Deck 22: Public Health Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation

Question 1

A nurse practitioner reports a case of gonorrhea to the local health department. Which type of surveillance system is being used?

A) Active
B) Passive
C) Sentinel
D) Special

Answer 1

Passive

Question 2

A person recently returning from overseas is diagnosed with Q fever. Which of the following must occur?

A) Reporting must occur on the federal level.
B) The case must be reported to the state and local health departments.
C) The patient must be isolated immediately.
D) The patient's immunization record must be reviewed.

Answer 2

The case must be reported to the state and local health departments.

Question 3

A nurse is using surveillance to collect outcome data. What information would most likely be collected?

A) Number of clinic services which use evidence-based protocols
B) Proportion of the population vaccinated against influenza
C) Incidence of breast cancer in the population
D) Probability of a bioterrorism attack occurring in the community

Answer 3

Incidence of breast cancer in the population

Question 4

A hospital is using surveillance. Which of the following describes the rationale for this action?

A) To protect the public against isolated patients
B) To eliminate pathogens from the environment
C) To improve quality of care and outcomes
D) To decrease the incidence of ventilator-acquired pneumonia

Question 5

A nurse is applying the steps of surveillance from the Minnesota Model of Public Health Interventions book. Which of the following describes the initial action that the nurse would take?

A) Analyze data.
B) Consider whether surveillance is appropriate to the situation.
C) Evaluate the impact of the surveillance.
D) Collect data.

Question 6

A nurse is completing a disease investigation. Based on the clinical symptoms presented, it is assumed that the individual has measles. However, there has been no laboratory evidence documenting that this individual has the disease. Which of the following types of cases is the nurse investigating?

A) A suspected case
B) A confirmed case
C) A prolonged case
D) An identified case

Question 7

A large amount of data related to hypertension rates in a community is collected and analyzed. What is the next step in the surveillance process?

A) Collecting data from multiple valid sources
B) Evaluating the impact on the surveillance system
C) Interpreting the data and disseminating it to decision makers
D) Asking political officials to finance a hypertension clinic

Question 8

A public health nurse (PHN) is investigating an outbreak of salmonellosis in a community. Which type of surveillance system is being used?

A) Active
B) Passive
C) Sentinel
D) Special

Question 9

A community coalition monitors the increasing obesity rate of children in their schools. Based on this data, they consider a variety of programming options which may possibly help decrease this trend. What was the purpose of conducting this surveillance?

A) Protect the children from diseases that affect obese children.
B) Teach parents that obesity will not be tolerated in this community.
C) Educate children on surveillance techniques.
D) Demonstrate that new clinical and effective protocols need to be developed.

Question 10

The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak was an epidemic that spread over several countries. Which of the following terms describes what happened?

A) Hyperendemic
B) Pandemic
C) Mixed outbreak
D) Holoendemic

Question 11

What was the purpose of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) creating the first list of standard case definitions for notifiable diseases?

A) Some diseases were underreported, and others were overreported.
B) There was no central office to collect data.
C) Some people refused to notify officials when diseases were seen.
D) No one knew where to report the information that was collected.

Question 12

What information is shared among agencies when they collaborate to implement a quality surveillance system?

A) How to use algorithms to identify which events should be investigated?
B) Who is to blame for a disease outbreak?
C) What shelters will be used and by whom?
D) How political action will be necessary to ensure public health?

Question 13

A nurse is conducting disease surveillance. Which of the following describes the goal for this action?

A) Eradicating a disease before it starts
B) Establishing a baseline rate of disease occurrence
C) Targeting populations for triage
D) Reducing the incidence of heart disease in a community

Question 14

A nurse collecting morbidity data would refer to which source for applicable information?

A) Vital statistics reports
B) Birth records
C) Death certificates
D) Specialized disease registries

Question 15

What does each state do with the information that it receives about notifiable diseases?

A) Utilizes the information for surveillance purposes.
B) Reports the information to the local branch of the World Health Organization (WHO).
C) Transmits the data electronically, weekly, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
D) Stores the information for state use only.

Question 16

A college student goes to the Student Health Center with an extremely swollen neck where the advanced practice nurse diagnoses the mumps. The student reports that a roommate also is experiencing malaise and a sore throat. Which of the following defines these two students?

A) Mixed outbreak
B) Common source
C) Point source
D) Propagated outbreak

Question 17

What occurs during an act of biological terrorism?

A) The intentional release of hazardous chemicals into the environment
B) Environmental and occupational exposure to biological toxins
C) Immunity to toxins related to repeated exposures
D) An intentional release of viruses, bacteria, or other toxins

Question 18

Which is a feature of public health surveillance?

A) Sharing of the results with others
B) Defining public health policy
C) Evaluating interventions
D) Planning national programs

Question 19

What information is included in a case definition?

A) The precise point of contact
B) Laboratory confirmation
C) Source of contamination
D) Clinical symptoms

Question 20

Which problem does a health department usually have the legal authority to investigate?

A) Pandemics
B) Unusual clusters of illness
C) World trends of disease
D) Cases of the common cold and pneumonia

Question 21

A nurse is using public surveillance. Which of the following describes the actions involved? (Select all that apply.)

A) Estimating the magnitude of an influenza outbreak
B) Determining the geographical distribution of gonorrhea cases
C) Detecting an epidemic of whooping cough
D) Reducing the prevalence of obesity
E) Determining the incidence of cardiovascular disease

Question 22

A staff nurse has demonstrated the ability to be competent as a participant in surveillance and investigation activities. Which abilities would you expect that nurse to possess? (Select all that apply.)

A) Identifying appropriate data sources
B) Communicating effectively using written reports
C) Collaborating with community agencies
D) Creating an appropriate budget
E) Correctly interpreting laboratory findings

Question 23

A nurse is investigating a potential bioterrorism attack. What evidence would a nurse find if a bioterrorism attack occurred?

A) Many cases of influenza
B) A case of cholera in a local politician following a trip to India
C) Dengue fever in a group of students who just returned from a mission trip
D) An unusual illness in a population

Question 24

Which are the objectives of a disease investigation? (Select all that apply.)

A) Enhancing the knowledge of the nurse working in public health
B) Controlling and preventing disease or death
C) Identifying factors that contribute to the disease outbreak/event occurrence
D) Implementing measures to prevent occurrences
E) Participating in the core functions of public health