Epidemiology Made Simple: 80 Essential Nursing Exam & Quiz
Questions with Rationales
1. A public health nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse how to
determine the prevalence rate of the top diseases in the county.
Which of the following information should the nurse provide to
describe prevalence rate?
A. "The prevalence rate considers only those at risk for disease."
B. "The prevalence rate considers new cases of disease."
C. "The prevalence rate is a mortality measure."
D. A case control study is used to measure the prevalence rate.
Answer: ✅ B. "The prevalence rate considers new cases of disease."
Rationale: Prevalence rate reflects both new and existing cases of a disease
within a population at a specific time. It differs from incidence, which measures
only new cases.
2. A public health nurse is reviewing laboratory results for a client
who is being screened for HIV. The results yield low specificity.
Which of the following statements by the client indicates an
understanding of the laboratory results?
A. "I understand that the screening test may result in a false positive because it has
a low specificity." ✅
B. "I understand that the screening test may result in a false negative because it
has low specificity."
C. "If I screen negative, it means there is no way I can transmit HIV."
D. "Low specificity means I'll need to begin treatment right away."
Rationale: Low specificity = more false positives (the test incorrectly identifies
disease when it’s not present). Low sensitivity would cause false negatives.
1
,Epidemiology Made Simple: 80 Essential Nursing Exam & Quiz
Questions with Rationales
3. A public health nurse is completing an institutional review
board (IRB) application for an analytic study in a community
hospital following an outbreak of Escherichia coli. Which of the
following stages of the analytic study is the nurse engaged in?
A. Data analysis
B. Interpretation of findings
C. Conceptualization/design
D. Conduct/implementation ✅
Rationale: Submitting an IRB application occurs in the implementation stage,
ensuring ethical approval before research begins.
4. A public health nurse is investigating a food-borne illness
outbreak following a community picnic attended by 107 people. 98
people who ate watermelon, 24 became ill. What attack rate
should the nurse calculate for the watermelon?
Answer: ✅ 25% (24 ÷ 98 = 0.245 ≈ 25%)
Rationale: Attack rate = number of people who became ill ÷ number exposed.
5. A community health nurse is providing teaching to a client who
is being enrolled in an epidemiological cohort study. Which
statement by the client indicates understanding?
A. "The study will last for 10 years. You will contact me annually for an interview
and blood work." ✅
B. "I will not know if I am going to be in the intervention or control group."
2
, Epidemiology Made Simple: 80 Essential Nursing Exam & Quiz
Questions with Rationales
C. "The survey will take an hour to complete and then I'll be done."
D. "You'll need to find other participants like me but who do not have this
disease."
Rationale: Cohort studies follow groups over time to assess disease
development.
6. A community health nurse is providing teaching to a client
enrolled in a case-control study. Which statement indicates
understanding?
A. "The study will last for 10 years. You will contact me annually for an interview
and blood work."
B. "I will not know if I am going to be in the intervention or control group."
C. "The survey will take an hour to complete and then I'll be done."
D. "You'll need to find other participants like me but who do not have this
disease." ✅
Rationale: Case-control studies compare individuals with a disease (cases) to
those without (controls).
7. A community health nurse is using USPSTF guidelines to
recommend health screenings. Which description applies to Grade
A screening?
A. "Research indicates this screening exam is beneficial. I would like to offer it to
you." ✅
B. "Research indicates this screening exam has a small benefit. Let's discuss this
more to see if this screening is right for you."
3
Questions with Rationales
1. A public health nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse how to
determine the prevalence rate of the top diseases in the county.
Which of the following information should the nurse provide to
describe prevalence rate?
A. "The prevalence rate considers only those at risk for disease."
B. "The prevalence rate considers new cases of disease."
C. "The prevalence rate is a mortality measure."
D. A case control study is used to measure the prevalence rate.
Answer: ✅ B. "The prevalence rate considers new cases of disease."
Rationale: Prevalence rate reflects both new and existing cases of a disease
within a population at a specific time. It differs from incidence, which measures
only new cases.
2. A public health nurse is reviewing laboratory results for a client
who is being screened for HIV. The results yield low specificity.
Which of the following statements by the client indicates an
understanding of the laboratory results?
A. "I understand that the screening test may result in a false positive because it has
a low specificity." ✅
B. "I understand that the screening test may result in a false negative because it
has low specificity."
C. "If I screen negative, it means there is no way I can transmit HIV."
D. "Low specificity means I'll need to begin treatment right away."
Rationale: Low specificity = more false positives (the test incorrectly identifies
disease when it’s not present). Low sensitivity would cause false negatives.
1
,Epidemiology Made Simple: 80 Essential Nursing Exam & Quiz
Questions with Rationales
3. A public health nurse is completing an institutional review
board (IRB) application for an analytic study in a community
hospital following an outbreak of Escherichia coli. Which of the
following stages of the analytic study is the nurse engaged in?
A. Data analysis
B. Interpretation of findings
C. Conceptualization/design
D. Conduct/implementation ✅
Rationale: Submitting an IRB application occurs in the implementation stage,
ensuring ethical approval before research begins.
4. A public health nurse is investigating a food-borne illness
outbreak following a community picnic attended by 107 people. 98
people who ate watermelon, 24 became ill. What attack rate
should the nurse calculate for the watermelon?
Answer: ✅ 25% (24 ÷ 98 = 0.245 ≈ 25%)
Rationale: Attack rate = number of people who became ill ÷ number exposed.
5. A community health nurse is providing teaching to a client who
is being enrolled in an epidemiological cohort study. Which
statement by the client indicates understanding?
A. "The study will last for 10 years. You will contact me annually for an interview
and blood work." ✅
B. "I will not know if I am going to be in the intervention or control group."
2
, Epidemiology Made Simple: 80 Essential Nursing Exam & Quiz
Questions with Rationales
C. "The survey will take an hour to complete and then I'll be done."
D. "You'll need to find other participants like me but who do not have this
disease."
Rationale: Cohort studies follow groups over time to assess disease
development.
6. A community health nurse is providing teaching to a client
enrolled in a case-control study. Which statement indicates
understanding?
A. "The study will last for 10 years. You will contact me annually for an interview
and blood work."
B. "I will not know if I am going to be in the intervention or control group."
C. "The survey will take an hour to complete and then I'll be done."
D. "You'll need to find other participants like me but who do not have this
disease." ✅
Rationale: Case-control studies compare individuals with a disease (cases) to
those without (controls).
7. A community health nurse is using USPSTF guidelines to
recommend health screenings. Which description applies to Grade
A screening?
A. "Research indicates this screening exam is beneficial. I would like to offer it to
you." ✅
B. "Research indicates this screening exam has a small benefit. Let's discuss this
more to see if this screening is right for you."
3
