Deck 17: Using Epidemiology to Evaluate Health Services

Question 1

The government of Country A decided to introduce a new treatment strategy for disease X.It was decided that,starting in January 1,2019,all patients diagnosed with disease X in public hospitals would receive the new treatment.Researchers were asked to evaluate the new treatment.Which of the following designs is the best approach to evaluate the new treatment?

A) Randomized clinical trial
B) Case-control study
C) Cross-sectional survey
D) Before-after study
E) Case-series

Answer 1

D
Before-after studies are helpful to evaluate a new treatment when randomization is not feasible and there is a clear date when the new treatment was established,such as in this example (January 1,2019).

Question 2

According to the healthy people 2020,the following is an indicator of access to health services:

A) Persons with a usual primary care provider
B) Persons with a diagnosed diabetes whose A1c is greater than 9%
C) Adolescents with a major depressive episode in the past 12 months
D) Knowledge of serostatus among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons
E) Adult cigarette smoking

Answer 2

A
"Persons with a diagnosed diabetes whose A1c is greater than 9%" is an indicator of clinical preventive services,"Adolescents with a major depressive episode in the past 12 months" is an indicator of mental health,"Knowledge of serostatus among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons" is an indicator of reproductive and sexual health,and "Adult cigarette smoking" is an indicator of tobacco use.

Question 3

When testing whether we can achieve a less expensive and better way to treat a disease with an intervention that has shown to work previously,we are looking for

A) efficacy.
B) effectiveness.
C) efficiency.
D) power.
E) feasibility.

Answer 3

C
Efficiency evaluates if effective treatments can achieve a less expensive and better way to work.The cost-benefit ratio is assessed where cost includes money,discomfort,pain,absenteeism,disability,and social stigma.

Question 4

Which of the following statements is the most accurate definition of effectiveness?

A) Testing a vaccine in a group of consenting individuals.
B) A measure of a specific intervention, procedure, regimen, or service produces a beneficial result under ideal conditions.
C) Testing a vaccine in a community where some of individuals do not want to be vaccinated.
D) The process of making the best use of scarce resources.
E) The effects or end results achieved in relation to the effort expended in terms of money, resources, and time.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is the most accurate definition of efficiency?

A) A measure of a specific intervention, procedure, regimen, or service produces a beneficial result under ideal conditions.
B) The process of testing a vaccine in a community where some of individuals do not want to be vaccinated.
C) The process of testing a new drug in a community where individuals have various compliances of drug intake.
D) The process of estimating the best effort of intervention or procedure.
E) The effects or end results achieved in relation to the effort expended in terms of money, resources, and time.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is the most accurate definition of efficacy?

A) Testing a drug in a group of participants who have agreed to join clinical trial.
B) A measure of a specific intervention, procedure, regimen, or service, when deployed in the usual circumstances of living and practice.
C) Testing a new drug in a community where individuals have various compliances of drug intake.
D) Estimating the cost-benefit ratio based on agent effectiveness.
E) The effects or end results achieved in relation to the effort expended in terms of money, resources, and time.

Question 7

In general terms,a health indicator is a

A) rare disease that reflects how the system deals with complex conditions.
B) sentinel condition that is assumed to reflect the general level of health care.
C) disease that reflects infant health.
D) disease that reflects maternal and child health.
E) statistical test used to compare the health situation of two countries.