Question 1

A nurse is employed as a nurse epidemiologist.Which of the following activities would most likely be completed by the nurse?

Accepted Answer

A)   Eliciting the health history of a client presenting with an illness
B)   Evaluating the number of clients presenting with similar diseases
C)   Performing a physical examination of an ill client
D)   Providing treatment and health education to a client with a disease B

Question 2

A nursing staff has successfully screened for diabetes in the community.Which of the following might best persuade the health board to increase funding for diabetic clinics in this community?

Accepted Answer

A)   An epidemic of diabetes is now recognized and must be addressed.
B)   The incidence of diabetes is now higher than previously recognized in the community.
C)   The prevalence of diabetes is now higher than previously recognized in the community.
D)   The risk for diabetes in the community could decrease if funding is received. C

Question 3

A nurse believes a new mouth care procedure (MCP)is causing more mouth problems than it is helping to avoid.Which of the following must be present for the nurse to go to administration with confidence that the MCP is causing problems?

Accepted Answer

A)   A plausible explanation of how the new MCP could cause harm
B)   A strong feeling that the MCP is the cause
C)   Consistently seeing mouth inflammation in many of the patients who have received the MCP
D)   Documentation from patient records that mouth inflammation in clients did not occur until after the new procedure was implemented A,C,D

Question 4

A nurse is using analytic epidemiology when conducting a research project.Which of the following projects is the nurse most likely completing?

Accepted Answer

A)   Reviewing communicable disease statistics
B)   Determining factors contributing to childhood obesity
C)   Analyzing locations where family violence is increasing
D)   Documenting population characteristics for healthy older citizens

Question 5

A nurse is examining all of the various factors which can lead to disease.Which of the following models would the nurse most likely use?

Accepted Answer

A)   Epidemiologic triangle
B)   Health promotion
C)   Levels of prevention
D)   Natural history of disease

Question 6

A nurse is examining the various factors that lead to disease and suggests several areas where nurses could intervene to reduce future incidence of disease.Which of the following models would the nurse most likely use?

Accepted Answer

A)   Epidemiologic triangle
B)   Health promotion
C)   Levels of prevention
D)   Web of causality

Question 7

This year 600 of 8000 young women age 17 to 20 years at a university health center tested positive for a sexually transmitted infection (STI).Which of the following terms best describes this data?

Accepted Answer

A)   An epidemic
B)   Incidence
C)   Prevalence
D)   Risk

Question 8

A nurse is planning to host a health screening at a large urban mall.Which of the following variables will help the nurse determine which screenings should be included?

Accepted Answer

A)   Adequate space for persons to lie down after testing until side effects are reduced
B)   Health problems for which the specific population is at risk
C)   Whether adequate privacy can be obtained for the invasive or embarrassing procedures
D)   Whether health care providers are available to follow up on any positive screening results

Question 9

A teacher recommends that surveys to obtain data on drug use be given to high school students when they meet for various school organizations.Which of the following best describes why the nurse would reject this suggestion?

Accepted Answer

A)   This method of data collection would result in classification bias.
B)   This method of data collection would result in confounding bias.
C)   This method of data collection would result in personal bias.
D)   This method of data collection would result in selection bias.

Question 10

A nurse is concerned about the high incidence of STDs in the community college population and sets up a special STD screening.Which of the following groups of students would be encouraged to attend?

Accepted Answer

A)   Sexually active students currently receiving treatment for an STD
B)   Sexually active students who had been screened the previous year
C)   Students who are not sexually active and do not plan to become sexually active
D)   Students who are sexually active but never "go all the way"

Question 11

A woman is sitting in a corner of the clinical waiting room,crying audibly.The nurse asks,"What's wrong? Can I help?" The woman responds,"They just told me I have a positive mammogram and I need to see my doctor for follow-up tests.I know I'm going to die of cancer.How can I tell my family?" Which of the following information does the nurse need to know in order to help the woman cope with this finding?

Accepted Answer

A)   The negative predictive value of mammography
B)   The positive predictive value of mammography
C)   The reliability of mammography
D)   The validity of mammography

Question 12

Which of the following actions would a nurse take to reduce the high incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD)in a community?

Accepted Answer

A)   Introduction of a heart-healthy curriculum beginning in the first grade, presentations on diet and exercise for the community at large, and special education sessions for high-risk populations
B)   Provision of online activities related to prevention of cardiac disease, smoking reduction programs, and blood pressure screenings
C)   Distribution of handouts, including age-appropriate games, self-assessments, and education on heart-healthy lifestyles; availability of community screenings for hyperlipidemia in persons age 35 and older; and walking programs for those affected with CAD
D)   Enrollment of clients with CAD into cardiac rehabilitation programs, routine evaluation of effectiveness of CAD treatment regimens, and participation in clinical trials that evaluate interventions for those diagnosed with CAD

Question 13

The nursing staff has attempted to screen the entire African American population in the community for diabetes.Which of the following would provide immediate verification of the success of the nursing staff's efforts?

Accepted Answer

A)   An epidemic of diabetes will be recognized.
B)   The incidence of diabetes will increase in the community.
C)   The prevalence of diabetes will decrease in the community.
D)   The risk for diabetes in the community will increase.

Question 14

Two women seem to agree on almost everything from favorite music to favorite media stars to the best way to prepare a meal.Which of the following best explains this similarity in the two women?

Accepted Answer

A)   They are both members of the same birth cohort.
B)   They are close friends.
C)   They attended the same school.
D)   They both go the same church.

Question 15

A nurse has only a regular blood pressure cuff when conducting a health screening for all of the residents of a community.Which of the following may be lacking when obtaining blood pressure readings?

Accepted Answer

A)   Reliability
B)   Sensitivity
C)   Specificity
D)   Validity

Question 16

A nurse is administering a tuberculosis (TB)skin test to a client who has acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).Which of the following results should the nurse anticipate when using this screening test?

Accepted Answer

A)   Decreased positive predictive value
B)   Decreased reliability
C)   Decreased sensitivity
D)   Decreased specificity

Question 17

A nurse is investigating a bacterial illness that has caused a health problem in the community.Only some of the people exposed to the bacteria have become ill.Which of the following factors best explains why this would have happened?

Accepted Answer

A)   Chemical agent factors
B)   Environmental factors
C)   Host factors
D)   Physical agent factors

Question 18

A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer.Which of the following data should the nurse know to answer the man when he asks,"What are the chances I'll survive this thing?"

Accepted Answer

A)   Attack rate
B)   Case fatality rate
C)   Cause-specific morbidity rate
D)   Crude mortality rate

Question 19

A nurse reports that in comparison to all the children in a particular school,the children who are members of the Cub Scouts have 0.3 risk for obesity before entering the sixth grade.Which of the following recommendations would the nurse make to the new parents of two boys who had just moved into this school's neighborhood?

Accepted Answer

A)   Discourage the parents from enrolling their sons in Cub Scouts because of the risk.
B)   Don't say anything about Cub Scouts, because it isn't relevant to nursing care.
C)   Encourage the parents to enroll their sons in Cub Scouts.
D)   Share the finding and let the parents draw whatever conclusions they feel appropriate.

Question 20

Which of the following statistics is used by countries to compare the success of their health care systems?

Accepted Answer

A)   Attack rate
B)   Infant mortality rate
C)   Proportionate mortality ratio
D)   Cause-specific mortality rate

Exam 9: Epidemiological Applications