503 Population Health, Epidemiology &
Statistical Principles | Chamberlain
1. Which of the following best defines sensitivity in a screening test?
A. The ability of a test to correctly identify those who do not have the disease.
B. The proportion of people with a positive test who actually have the disease.
C. The ability of a test to correctly identify those who have the disease.
D. The proportion of people with a negative test who actually do not have the disease.
Answer: C
Rationale: Sensitivity measures the proportion of actual positives that are correctly
identified by the test. It is calculated by dividing the number of true positives by the total
number of individuals who actually have the disease. A highly sensitive test is essential for
screening programs to ensure that as few cases as possible are missed.
2. An advanced practice nurse is developing a program to provide influenza vaccinations at a
local community center. This is an example of which level of prevention?
A. Secondary prevention
B. Primary prevention
C. Tertiary prevention
D. Quaternary prevention
,Answer: B
Rationale: Primary prevention focuses on preventing the initial onset of disease or injury.
Immunizations are a classic example of this level because they provide protection before an
individual is exposed to the pathogen. This approach aims to reduce the incidence of
disease within a population.
3. A researcher identifies a group of individuals with lung cancer and a group without lung
cancer, then looks back at their past smoking habits. What type of study design is this?
A. Cohort study
B. Randomized controlled trial
C. Case-control study
D. Cross-sectional study
Answer: C
Rationale: Case-control studies are retrospective and start by identifying individuals
based on their disease status. Researchers then look back in time to compare the exposure
history between cases and controls. This design is efficient for studying rare diseases or
conditions with long latency periods.
4. What does a p-value of less than 0.05 typically indicate in clinical research?
A. The results are clinically significant and should change practice.
B. The results are statistically significant, and the null hypothesis is rejected.
, C. There is a 5% chance that the null hypothesis is true.
D. The results are not significant, and the findings are likely due to chance.
Answer: B
Rationale: A p-value less than 0.05 suggests that the observed effect is unlikely to have
occurred by chance alone if the null hypothesis were true. In statistical terms, this
threshold is used to reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis.
However, statistical significance does not always equate to clinical relevance.
5. Specificity refers to the ability of a screening test to:
A. Identify those with the condition correctly.
B. Measure the consistency of results over time.
C. Predict the likelihood of a person having the disease.
D. Identify those without the condition correctly.
Answer: D
Rationale: Specificity is the proportion of people without the disease who are correctly
identified by a negative test result. High specificity helps minimize the occurrence of false
positives, which can lead to unnecessary anxiety and follow-up procedures. It is calculated
as true negatives divided by the total number of people without the disease.
6. Which measure of association is most commonly used in prospective cohort studies?
A. Odds Ratio