POPM 3240 Midterm 1 Exam With 100%
Correct and Verified Answers 2026-2027
Updated.
Epidemiology - Answer The study of the frequency, distribution, and determinants of health
and disease in populations, and the application of this study to control health problems
(essentially who gets the disease? where? when? why?)
Edward Jenner - Answer -Smallpox in late 18th century
-Observed that dairy maids were not getting smallpox since they had cowpox (Black Box
Epidemiology...purely observational)
-Gave a little boy cowpox and a few weeks later infected him with smallpox and he was fine
-Essentially developed the first vaccination for smallpox
Who is the "Father of Immunology"? - Answer Edward Jenner
Black Box Epidemiology - Answer Using observational data and conducting trials based on this
data to determine how the disease is transmitted and who is susceptible to the disease
James Lind - Answer -Scottish doctor in Royal Navy
-Scurvy
-Conducted an early randomized control trial
-6 groups of 2 men received varying treatments (citrus fruits, other diets, nothing)
-Ones given citrus fruit recovered in a dramatic fashion compared to others
-Essentially showed that citrus fruits cured scurvy (was not the first to suggest citrus fruits as a
cure for scurvy but was the first to do an experiment to investigate their effect)
Who is the "Father of Nautical Medicine"? - Answer James Lind
Sir Percival Pott - Answer -English physician
-Made one of earliest accounts of a cause and effect linkage for an occupational carcinogen
-Noticed that chimney boys were getting cancer in their testicles...made the connection
between dirty chimney soot getting lodged in the folds of their scrotum when they went up the
chimney naked due to the tight space
John Snow - Answer -Anesthesiologist
,-Cholera (profound diarrhea, severe dehydration (2-3 days), roughly half of patients died)
-Everyone thought it was airborne but he believed it was in the water (it showed up in the gut
and doctors didn't have it)
-Used his "shoe leather" to go house to house collecting data
-Mapped out cases of Cholera death in London
-Most deaths were around the same area of the "Broad Street Water Pump"
-2 water companies supplied water to the pump, they took their water downstream, and below
the well was a sewage tank
How have epi approaches changed throughout the ages? - Answer It started out with trying to
solve problems (small pox, scurvy) to looking at chronic diseases, molecular aspects, genetics
aspects and social aspects which now all come together to solve problems and understand
disease
Health - Answer "A state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity"
What is the difference between disease and illness? - Answer -Disease is a
physiological/psychological dysfunction
-Illness is feeling unwell emotionally even though you might be physically and mentally well
Determinant - Answer Any factor that when altered produces a change in the frequency or
characteristics of the disease
(exposure, risk factor, independent, predictor or explanatory variable)
Outcome of Interest - Answer A response or the dependent variable, in epi this could be things
like disease, health/productivity, immune status, pregnancy
Mad Cow Disease Ex - Answer Dr. John Wilesmith
-1985: 1st case reported of down cow
-1987: epidemiological studies started in which they counted, mapped, and looked at
relationships
-Cows were fed bone meal (a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-
house waste products) which led to mad cow disease and so the cycle continued and more
cases of ruminant infection continued and this may be a reason for the occurrence of CJD
-Elimination of a bone meal diet in ruminants led to the prevention of the disease
, Epidemiological Triad - Answer -Traditional model of infectious disease causation
-Consists of host(s), agent(s), and environment(s)
-The interactions among these factors dictate the impact of any infection at both individual and
population levels
Host
-factors, such as age, gender, breed & species (genotypic & phenotypic), SES, physiologic state,
etc. can lead to the susceptibility of an individual or a population
Environment
-where the host and the agent come together
-ex. air, water, soil, rainfall, etc.
Agent
-the thing responsible for infection
-ex. virus, bacterial infection, fungus, etc.
How does time play a role in the epi triad, and what is an example? - Answer Being healthy or
diseased is a balancing act, that sits on top of the triad
-Over time, there can be shifts in any part of the triad (host, environment, agent) which can
push the scale from health to diseased
Example:
As time goes on, we start to hit midterms. You are stressed, your immune system is
compromised, and you are studying a lot so you aren't sleeping and don't have time to go to the
grocery store to get fruits and vegetables. The host factor has changed (you) and that tips the
scale in favour of disease, even though it is the same environment (the classroom) and same
pathogens (agent such as the cold and flu virus) as before
Types of infectious agents - Answer -Bacteria
-Parasites
-Viruses
-Fungi
-Prions
Contact transmission - Answer -transmitted by contact
-direct + indirect transmission
Correct and Verified Answers 2026-2027
Updated.
