Deck 3: Epidemiology and Population Health Nursing

Question 1

The population health nurse is explaining the epidemiologic triad to a group of nursing students. What should the nurse use as an example of this triad?

A) Sun, beach, and sunburn.
B) Rural Mississippi, deer, and Lyme disease.
C) Potato salad, outdoor picnic, and food poisoning.
D) Standing water, mosquitoes, and warm weather.

Answer 1

Potato salad, outdoor picnic, and food poisoning.

Question 2

A patient comes into the clinic with manifestations of an acute respiratory infection. When analyzing the natural history of the condition, the population health nurse identifies that this patient is in which stage?

A) Clinical.
B) Preclinical.
C) Resolution.
D) Susceptibility.

Answer 2

Clinical.

Question 3

The population health nurse is reviewing data collected on a group of patients to determine which patients are experiencing the same health problem. In which step of the epidemiologic process is the nurse functioning?

A) Defining the condition.
B) Developing control strategies.
C) Identifying strategic points of control.
D) Determining the natural history of the condition.

Answer 3

Defining the condition.

Question 4

The population health nurse is compiling childhood illness statistics and finds that the morbidity for chickenpox is higher for one neighborhood in comparison to the local county. What does this information mean to the nurse?

A) There are new cases of chickenpox in the neighborhood.
B) There are a larger percentage of children with chickenpox in the neighborhood.
C) A large group of children have been affected by chickenpox in the neighborhood.
D) There has been a rise in the number of children with chickenpox during a specified period of time in the neighborhood.

Question 5

The population health nurse is trying to identify the causative relationship for a group of school students who developed viral meningitis. Which criterion must the nurse identify to prove causation for the development of the disease in these students?

A) Coherence.
B) Specificity.
C) Consistency.
D) Temporal relationship.

Question 6

A patient diagnosed with a terminal illness asks why the disease developed when others who have less healthy lifestyle habits enjoy good health. Which theory of disease causation should the nurse use when responding to this patient's enquiry?

A) Environment.
B) Divine intervention.
C) Single cause theory.
D) Multiple cause theory.

Question 7

After collecting information from patients about a health problem the population health nurse is analyzing the information to determine the natural history of the condition. What elements of the natural history should the nurse identify? (Select all that apply.)

A) Signs and symptoms of the health problem.
B) The effects that the health problem has on the body.
C) Length of time the health problem will affect the body.
D) Factors that contribute to the development of the health problem.
E) Outcomes and factors that affect the outcomes of the health problem.

Question 8

The population health nurse is identifying determinants of health to address the development of cancer in a small rural neighborhood. Which determinants should the nurse identify? (Select all that apply.)

A) Availability of health facilities.
B) Mean age of the male population.
C) Prevailing diet high in unprocessed foods and low fat.
D) High percentage of tobacco use among the male population.
E) Proximity of the community to chemical plants that have a poor history of regulating emissions.

Question 9

The population health nurse is compiling statistics about lung cancer in one neighborhood that has experienced an average of 15 years from diagnosis to death. Which concept of epidemiology is the nurse analyzing?

A) Mortality rate.
B) Survival time.
C) Morbidity rate.
D) Survival rate.

Question 10

After being diagnosed with cancer the patient tells the population health nurse that the disease is punishment from God. Which theory of disease causation is this patient using to explain the illness?

A) Environment.
B) Physical forces.
C) Specific organism.
D) Divine intervention.

Question 11

The population health nurse notes that the number of cases of diabetes in a community remained stable during the last year. However in January, ten new diagnoses of diabetes were confirmed. What type of data is the nurse analyzing?

A) Incidence.
B) Morbidity.
C) Prevalence.
D) Case fatality rate.

Question 12

The population health nurse is visiting the home of a family whose youngest child developed chickenpox after being exposed to a classmate with the same disease. Of which criterion for establishing a causal relationship is this situation an example?

A) Frequency.
B) Consistency.
C) Absolute risk.
D) Susceptibility.

Question 13

The population health nurse is concerned that a group of lifeguards who refuse to use sunscreen might develop skin cancer. On what is the nurse focusing this concern?

A) Risk.
B) Cases.
C) Mortality.
D) Morbidity.

Question 14

After reviewing data collected during a community health fair the population health nurse is concerned that 500 people have an absolute risk of developing peripheral vascular disease. How should the nurse explain this risk to the community leaders?

A) Probability that any of the 500 people will develop peripheral vascular disease.
B) Probability that one of the 500 people will develop peripheral vascular disease when compared to the rest of the population.
C) The ability that the 500 people will be affected by factors that contribute to the development of peripheral vascular disease.
D) The likelihood that the 500 people will be exposed to factors that contribute to the development of peripheral vascular disease.

Question 15

The population health nurse is planning to use a "web of causation" to explain the development of a health problem in a group of patients. What should the nurse use as an example of the web of causation?

A) Oil refinery, flare emissions, and asthma.
B) Mosquitoes, West Nile virus, and decreased mosquito spraying.
C) Adolescent pregnancy rate, lower socioeconomic status and education, and close friends with infants.
D) Access to alcohol, decreased enforcement of minors, and attractive media portrayal of alcohol that contributes to adolescent alcohol usage.