Question 1

What does each state do with the information that it receives about notifiable diseases?

Accepted Answer

Data is transmitted weekly to the CDC through the National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance.

Question 2

A nurse is using surveillance to collect outcome data.What information would most likely be collected?

Accepted Answer

Outcome data focus on change in health status; incidence rates are one example of this type of information.

Question 3

Which source would a nurse use to collect morbidity data?

Accepted Answer

There are many sources of morbidity data (rate of disease incidence).The other three options do not provide morbidity data.

Question 4

A community coalition monitors the increasing obesity rate of children in their schools.Based on this data,they consider a variety of programming options which may possibly help decrease this trend.What was the purpose of conducting this surveillance?

Accepted Answer

Ongoing surveillance in a community can lead to new clinical and effective protocols to address an issue.

Question 5

When applying the Minnesota Model of Public Health Interventions: Applications for Public Health Nursing Practice steps of surveillance,what initial action would the nurse take?

Accepted Answer

The first step in this model considers whether the surveillance was appropriate.

Question 6

If a person returns from overseas and it is determined that he has cholera,what must occur?

Accepted Answer

Cholera is on the notifiable list and must be reported to the state and local health departments.

Question 7

A college student goes to the Student Health Center with an extremely swollen neck.The advanced practice nurse determines that he has mumps.His roommate also is experiencing malaise and a sore throat.These two students by definition are considered a:

Accepted Answer

A point source outbreak involves all persons exposed becoming ill at the same time,during one incubation period.

Question 8

Which is a feature of public health surveillance?

Accepted Answer

The other three options are the purposes of surveillance,not features.

Question 9

The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)outbreak was an epidemic that spread over several countries.By definition,this is considered a:

Accepted Answer

A pandemic refers to the epidemic spread of the problem over several countries or continents.

Question 10

Which problem does a health department usually have the legal authority to investigate?

Accepted Answer

Powers of local government include surveillance of unusual clusters of illness.

Question 11

What was the purpose of the CDC creating the first list of standard case definitions for notifiable diseases?

Accepted Answer

The initial work was done by the CDC because diseases were over-reported or under-reported.

Question 12

What information is shared among agencies when they collaborate to implement a quality surveillance system?

Accepted Answer

Collaboration promotes the development of plans and a directory of emergency responses.How to use algorithms is a key type of information that is shared.

Question 13

A public health nurse is investigating an outbreak of salmonellosis in a community.Which type of surveillance system is being used?

Accepted Answer

In the active system,a public health nurse begins to search for cases through contacts in the community.The nurse names the disease and gathers data about existing cases to try to determine the magnitude of the problem.

Question 14

What occurs during biological terrorism?

Accepted Answer

An intentional release of viruses,bacteria,or their toxins would be described as biological terrorism.

Question 15

A nurse practitioner reports a case of gonorrhea to the local health department.Which type of surveillance system is being used?

Accepted Answer

In the passive system,case reports are sent to local health departments by health care providers.

Question 16

Why would a hospital use surveillance?

Accepted Answer

Hospital surveillance is used to improve quality of care and outcomes.An example is an infection that occurs in patients who had procedures at that facility.Reduction of the incidence of ventilator-acquired pneumonia is one reason why a hospital uses surveillance,but it does not address the entire issue.

Question 17

Why does a nurse conduct surveillance?

Accepted Answer

Disease surveillance helps establish baseline rates of disease occurrence and patterns of spread to make it possible to initiate a rapid response to an outbreak.

Question 18

What information is included in a case definition?

Accepted Answer

Each case has a unique set of criteria based on what is known about the particular disease.It may include clinical symptoms,laboratory values,and epidemiologic criteria.

Question 19

A large amount of data related to hypertension rates is collected in a community.The data is analyzed.What is the next step in the surveillance process?

Accepted Answer

After data is collected and analyzed,the findings must be disseminated.

Question 20

A nurse is completing a disease investigation.Based on the clinical symptoms presented,it is assumed that the individual has measles.However,there has been no laboratory evidence documenting that this individual has the disease.What type of case is the nurse investigating?

Accepted Answer

A suspected case is a clinically compatible case of illness without isolation.

Quiz 24: Public Health Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation