Deck 16: Screening in Public Health Practice

Question 1

Which of the following is the probability that a test correctly classifies positive individuals who have preclinical disease?

A) Validity
B) Reliability
C) Sensitivity
D) Specificity

Answer 1

Sensitivity

Question 2

A healthy diet, regular exercise, sunscreen use, and vaccinations against infectious disease are all examples of which of the following?

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

Answer 2

Primary prevention

Question 3

For some diseases, which of the following may increase the disease incidence and prevalence (at least temporarily) because asymptomatic cases are identified at an earlier stage?

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

Answer 3

Secondary prevention

Question 4

A typical example of which of the following is the use of drugs to prevent opportunistic infections among individuals with HIV infection.

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

Question 5

Which of the following is a serious disease that is not suitable for screening because mortality is high even with early diagnosis?

A) HIV infection
B) Tuberculosis
C) Breast cancer
D) Pancreatic cancer

Question 6

Which characteristic of a suitable screening test is influenced by the stability of the physiological state being measured, the technical characteristics of the test method, and interobserver and intraobserver agreement among the technicians conducting the test?

A) Validity
B) Reliability
C) Sensitivity
D) Specificity

Question 7

Which of the following is the main way to measure a screening program and is the proportion of individuals with a positive test who have preclinical disease?

A) Reliability
B) Sensitivity
C) Specificity
D) Predictive value

Question 8

All primary prevention activities assume that the action taken will reduce the occurrence of disease and its aftereffects.

Question 9

Tertiary prevention activities assume that early detection will lead to prompt and effective interventions that will ultimately improve survival.

Question 10

Given the high cost and possible adverse consequences of screening, it is justifiable to screen only for major diseases.

Question 11

Which type of efforts, for infectious diseases, may have the added benefit of reducing or halting the spread of disease?

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

Question 12

Which type of efforts are performed to slow or block the progression of a disease, thereby reducing impairments and disabilities and improving the quality of life and survival among diseased individuals?

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

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of an appropriate disease that meets all the criteria for screening?

A) HIV
B) Influenza
C) Chickenpox
D) Measles

Question 14

Which type of bias occurs only in observational studies of screening efficacy and means that the decision to be screening is influenced by a person's health awareness, which in turn may be related to his or her subsequent morbidity and mortality?

A) Volunteer bias
B) Lead-time bias
C) Information bias
D) Length-bias sampling

Question 15

Which type of bias overestimates the benefit of screening and needs to be taken into account when evaluating a screening program?

A) Volunteer bias
B) Lead-time bias
C) Information bias
D) Length-bias sampling

Question 16

Which type of bias makes a screening program appear to have a beneficial effect on survival because people who are destined to have a favorable course are selectively identified?

A) Volunteer bias
B) Lead-time bias
C) Information bias
D) Length-bias sampling

Question 17

Which type of studies are most informative when a new screening program is introduced into an isolated, well-defined population?

A) Experimental studies
B) Cohort studies
C) Case-control studies
D) Ecological studies

Question 18

A diagnostic test typically carries more risk and is more expensive than a screening test.

Question 19

Policymakers have often responded too quickly to emerging public health problems by prematurely instituting screening programs.

Question 20

A person is aware that he or she has a disease during the preclinical stage.