Deck 12: Epidemiology

Question 1

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

A) Rate
B) Risk
C) Epidemiology
D) Epidemic

Answer 1

Risk

Question 2

Screening for hearing defects is an example of:

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

Answer 2

Secondary prevention

Question 3

An example of an attack rate is the:

A) Number of cases of cancer recorded at a medical center
B) Number of people who died of cholera in India 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

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 5

Vocational rehabilitation of a person with a neuromuscular disease is an example of:

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

Question 6

When a nurse examines birth and death certificates during an epidemiologic investigation,what data category 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 7

Which is an example of an epidemic?

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 8

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

A) Cholera
B) Malaria
C) Polio
D) Germ theory

Question 9

A screening for diabetes revealed 20 previously diagnosed diabetics and 10 probable new cases,which were later confirmed,for a total of 30 cases.This is called:

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

Question 10

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 11

An epidemiologist wanting to know what caused severe diarrhea and vomiting in several people at a local banquet would be using:

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

Question 12

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

A) Individuals
B) Families
C) Groups
D) Populations

Question 13

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 14

An example of secondary prevention is:

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

Question 15

Which is an example of an agent in the epidemiologic triangle?

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

Question 16

An example of tertiary prevention is:

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

Question 17

When studying chronic disease,the multifactorial etiology of illness is considered.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 18

An example of primary prevention is:

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

Question 19

Immunization for measles is an example of:

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

Question 20

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 21

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

Question 22

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

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

Question 23

The most important predictor of overall mortality is:

A) Race
B) Age
C) Gender
D) Income

Question 24

An outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness from a food-borne pathogen is an example of a(n):

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

Question 25

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 26

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 27

A nurse is told that a screening test has high specificity.This means that the test:

A) Provides precise and consistent readings
B) Accurately identifies those with the condition or trait
C) Accurately identifies those without the trait
D) Has a high level of false positives

Question 28

In which situation does the nurse need to be aware of the potential for selection bias?

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 29

Voters have recently decided to have fluoride added to the city water system.Epidemiologists wanting to study the effect of fluoride on dental caries would be conducting a(n):

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

Question 30

Which would be considered a serious epidemic of influenza?

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

Question 31

Nurses incorporate epidemiology into their practice and function in epidemiologic roles through (select all that apply):

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

Question 32

Epidemiologic studies of diseases conducted by nurses during the twentieth century were influenced by the (select all that apply):

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