Question 1

Which of the following activities are addressed by most public health departments on the federal, state, and local levels? (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

The majority of local, state, and federal public health agencies engage in collecting and analyzing vital statistics, providing health education and information, receiving reports about and investigating and controlling communicable diseases, protecting the environment to reduce the risk to health, providing some health services to particular populations at risk, planning for and responding to natural and human-made disasters and emergencies, identifying public health problems for at-risk and high-risk populations, conducting community assessments to identify community assets and gaps, and partnering with other organizations to develop and implement responses to identified public health concerns.

Question 2

Which of the following is a core competency required of public health nurses?

Accepted Answer

The core public health competencies are divided into the following eight domains: (1) analytic assessment skills; (2) basic public health sciences skills; (3) cultural competency skills; (4) communication skills; (5) community dimensions of practice skills; (6) financial planning and management skills; (7) leadership and systems thinking skills; (8) policy development/program planning skills. The other competencies listed are better suited for tertiary facilities such as hospitals.

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the primary reason life spans have notably lengthened over the past 100 years?

Accepted Answer

A person born today can expect to live 30 years longer than someone born in 1900. Medical care accounts for 5 years of that increase, but public health is responsible for the additional 25 years, through prevention efforts brought about by changes in social policies, community actions, and individual and group behavior changes.

Question 4

A nurse at a migrant clinic assists clients with completing the application process to receive supplemental food assistance. Which of the following roles of the nurse is being used?

Accepted Answer

As an advocate, the nurse collects, monitors, and analyzes data and discusses with the client which services are needed and whether the client is an individual, a family, or a group.

Question 5

Which of the following is the underlying science or area of study on which public health is based?

Accepted Answer

Public health uses biostatistics in its practice. It is not a branch of medicine; it is an organized community approach designed to prevent disease, promote health, and protect populations. It works across many disciplines and is based on the scientific core of epidemiology.

Question 6

A nurse is working at a local health department. Which of the following would most likely be completed by this agency?

Accepted Answer

Local public health agencies provide and disseminate health information, provide leadership in health planning, provide essential public health and environmental services, analyze statistics on births to monitor community health status, and file a certificate for every birth or death in the community.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the role of nursing in community health?

Accepted Answer

Nursing practice in community health is the synthesis of nursing theory and public health theory applied to promoting, preserving, and maintaining the health of populations through the delivery of personal health care services to individuals, families, and groups. The focus of practice is health of individuals, families, and groups. Care is provided within the context of preventing disease and disability and promoting and protecting the health of the community as a whole.

Question 8

Which of the following best describes how public health nurses (PHNs) differed from other health care professions in the early twentieth century?

Accepted Answer

During this period, public health nurses worked with populations and in settings that were not of interest to other health care disciplines or groups. Much public health service was delivered to the poor and to women and children, who did not have political power or voice.

Question 9

Which of the following federal agencies is most influential in public health activities?

Accepted Answer

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are the federal agencies that most influence public health activities at the state and local levels. The Agency for Healthcare, Research, and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration are all pieces of the broader USDHHS.

Question 10

A nurse is implementing a primary prevention activity to decrease the incidence of communicable disease. Which of the following actions is the nurse most likely taking?

Accepted Answer

An example of primary prevention is to educate daycare centers, schools, and the general community about the importance of hand hygiene to prevent transmission of communicable diseases.

Question 11

A public health nurse has reviewed the objectives of Healthy People 2020. Which of the following should be the focus for programming in the community related to communicable diseases?

Accepted Answer

Healthy People 2020 lists communicable disease as an area of focus including levels of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and sexually transmitted infections. One method to reduce the risk of acquiring a communicable disease is by the public health nurse providing information on the hazards of multiple sexual partners and street drug use.

Question 12

A community mental health nurse is implementing a tertiary prevention activity. Which of the following interventions is most likely being completed?

Accepted Answer

An example of tertiary prevention is the provision of case management services that link clients identified with serious mental illnesses to mental health and community support services.

Question 13

A community health nurse is trying to decrease the incidence of emerging infections caused by drug-resistant organisms. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the nurse to implement?

Accepted Answer

The widespread, often inappropriate, use of antimicrobial drugs has resulted in loss of effectiveness for some infections. Clients and health care providers are responsible for the inappropriate use of antibiotics. The nurse can influence this trend by objecting to inappropriate use of antibiotics by providers and by educating individuals, families, health care providers, and the community about the dangers of misuse and overuse of antibiotics.

Question 14

A public health nurse traces sexual contacts of clients with sexually transmitted diseases for screening and treatment. Which of the following levels of prevention is being implemented?

Accepted Answer

Tracing individuals exposed to a client with a sexually transmitted disease is secondary prevention because the nurse is attempting to find those exposed and screen them. Once the exposed persons have been located, screening is another secondary prevention activity.

Question 15

A nurse is employed by a state public health department. Which of the following functions would most likely be completed by this agency? (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

State public health agencies are responsible for monitoring health status and enforcing laws and regulations that protect and improve the public's health. These agencies receive funding from federal agencies for the implementation of public health interventions such as the maternal and child health programs. State agencies distribute federal and state funds to the local public health agencies to implement programs and provide oversight and consultation for local public health agencies. State health agencies also delegate some public health powers, such as the power to quarantine, to local health officers. Local departments file birth and death certificates and often ask for volunteers to assist.

Question 16

The public health administrator is in the process of hiring a new public health nurse. Which of the following statements made by an applicant would most likely result in the applicant not being hired?

Accepted Answer

Working in collaborative partnerships is an essential role of public health nursing. Partnerships and collaboration among groups are much more powerful in making change than the individual client and nurse working alone. Part of the reason is that multiple perspectives are examined in the process of coming to the best solution.

Question 17

A nurse is employed at the state department of public health. Which of the following is a fundamental principle guiding his practice?

Accepted Answer

In the United States, the local-state-federal partnership includes federal agencies, the state and territorial public health agencies, and the local public health agencies. Their effective interaction is critical to the effective use of both financial and personnel resources to address the health of populations. Nurses working in all of these agencies work together to identify, develop, and implement interventions that will improve and maintain the nation's health.

Question 18

A nurse is considering applying for a public health nurse position at a local health department. Which of the following minimum levels of educational preparation should the nurse have obtained?

Accepted Answer

Educational preparation of nurses in community health should be at least a baccalaureate degree. Those registered nurses who have associate degrees are encouraged to seek further degrees because of the increasing complexity of better care delivery in public health. A master's degree would be even more useful, but for many, advanced education may not be feasible.

Question 19

Which of the following factors is causing nursing to change so quickly?

Accepted Answer

More than any other single factor, the driving force behind nursing changes is the economy and the increase in managed care to decrease or control health care costs in the United States.

Question 20

Which of the following agencies are responsible for implementing and enforcing local, state, and federal public health codes and ordinances and providing essential public health programs to a community?

Accepted Answer

Local public health agencies are the agencies responsible for implementing and enforcing local, state, and federal public health codes and ordinances and providing essential public health programs to a community.

Quiz 28: Nursing Practice at the Local, State, and National Levels in Public Health