytic epidemiology
C) Distribution
D) Determinants

Answer 2

Analytic epidemiology

Question 3

A public health nurse (PHN)reports an attack rate.Which of the following has most likely been reported?

A) Number of cases of cancer recorded at a medical center
B) Number of people who died of Ebola in a given year
C) Number of beef cattle inoculated against mad-cow disease on a farm
D) Proportion of people becoming ill after eating at a fast-food restaurant

Answer 3

Proportion of people becoming ill after eating at a fast-food restaurant

Question 4

A nurse offers a screening for hearing defects at a local community center.Which of the following best describes the action of the nurse?

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

Question 5

A screening for diabetes revealed 20 previously diagnosed diabetics and 10 probable new cases,which were later confirmed,for a total of 30 cases.Which of the following best describes what is being measured?

A) Prevalence
B) Incidence
C) Attack rate
D) Morbidity rate

Question 6

Which statement is true about mortality rates? Mortality rates:

A) are informative only for fatal diseases.
B) provide information about existing disease in the population.
C) are calculated using a population estimate at year-end.
D) reveal the risk of getting a particular disease.

Question 7

The factors,exposures,characteristics,and behaviors that determine patterns of disease are described using:

A) descriptive epidemiology.
B) analytic epidemiology.
C) distribution.
D) determinants.

Question 8

Public health professionals refer to three levels of prevention as tied to specific stages in the:

A) epidemiologic triangle.
B) web of causation.
C) natural history of disease.
D) surveillance process.

Question 9

As a result of an outbreak of influenza in a community,a nurse encourages members of the community to receive the influenza vaccine.Which of the following levels of prevention is being used?

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

Question 10

A nurse refers a client with a neuromuscular disease to a vocational rehabilitation program.Which of the following best describes the action of the nurse?

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

Question 11

The probability an event will occur within a specified period of time is called:

A) rate.
B) risk.
C) epidemiology.
D) epidemic.

Question 12

A nurse is investigating a serious epidemic of influenza.Which of the following best describes the amount of cases that are being examined?

A) 50 cases
B) 100 cases
C) 500 cases
D) Unable to determine

Question 13

A nurse who is studying chronic disease considers the multifactorial etiology of illness.What does this imply?

A) Genetics and molecular structure of disease is paramount.
B) Single organisms that cause a disease, such as cholera, must be studied in more detail
C) Focus should be on the factors or combinations and levels of factors contributing to disease.
D) The recent rise in infectious disease is the main focus.

Question 14

A nurse states that she has been reading about an epidemic that has been occurring in the world.Which of the following is she most likely referring to?

A) "Bird" flu in China
B) Adult obesity in the United States
C) An isolated case of smallpox in Africa
D) The nursing shortage in the United States

Question 15

A nurse implements a program that focuses on secondary prevention.Which of the following is most likely the topic of this program?

A) Rehabilitation
B) Avoidance of high-risk behaviors
C) Immunization
D) Mammogram

Question 16

A PHN conducts an immunization clinic for measles.Which of the following is being implemented?

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

Question 17

John Snow is called the "father of epidemiology" because of his work with:

A) cholera.
B) malaria.
C) polio.
D) germ theory.

Question 18

A PHN implements a primary prevention intervention in the community.Which of the following is most likely being implemented?

A) Pap smear
B) Blood pressure screening
C) Diet and exercise
D) Physical therapy

Question 19

The interaction between an agent,a host,and the environment is called:

A) natural history of disease.
B) risk.
C) web of causality.
D) the epidemiologic triangle.

Question 20

To understand the causes of health and disease,epidemiology studies:

A) individuals.
B) families.
C) groups.
D) populations.

Question 21

A nurse is told that a screening test has high specificity.Which of the following is the best interpretation of this information?

A) The test provides precise and consistent readings.
B) The test accurately identifies those with the condition or trait.
C) The test accurately identifies those without the trait.
D) The test has a high level of false positives.

Question 22

A study that uses information on current health status,personal characteristics,and potential risk factors or exposures all at once is called:

A) cross-sectional.
B) ecological.
C) case-control.
D) cohort.

Question 23

A nurse is considering the potential for selection bias.Which of the following best describes the situation that is the nurse has encountered?

A) Determining the population to be studied
B) Considering how the participants will enter the study
C) Studying cause and effect relationships
D) Documenting results of the study

Question 24

The proportion of persons with positive test results who actually have a disease,interpreted as the probability that an individual with a positive test result has the disease,is the:

A) sensitivity.
B) specificity.
C) positive predictive value.
D) negative predictive value.

Question 25

A nurse examines birth and death certificates during an epidemiologic investigation.Which of the following data categories is being used?

A) Routinely collected data
B) Data collected for other purposes but useful for epidemiologic research
C) Original data collected for specific epidemiologic studies
D) Surveillance data

Question 26

The most important predictor of overall mortality is:

A) race.
B) age.
C) gender.
D) income.

Question 27

A nurse is investigating an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness from a food-borne pathogen.Which of the following terms is being applied?

A) Attack rate
B) Point epidemic
C) Secular trend
D) Event-related cluster

Question 28

During the twentieth century,a nurse participated in research that examined the epidemiology of various diseases.Which of the following best describes the factors that influenced these studies? (Select all that apply.)

A) Increasing rate of poverty
B) Declining child mortality rates
C) Overcrowding in major cities
D) Development of new vaccinations
E) Advancements in medical equipment

Question 29

A nurse states that he has incorporated epidemiology into his practice and functions in epidemiologic roles.Which of the following best describes the actions taken by the nurse? (Select all that apply.)

A) Policy making
B) Collection, reporting, analysis, and interpretation of data
C) Environmental risk communication
D) Documentation on patient charts and records
E) Law enforcement

Question 30

An intervention that focuses on the tertiary level of prevention is implemented by the nurse? Which of the following did the nurse most likely complete?

A) Rehabilitative job training
B) Parenting education
C) Testicular self-examination
D) Family counseling

Question 31

Voters have recently decided to have fluoride added to the city water system.Epidemiologists now want to study the effect of fluoride on dental caries in this population.Which of the following would be conducted by the epidemiologists?

A) Ecological study
B) Double-blind study
C) Community trial
D) Screening

Question 32

The type of epidemiologic study that is used to describe a group of persons enrolled in a study who share some characteristic of interest and who are followed over a period of time to observe some health outcome is a(n):

A) case-control study.
B) cross-sectional study.
C) cohort study.
D) experimental study.