Deck 14: Systems Thinking: From Single Solution to One Health

Question 1

Pregnant women are highly motivated to stop smoking. This can be best described as an example of which of the following?

A) Bottleneck
B) Leverage point
C) Interaction
D) All of these are correct.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Asbestos and radon exposure greatly increase the hazard of cigarette smoking. This can be best described as an example of which of the following?

A) Bottleneck
B) Leverage point
C) Multiplicative interaction
D) All of these answers are correct

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Chicken pox is viewed as a lifelong disease that produces different manifestations at different ages. This is an example of which of the following uses of systems analysis?

A) Incorporate interactions between factors to better understand the etiology of disease.
B) Take into account the interactions between diseases.
C) Utilize systems analysis to help understand the impact of a disease over the life span.
D) Help identify bottlenecks and leverage points that can be used to improve population health.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following most accurately describes the microbiological influences component of One Health?

A) RNA viruses have an increased probability of mutation compared to DNA viruses.
B) RNA viruses that cross over into the human population inevitable produce disease in humans.
C) There are thousands of RNA viruses known to produce human diseases.
D) RNA viruses that cross over into human populations can usually be transmitted person to person as soon as they infect the first human.

Question 5

An investigator studies the etiology of a disease, taking into account or adjusting for potential confounding variables. This is an example of which of the following approaches?

A) Reductionist thinking
B) Integrative or systems thinking
C) A combination of reductionist and systems thinking

Question 6

An investigator examines the factors that influence an outcome and creates a system diagram indicating the direction and magnitude of the impact of factors without requiring a demonstration of cause-and-effect relationships. This is an example of which of the following approaches?

A) Reductionist thinking
B) Integrative or systems thinking
C) A combination of reductionist and systems thinking

Question 7

An investigator selects the known cause-and-effect relationships that bring about coronary artery disease and uses these to investigate how multiple interventions can be used together to reduce the incidence and improve the outcome of the disease. This is an example of which of the following approaches?

A) Reductionist thinking
B) Integrative or systems thinking
C) A combination of reductionist and systems thinking

Question 8

Which of the following features distinguishes a system from a heap-i.e., a collection of parts?

A) A system changes if you take away or add pieces; if you cut a system in half, you do not get two smaller systems, but rather, you get a system that will not function. A heap can be divided into pieces, each of which can function on its own.
B) In a system, the arrangement of the pieces is crucial because the parts are connected to each other and work together; in a heap, the arrangement is irrelevant.
C) The behavior of a system depends on its overall structure, while in a heap, size, rather than structure, determines behavior.
D) All of these are correct.