CHAPTER 8

Applications of Epidemiology in Community Health

1. The term “distribution” in the definition of Epidemiology refers to magnitude of

disease frequency according to:
A. Person characteristics (age, sex, occupation, behaviors, etc.)
B. Place characteristics (urban-rural, upland-lowland, etc.)
C. Time of occurrence (seasons of the year, trends over the years, etc.)
D. All of the above

2. The following are person characteristics except:

A. Race
B. Religion
C. Socioeconomic status
D. None of the above

3. Which of the following can be considered as biological “determinants” of disease?

A. Lifestyle
B. Virus
C. Climate
D. Environmental conditions

4. A public health nurse can apply the principles of Epidemiology for:

A. Diagnosing the health status of the community
B. Identifying risk factors of a disease
C. Monitoring and evaluation of health interventions
D. All of the above

5. The following are examples of morbidity indicators except:

A. Incidence density rate
B. Case fatality rate
C. Cumulative incidence
D. Prevalence proportion
6. The health indicator that measures the percentage of both old and new cases of a
disease over the number of people examined at one point in time is:
A. Incidence density rate
B. Case fatality rate
C. Cumulative incidence
D. Prevalence proportion

7. The mortality indicator which measures the risk of dying among persons with a particular
disease is:
A. Case fatality rate
B. Cause of death rate
C. Infant mortality rate
D. Neonatal mortality rate

8. Which among the following is/are true about the population pyramid?
A. High fertility and high mortality among the elderly is depicted by a triangular-shaped
pyramid
B. A rectangular shape depicts high mortality in the younger age groups
C. It shows the distribution of the population by age and health status
D. None of the above

9. Which of the following cannot be a source of health statistics?

A. Municipal health offices
B. Health insurance companies
C. Internet
D. None of the above

10. Who is/are mandated by Republic Act No. 3573 to report notifiable diseases to local and
national health authorities except:
A. Barangay Captain
B. Public school teachers
C. A and B
D. None of the above

11. Which of the following is false about the public health surveillance system?
 A. It serves as an early warning system of an impending epidemic
B. It may also monitor the risk factors of diseases that are deemed to be of public
health importance
C. It covers all diseases, whether communicable or non-communicable
D. None of the above

12. The epidemiologic model of disease causation that depicts the relationship of the human
host, the infectious agent and the environment is:
A. Epidemiologic triad
B. Wheel model
C. Web model
D. None of the above

13. The morbidity indicator that can be derived from a cross-sectional study is:
A. Cumulative incidence
B. Incidence density rate
C. Prevalence proportion
D. All of the above

14. The type of observational study that best elucidates the natural history of disease.
A. Case series
B. Survey
C. Prospective cohort study
D. None of the above

15. The “agent” in the wheel model of disease causation refers to:
A. Microbes
B. Nutritive factors
C. Chemical/physical factors
D. All of the above

16. The following can be considered as occurrence of a disease outbreak except:

A. A single case of smallpox detected in a research institute
B. 30 cases of malaria over the past 20 years in an endemic barangay of Palawan
C. 20 cases of food poisoning among those who attended a company party
 D. 2 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) among passengers of an
airplane flight

17. What is the first step that an epidemiologist should do in investigating an outbreak?
A. Verify whether there really has been an outbreak
B. Gather relevant information from the patients and the environment
C. Establish the operational definition of a case
D. Inform the media about the outbreak that will be
investigated

18. Which is true about monitoring of health interventions?

A. It is a continuous activity undertaken throughout implementation of the program
B. It determines whether the objectives of the program are achieved
C. It is intended to inform policymakers and planners about the efficacy of
the intervention
D. All of the above

19. Evaluation of health intervention involves:

A. Identifying problems and taking corrective actions during program implementation
B. Quality assurance throughout the program implementation
C. Providing feedback on the results and impact of the project/program
D. All of the above

20. The main role of epidemiology in health policy formulation is:

A. Analyze the contents of the policy
B. Provide evidence why the policy should be formulated
C. “Lobby” to legislators for support to the policy
D. All of the above