Question 1

Why is it important for students in the health sector to become skilled at working in a multidisciplinary interprofessional environment?&#10;A) Interprofessional partnerships merge different skill sets.&#10;B) Influences that affect a person's health lie largely outside of the health sector.&#10;C) Understanding genetic influences requires support.&#10;D) Multidisciplinary competencies require partnerships.

Accepted Answer

The factors and influences that determine whether we are healthy or sick primarily lie outside the health sector (only 25% of health status is determined by health care). As such, health-sector students must become skilled at working in a multidisciplinary interprofessional environment to sustainably improve people's health status.

Question 2

How does epigenetics help health care providers to further understand the early years and translate that information to understand the health status of people of all ages?&#10;A) Epigenetics highlights that inheritance and genetics are the key factors in determining health.&#10;B) Caregiver influences have a transitory impact on health status.&#10;C) Epigenetics shows that a person's environment during the early years of life has no impact on their health.&#10;D) Epigenetics shows that there is a link between experiences in the early years and gene expression.

Accepted Answer

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence, but rather the interaction between genes, the environment (social, physical), and inheritance. Social environments play an important role in shaping and reshaping the genetic endowment of individuals. Hence, a person's experiences during the early years can affect how a person responds to and copes with stress later in life-which we know to be a strong predictor of mental health.

Question 3

What important planning factor must health care providers consider when addressing income and its consequent direct, complex impact on health status?&#10;A) Family location and relationships&#10;B) Population, including age mix&#10;C) Program design, including access&#10;D) Community working conditions

Accepted Answer

Income and all that it impacts (e.g., access to services, safe housing, access to nutritious foods) must be considered when designing programs to improve health. People living on a low income may face barriers to service access, for example, because many do not own cars or may live far away from where services are provided (e.g., in rural or remote communities). Therefore, program planners must consider income when designing community health services to ensure that they address specific barriers such as cost of transportation, location of services, and specific health promotion messaging (e.g., regarding nutritious food and active living) for low-income earners.

Question 4

What key factor has influenced the education rates among Indigenous communities in Canada, thereby impacting their health status?&#10;A) Cultural differences&#10;B) Language proficiency&#10;C) Inequitable funding&#10;D) Health literacy

Accepted Answer

The inequitable funding of education in Canada for Indigenous people versus non-Indigenous people has significantly impacted education rates in Indigenous communities.

Question 5

Why is the emerging trend toward longer standard working hours in Canada likely to impact the health status of Canadians?&#10;A) The aging trend in the workforce may require additional family supports at home.&#10;B) There is a potential for greater job satisfaction over the course of a lifetime.&#10;C) Safety dimensions may improve with consistent monitoring of workers.&#10;D) Reduced family time may negatively influence early years development for children.

Accepted Answer

The shift to longer standard working hours in some provinces, including Ontario, will likely reduce the time available for parents and family to interact with their children, especially during the foundational early years. Time spent with family, especially for young children, is necessary for healthy developmental outcomes.

Question 6

According to research in the past decade, which population group in Canada has been increasingly exposed to high levels of chronic stress-resulting from everyday conditions shaped by government policy-leading to impacts on their identity and consequently predisposing them to cardiovascular and mental health issues?

A) Indigenous women
B) Young children
C) Homeless men
D) Leadership professionals

Accepted Answer

Research published in the past decade or so has highlighted the issue of chronic stress among Indigenous women. This is an important issue given the impact that chronic stress has on the development of cardiovascular disease and mental health issues.

Question 7

As a health care provider, you have observed high rates of dental caries requiring urgent care for young children in your community who come from low-income households or are relatively new immigrants. Which environmental influence is important to investigate first to address this concern?

A) Education levels of the children's parents
B) Removal of fluoride from community water systems
C) Eating patterns in the community
D) Ratio of dental professionals to individuals in the community

Accepted Answer

Fluoride in the water can be of great benefit when it comes to protecting against dental cavities (especially for young children). This has become a controversial issue in some communities in Canada that no longer fluoridate their community water supply.

Question 8

Which challenging and concerning community health issue is emerging in Canada and is also, according to the World Health Organization, one of the top 10 threats to global public health?&#10;A) Equipment safety&#10;B) Air pollution&#10;C) Vaccine hesitancy&#10;D) Sun safety

Accepted Answer

Because of the success of vaccination programs, the mortality and morbidity previously associated with many vaccine-preventable diseases have been forgotten by the public, which seems to be contributing to vaccine hesitancy. The problem is so severe that in 2019 the WHO named vaccine hesitancy one of the top 10 threats to global public health.

Question 9

Which research-based injury prevention policies that are intended to positively influence population health behaviours have been adopted in Canada, both nationally and provincially? (Select all that apply.)

A) Laws regarding cannabis use while driving
B) Bicycle helmets
C) Distracted driving
D) Car seatbelts
E) Bus seatbelts

Accepted Answer

Seatbelt use in cars and distracted driving policies are in place in all provinces in Canada. New federal and provincial laws are now also in place regarding driving while cannabis impaired. Bicycle helmet policy has only been adopted in some provinces, while a policy governing seatbelt use in buses is currently under consideration in Canada, but has not yet been implemented across the country.

Question 10

Which key dimensions of food environments-including the physical, social, economic, cultural, and political factors existing within a community or region-influence people's food and nutrition "choices"? (Select all that apply.)

A) Independent personal choice
B) Availability of food in the community
C) Food safety concerns
D) Social acceptability of foods
E) Affordability of food

Accepted Answer

The key dimensions of food environments that greatly influence food and nutrition choices are the availability, affordability, and social acceptability of food.

Deck 5: Determinants of Health and Disease