Epidemiology - Answer The study of the frequency, distribution, and determinants of health
and disease in populations, and the application of this study to control health problems
(essentially who gets the disease? where? when? why?)
Edward Jenner - Answer -Smallpox in late 18th century
-Observed that dairy maids were not getting smallpox since they had cowpox (Black Box
Epidemiology...purely observational)
-Gave a little boy cowpox and a few weeks later infected him with smallpox and he was fine
-Essentially developed the first vaccination for smallpox
Who is the "Father of Immunology"? - Answer Edward Jenner
Black Box Epidemiology - Answer Using observational data and conducting trials based on this
data to determine how the disease is transmitted and who is susceptible to the disease
James Lind - Answer -Scottish doctor in Royal Navy
-Scurvy
-Conducted an early randomized control trial
-6 groups of 2 men received varying treatments (citrus fruits, other diets, nothing)
-Ones given citrus fruit recovered in a dramatic fashion compared to others
-Essentially showed that citrus fruits cured scurvy (was not the first to suggest citrus fruits as a
cure for scurvy but was the first to do an experiment to investigate their effect)
Who is the "Father of Nautical Medicine"? - Answer James Lind
Sir Percival Pott - Answer -English physician
-Made one of earliest accounts of a cause and effect linkage for an occupational carcinogen
-Noticed that chimney boys were getting cancer in their testicles...made the connection
between dirty chimney soot getting lodged in the folds of their scrotum when they went up the
chimney naked due to the tight space
John Snow - Answer -Anesthesiologist
,-Cholera (profound diarrhea, severe dehydration (2-3 days), roughly half of patients died)
-Everyone thought it was airborne but he believed it was in the water (it showed up in the gut
and doctors didn't have it)
-Used his "shoe leather" to go house to house collecting data
-Mapped out cases of Cholera death in London
-Most deaths were around the same area of the "Broad Street Water Pump"
-2 water companies supplied water to the pump, they took their water downstream, and below
the well was a sewage tank
How have epi approaches changed throughout the ages? - Answer It started out with trying to
solve problems (small pox, scurvy) to looking at chronic diseases, molecular aspects, genetics
aspects and social aspects which now all come together to solve problems and understand
disease
Health - Answer "A state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity"
What is the difference between disease and illness? - Answer -Disease is a
physiological/psychological dysfunction
-Illness is feeling unwell emotionally even though you might be physically and mentally well
Determinant - Answer Any factor that when altered produces a change in the frequency or
characteristics of the disease
(exposure, risk factor, independent, predictor or explanatory variable)
Outcome of Interest - Answer A response or the dependent variable, in epi this could be things
like disease, health/productivity, immune status, pregnancy
Mad Cow Disease Ex - Answer Dr. John Wilesmith
-1985: 1st case reported of down cow
-1987: epidemiological studies started in which they counted, mapped, and looked at
relationships
-Cows were fed bone meal (a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-
house waste products) which led to mad cow disease and so the cycle continued and more
cases of ruminant infection continued and this may be a reason for the occurrence of CJD
-Elimination of a bone meal diet in ruminants led to the prevention of the disease
, Epidemiological Triad - Answer -Traditional model of infectious disease causation
-Consists of host(s), agent(s), and environment(s)
-The interactions among these factors dictate the impact of any infection at both individual and
population levels
Host
-factors, such as age, gender, breed & species (genotypic & phenotypic), SES, physiologic state,
etc. can lead to the susceptibility of an individual or a population
Environment
-where the host and the agent come together
-ex. air, water, soil, rainfall, etc.
Agent
-the thing responsible for infection
-ex. virus, bacterial infection, fungus, etc.
How does time play a role in the epi triad, and what is an example? - Answer Being healthy or
diseased is a balancing act, that sits on top of the triad
-Over time, there can be shifts in any part of the triad (host, environment, agent) which can
push the scale from health to diseased
Example:
As time goes on, we start to hit midterms. You are stressed, your immune system is
compromised, and you are studying a lot so you aren't sleeping and don't have time to go to the
grocery store to get fruits and vegetables. The host factor has changed (you) and that tips the
scale in favour of disease, even though it is the same environment (the classroom) and same
pathogens (agent such as the cold and flu virus) as before
Types of infectious agents - Answer -Bacteria
-Parasites
-Viruses
-Fungi
-Prions
Contact transmission - Answer -transmitted by contact
-direct + indirect transmission
