Practice Questions

Question 1

Activists criticized America’s public health policy response during initial years of its AIDS epidemic on the grounds that:

1. Absence of universal health care insurance prevented victims from accessing expensive treatment
2. Government indifference and political infighting resulted in apathy toward a suffering gay community.
3. Too much money was being spent on treatment, not enough on prevention to stop the epidemic.
4. Too much resource was being spent on urging people to change risk behaviors, not enough on medication.

Answer 1

2. Government indifference and political infighting resulted in apathy toward a suffering gay community.

Question 2

If a population has a standard deviation σ, then the standard deviation of the mean of 100 randomly selected items from this population is:

1. σ
2. 100 σ
3. σ /10
4. σ /100

Answer 2

3.σ /10

Question 3

Which of the following is consistent with broadly accepted theory of adult learning?

1. Adults are busy, so unlikely to want participation in planning and evaluation of instruction
2. They tend to be most interested in learning things of immediate relevance and practical value
3. Activities promoting memorization are preferable to trial-and-error experiential learning
4. Adult learning preference is content-oriented rather than problem-centered

Answer 3

2.They tend to be most interested in learning things of immediate relevance and practical value

Question 4

U.S. mandates Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, a prion disease to be nationally notifiable from all the states. What kind of infectious agent is a prion?

1. A bacterium
2. A virus
3. A protozoan
4. A protein

Answer 4

4.A protein

Question 5

Municipal sewage is typically processed to remove organic material before disposing the treated water. In large cities, this treatment generally consists of:

1. Biological treatment in an aerated activated sludge system, followed by settling to remove sludge solids, then chlorination prior to discharge.
2. Chemical treatment by coagulation and flocculation, followed by settling to remove solids, then chlorination prior to discharge.
3. Filtering through sand beds to remove organic solids, followed by chlorination prior to discharge.
4. Super-chlorination to destroy organic materials, followed by discharge.

Answer 5

1.Biological treatment in an aerated activated sludge system, followed by settling to remove sludge solids, then chlorination prior to discharge.

Question 6

Total coliform and E. coli counts are performed in routine monitoring of drinking water reservoirs because:

1. These bacteria commonly cause gastrointestinal infection in humans.
2. They are a more easily grown indicator of Legionella spp. contamination.
3. Outdated laws require heterotrophic plate count monitoring of water.
4. Their numbers give general indication of a water supply’s sanitary condition.

Answer 6

4.Their numbers give general indication of a water supply’s sanitary condition.

Question 7

Can a state public health agency authorize its employees to use or donate frequent flyer miles for personal travel that were acquired during state business travel?

1. Yes, there is no ethical violation in allowing a government employee to keep frequent flyer miles for personal use or to specify their preferred airline for business travel.
2. Yes, there is no ethical violation in allowing a government employee to keep frequent flyer miles for personal use, but they cannot specify their own preferred airline for business travel.
3. No, this would violate the “de minimis” use of government resources so any frequent flyer miles acquired during business travel must be retained by the government agency.
4. No, this would violate several ethical constructs, so any participation in frequent flyer programs during government service must be prohibited.

Answer 7

2.Yes, there is no ethical violation in allowing a government employee to keep frequent flyer miles for personal use, but they cannot specify their own preferred airline for business travel.

Question 8

Count data, such as the number of events occurring in a specified period of time, are often described by which probability distribution?

1. Binomial
2. Chi-square
3. Normal
4. Poisson

Answer 8

4.Poisson

Question 9

Over the history of the HIV infection pandemic, in its initial phase, transmission in populations started with a sharp rise through homosexual male-male intercourse and in its late phase the steepest rise tended to be through:

1. Homosexual male-male intercourse
2. Homosexual female-female intercourse
3. Heterosexual male-female intercourse
4. Transfusion of contaminated blood

Answer 9

3.Heterosexual male-female intercourse

Question 10

Which of the following statistical tests is considered a parametric test?

1. Kruskal-Wallis test
2. Wilcoxon rank-sum test
3. Tukey’s test
4. Mann-Whitney test

Answer 10

3.Tukey’s test

Question 11

May government employees use the government room rate offered by hotels if they are on a personal rather than a business trip?

1. Yes, being a government employee one always is eligible to accept hotels’ government rates regardless.
2. Yes, hotels and government agencies generally maintain a “don’t ask, don’t tell” position on this question.
3. Yes, if the hotel offers this rate to all government officials traveling on official business or not.
4. Yes, if the hotel offers it to you specifically by name.

Answer 11

3.Yes, if the hotel offers this rate to all government officials traveling on official business or not.

Question 12

The management of a health care facility requires staff to
adhere to ethical principles and provide culturally
appropriate care. The institutionalization of these values is
most likely to influence which of the following aspects of
health care provided by this facility?
A acceptability
B accessibility
C accountability
D adequacy

Answer 12

A* acceptability

Question 13

A=50; B=400; C=50; D=5000

Which of the following is the estimated ratio of the odds of disease in the exposed versus unexposed groups?
A (50 / 450) ÷ (50 / 5,050)
B (50 / 50) ÷ (400 / 5,000)
C (50 / 5,050) ÷ (50 / 450)
D (400 / 5,400) ÷ (50 / 100)

Answer 13

B* (50 / 50) ÷ (400 / 5,000)

Question 14

A health services researcher is studying a new influenza vaccination to determine whether it should be
recommended for all senior citizens. Which of the following vaccination attributes is most appropriate to evaluate first in the process of assessing the new vaccination?
A cost-benefit
B effectiveness
C efficacy
D efficiency

Answer 14

C* efficacy

Question 15

11 A group uses problem solving to reconcile underlying differences and create a win-win situation for the mutual benefit of all parties. This approach exemplifies which of the following styles of conflict management?
A accommodating
B avoiding
C collaborating
D compromising

Answer 15

C* collaborating

Question 16

16 Body mass index (BMI) is sometimes reported as age- and gender-specific z-scores. Such scores are best described
as a function of which of the following?

