Healthcare, Quiz Example

Reference: Schneider Introduction to Public Health 4^th Edition

Chapter Seven

If you want to compare death rates in two cities with populations that are different from one another with respect to age, you should compare:

• Crude death rates
• Cause-specific death rates
• Age adjusted death rates
• None of the above; useful comparisons cannot be mad

A low p-value means:

• Cause and effect has been established
• There is a low probability that the result occurred by chance
• There is a low probability that the result is real
• The test has a high power

To avoid false negatives in a screening program to detect breast cancer among women over 50 years of age, the test must be:

• Highly sensitive
• Highly specific
• Highly prevalent
• Double blind

Which of the following statements is not true?

• Variability is common in measurements concerning health indicators
• A screening test that is specific is likely to yield false positives
• The power of a clinical trial is greater when the number of subjects is greater
• The crude mortality rate in Florida is higher than the adjusted mortality rate.

You are doing a study of the senior class at a large university in New York City (3000 students), which involves collecting a lot of data on each student. Exactly half of the class is from the city, and the other half is from other places. You find, among other things, that students from the city are on average 5 pounds heavier than other students, and their blood pressure is 3 points higher. Which of the following conclusions cannot be drawn? 

• If the difference in weight is significant with a p value of 0.05, the difference could still be the result of chance alone.
• If the difference in blood pressure is significant with a p value of 0.01, it is less likely to be the result of chance than the difference in weight.
• Living in the city is associated with higher blood pressure
• Living in the city causes an increase in blood pressure

The Law of Small Probabilities states that:

• The probable is what usually happens
• The probable is not always what happens
• The p value expresses the probability that the observed result could have occurred by chance alone
• Cancer clusters are always caused by random variation

The birth rate of a population in the U.S. will be affected by all of the following except:

• Age of the population
• Proportion of females in the population
• Ethnicity of the population
• Death rate of the population

The death rate in Florida is higher than the death rate in Alaska because:

• The Florida climate is less healthy
• Florida has more crime
• The Florida population is older
• Florida has more pollution

A concept used as a measure of premature mortality is:

• The p value
• Life expectancy
• Age-adjusted mortality rate
• YPLL

Which of the following is the definition of the birth rate?

• The number of live births per 1,000 people
• The number of live births per 1,000 females
• The number of live births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 44
• The total number of births, live or dead, per 1,000 females

Which of the following statements is not true?

• When screening is done for rare conditions, the rate of false positives may be as high as the number of true positives
• Routine screening for all kinds of cancer would prevent many deaths
• If a study has low power it is likely to produce a false negative result
• Contradictory results from epidemiologic studies are common

To compare the mortality rate in Florida with that of Alaska, what should be done with the data?

• Calculate crude rates
• Calculate age-specific rates
• Calculate age-adjusted rates
• Calculate life expectancies

Which of the following causes of death has the greatest impact on YPLL?

• Suicide
• Cerebrovascular disease
• Chronic lower respiratory disease
• Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis

Which of the following statements is true about risk assessment?

• It is the intuitive judgment of the risk of a harmful event or exposure
• It includes a judgment of the probability that a harmful event will occur
• It can always be estimated on the basis of historical data
• It has found that nuclear power ranks highest of all risks

Which of the following is true of cost-benefit analysis?

• It has found that immunization of children is worth the cost
• It has found that setting limits on exposure to benzene is too expensive to be worth the benefit
• It has found that the benefit of nuclear power is not worth the risk
• It has found that cholesterol-lowering drugs are too expensive to be worth the benefit

Chapter Eight

Data is collected on all of the following events as part of vital statistics except:

• births
• deaths
• abortions
• hospitalizations

Which of the following vital statistics records are linked to give additional public health information?

• births and infant deaths
• marriages and births
• tobacco use and deaths
• abortions and births

Which of the following statements is not true of the U.S. Census?

• It is conducted every 10 years
• It tends to undercount minorities
• It does not count illegal aliens
• It is used to allocate funds for some public health programs

Which of the following statements is true of the BRFSS?

• It is conducted by interviewers from the CDC
• The data is self-reported by the individuals who are interviewed
• Subjects are contacted again after 10 years to ask if anything has changed
• It is a source of information on subjects’ income and education

Which of the following statements is not true about the data collected by governments?

• It can give an early indication that an epidemic is beginning.
• It is used to plan public health programs
• Collecting data is more expensive than it is worth
• Personal information is highly secure

Which of the following statements is true of public health data collection?

• Vital statistics are collected by NCHS in annual surveys of the population
• The cause of death on a death certificate is almost always confirmed on autopsy
• All data collected by states are available to the public
• Data on abortions is very accurate

Which of the following pieces of data is not part of the vital statistics system?

• Births
• Deaths
• Cancer diagnoses
• Dissolutions of marriage

Which of the following statements is not true of the U.S. Census?

• The Census has ways of checking on the accuracy of the individual forms filed
• In the 2010 Census, everyone was sent the same, short form
• The Census Bureau obtains more details about the population by conducting the American Community Survey
• Starting in the 2000 Census, people were allowed to check more than one race

Census data can be used for all of the following purposes except:

• To determine age-adjusted and age-specific rates
• To determine sex specific rates or race specific rates
• To track trends in interracial marriage
• To track trends in illegal immigration

All of the following categories of people are likely to be missed in the Census except:

• Homeless
• Illegal aliens
• Poor minorities
• Lawyers

Which of the following statements is not true about data relevant to infant mortality?

• Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant less than six months old
• Birth certificates contain information that may help to explain why an infant dies
• Birth certificates contain information on when the mother first received prenatal care
• The information on birth certificates is used mainly for public health research

Which of the following population health surveys does not rely on people to report their own health?

• National Health Interview Survey
• Behavioral Risk Factor Survey
• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
• Youth Behavioral Risk Factor Survey

Which of the following population health surveys collects the most accurate data?

• National Health Interview Survey
• Behavioral Risk Factor Survey
• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
• American Community Survey

The National Center for Health Statistics is part of which of the following agencies:

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Institutes of Health
• Census Bureau
• House of Representatives

Which of the following types of vital statistics data are most likely to be erroneous because of lack of knowledge by the person filling out the form?

• Birth certificates
• Death certificates
• Marriage certificates
• Divorces