A the individual’s BMI and the mean and standard deviation of the specific population
B the individual’s BMI and the mean and standard deviation of an entire population
C The individual’s BMI, the mean of the specific population, and the standard deviation of an entire population
D the individual’s BMI, the mean of an entire population, and the standard deviation of the specific population

Answer 16

A* the individual’s BMI and the mean and standard

deviation of the specific population

Question 17

20 A study of national patterns of smoking prevalence finds that the prevalence of women smokers is higher in countries with higher national income per capita, but lower
in countries experiencing rapid economic growth. Among men, the prevalence of smoking is lower in countries with
higher national per capita income, but higher in countries experiencing rapid economic growth. This finding is an example of which of the following phenomena?
A bias
B confounding
C interaction
D error

Answer 17

C*^ interaction

Question 18

34 On the basis of the present evidence, the greatest reduction in injuries and death related to motor vehicles in the United States is most likely to be a result of which of
the following?
A increase in law enforcement and highway patrol
officers
B stricter motor vehicle inspection laws
C modifications to vehicles and highway systems
D stiffer penalties for drunk drivers and repeat speeders

Answer 18

C* modifications to vehicles and highway systems

Question 19

A federal law is passed requiring labeling on food products. In subsequent years, the rate of obesity among adults decreases. Which of the following terms best describes the relationship between the law and the change
in obesity rates?
A causal
B correlated
C retrospective
D prospective

Answer 19

B* correlated

Question 20

42 Which of the following best describes the elasticity of
demand for health care in the United States?
A perfectly elastic
B perfectly inelastic
C relatively elastic
D relatively inelastic

Answer 20

D* relatively inelastic

Question 21

The standard deviation of the sample mean

Answer 21

σ / √n

Question 22

A nominal variable can be coded using dummy variables in order to analyze its association with a continuous outcome variable via:

1. a chi-square test of association
2. a two sample t-test
3. one way ANOVA
4. regression analysis

Answer 22

4.regression analysis

Question 23

The Theory of Planned Behavior was built on the Theory of Reasoned Action. Which component was added?

1. Perceived behavioral control
2. Subjective Norm
3. Behavioral Intentions
4. Attitude

Answer 23

1.Perceived behavioral control

Question 24

The Central Limit Theorem states that the:

1. Sample mean statistic is not always an unbiased estimator.
2. Sample mean is approximately normally distributed.
3. Population from which a sample is drawn is normally distributed.
4. Population standard deviation is approximately normal.

Answer 24

2.Sample mean is approximately normally distributed.

Question 25

Which statement best describes the p-value? 1. The probability that the null hypothesis is true 2. The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true 3. The probability that a replicating experiment would not yield the same conclusion 4. The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is false

Answer 25

2.The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true

Question 26

When performing a nonparametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test, the first step is to combine the data values in the two samples and assign a rank of ‘1' to which of the following: 1. The smallest observation 2. The middle observation 3. The largest observation 4. The most frequently occurring observation

Answer 26

1.The smallest observation

Question 27

Every Monday, the District Health Department calls a list of medical offices selected to represent each county in the District to obtain a report of number of patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of influenza. This is an example of what type of surveillance? 1. Passive and Syndromic 2. Passive and Sentinel 3. Active and Syndromic 4. Active and Sentinel

Answer 27

4.Active and Sentinel

Question 28

A management/leadership theory which posits that when staff are able to grow and develop staff performance results are better, is an example of: 1. Situational Leadership Theory 2. Douglas McGregor Theory Y 3. Contingency Leadership Theory (CLT) 4. Path-goal Theory

Answer 28

2.Douglas McGregor Theory Y

Question 29

In a case-control study of the relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, researchers found that the Odds Ratios for lung cancer rose as the number of cigarettes smoked daily rose, with non-smokers as the referent group. This evidence for causation is called: 1. Consistency 2. Temporality 3. Biological Gradient 4. Strength of the association

Answer 29

3.Biological Gradient

Question 30

What is an evaluation designed to present conclusions about whether a program should be sustained, changed, or eliminated? 1. Formative evaluation 2. Implementation evaluation 3. Process evaluation 4. Summative evaluation

Answer 30

4.Summative evaluation

Question 31

Since most people in a population die at an old age, the distribution of ages at death is skewed. The mean age at death in large samples taken from this population can be expected to have a: 1. Left-skewed distribution 2. Right-skewed distribution 3. Normal distribution 4. Platykurtotic distribution

Answer 31

3.Normal distribution The Central Limit Theorem states that for equally sized samples from a non-normally distributed population, the distribution of means of these samples will be normally distributed as long as the samples are large enough.

Question 32

If all of the numbers in a list increase by 2, then the standard deviation is: 1. Increased by 2 2. Increased by 4 3. Unchanged 4. Cannot be determined without the actual list of numbers

Answer 32

3.Unchanged Adding a constant number to a set of observations will not change the standard deviation of the set. Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion, meaning it expresses how spread out data are. Adding 2 to every observation will not change how widely spread the dataset is. It would however, increase the measures of central tendency, such as mean or median.

Question 33

Which of the following is not a construct from the Health Belief Model? 1. Susceptibility 2. Cues to action 3. Decisional balance 4. Barriers

Answer 33

3.Decisional balance