Community Health Hesi Practice Exam
2026–2027 / Actual Exam Questions And
Verified Answers With Rationales Graded
A+ Latest
1. Which action best demonstrates the primary focus of community health nursing?
A. Treating one hospitalized client
B. Improving health outcomes of populations
C. Performing surgery
D. Managing postoperative pain
Correct Answer: B. Improving health outcomes of populations
Rationale: Community health nursing focuses on populations and communities rather than only
individual clients. Nurses identify population risks, promote health, prevent disease, and
address social and environmental factors affecting health.
2. A community health nurse is beginning an assessment of a rural community. Which action
should occur first?
A. Develop an intervention
B. Identify community health needs and strengths
C. Evaluate the program
D. Purchase educational materials
Correct Answer: B. Identify community health needs and strengths
Rationale: Assessment precedes planning. The nurse gathers demographic, epidemiologic,
environmental, socioeconomic, and community-resource information before selecting
interventions.
3. Which activity represents primary prevention?
A. Rehabilitation after a stroke
B. Blood-pressure screening
,C. Childhood immunization
D. Physical therapy after an injury
Correct Answer: C. Childhood immunization
Rationale: Primary prevention prevents disease before it occurs. Immunization, vaccination
education, and injury-prevention programs are examples. Screening is secondary prevention,
while rehabilitation is tertiary prevention.
4. Which activity is an example of secondary prevention?
A. Smoking-prevention education
B. Mammography screening
C. Stroke rehabilitation
D. Prenatal nutrition counseling
Correct Answer: B. Mammography screening
Rationale: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and treatment. Screening identifies
disease or risk before significant complications develop.
5. Which intervention represents tertiary prevention?
A. Immunization clinic
B. Smoking cessation education before disease develops
C. Rehabilitation following a stroke
D. Screening for hypertension
Correct Answer: C. Rehabilitation following a stroke
Rationale: Tertiary prevention reduces disability and complications after disease or injury has
occurred.
6. A community nurse identifies a high rate of hypertension among adults. Which action is
most appropriate initially?
A. Immediately start medication for all residents
B. Assess contributing risk factors
C. Close local restaurants
D. Refer every resident to a hospital
,Correct Answer: B. Assess contributing risk factors
Rationale: Community interventions should be based on assessment data. The nurse should
investigate diet, physical activity, obesity, access to care, socioeconomic factors, and other
contributors before designing an intervention.
7. Which statement best describes epidemiology?
A. The treatment of individual injuries
B. The study of disease distribution and determinants in populations
C. The administration of medications
D. The study of hospital finances
Correct Answer: B. The study of disease distribution and determinants in populations
Rationale: Epidemiology examines patterns, causes, risk factors, and distribution of health
events in populations.
**8. Incidence measures:
A. All existing cases
B. New cases occurring during a specified period
C. Deaths from all causes only
D. Hospital admissions only
Correct Answer: B. New cases occurring during a specified period
Rationale: Incidence measures the occurrence of new cases in a population during a specified
time period.
**9. Prevalence refers to:
A. Only newly diagnosed cases
B. All existing cases in a population at a particular time or period
C. Only fatal cases
D. Only cases requiring hospitalization
Correct Answer: B. All existing cases in a population at a particular time or period
, Rationale: Prevalence includes both new and previously existing cases that are present in the
population.
10. Which measure is particularly useful for describing how common a chronic disease is in a
population?
A. Prevalence
B. Incidence only
C. Case-fatality rate only
D. Birth rate
Correct Answer: A. Prevalence
Rationale: Chronic conditions may persist for long periods, making prevalence useful for
estimating the burden of disease in a population.
11. A nurse wants to identify factors associated with a disease by comparing people who have
the disease with people who do not. Which study design is most appropriate?
A. Case-control study
B. Randomized controlled trial only
C. Case report
D. Ecological census only
Correct Answer: A. Case-control study
Rationale: Case-control studies begin with people who have a condition and compare them
with controls to identify previous exposures or risk factors.
12. Which finding represents a health disparity?
A. Everyone receives identical educational materials
B. One population has substantially poorer health outcomes associated with social disadvantage
C. All residents have access to the same clinic
D. A nurse follows the same schedule every week
Correct Answer: B. One population has substantially poorer health outcomes associated with
social disadvantage
2026–2027 / Actual Exam Questions And
Verified Answers With Rationales Graded
A+ Latest
1. Which action best demonstrates the primary focus of community health nursing?
A. Treating one hospitalized client
B. Improving health outcomes of populations
C. Performing surgery
D. Managing postoperative pain
Correct Answer: B. Improving health outcomes of populations
Rationale: Community health nursing focuses on populations and communities rather than only
individual clients. Nurses identify population risks, promote health, prevent disease, and
address social and environmental factors affecting health.
2. A community health nurse is beginning an assessment of a rural community. Which action
should occur first?
A. Develop an intervention
B. Identify community health needs and strengths
C. Evaluate the program
D. Purchase educational materials
Correct Answer: B. Identify community health needs and strengths
Rationale: Assessment precedes planning. The nurse gathers demographic, epidemiologic,
environmental, socioeconomic, and community-resource information before selecting
interventions.
3. Which activity represents primary prevention?
A. Rehabilitation after a stroke
B. Blood-pressure screening
,C. Childhood immunization
D. Physical therapy after an injury
Correct Answer: C. Childhood immunization
Rationale: Primary prevention prevents disease before it occurs. Immunization, vaccination
education, and injury-prevention programs are examples. Screening is secondary prevention,
while rehabilitation is tertiary prevention.
4. Which activity is an example of secondary prevention?
A. Smoking-prevention education
B. Mammography screening
C. Stroke rehabilitation
D. Prenatal nutrition counseling
Correct Answer: B. Mammography screening
Rationale: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and treatment. Screening identifies
disease or risk before significant complications develop.
5. Which intervention represents tertiary prevention?
A. Immunization clinic
B. Smoking cessation education before disease develops
C. Rehabilitation following a stroke
D. Screening for hypertension
Correct Answer: C. Rehabilitation following a stroke
Rationale: Tertiary prevention reduces disability and complications after disease or injury has
occurred.
6. A community nurse identifies a high rate of hypertension among adults. Which action is
most appropriate initially?
A. Immediately start medication for all residents
B. Assess contributing risk factors
C. Close local restaurants
D. Refer every resident to a hospital
,Correct Answer: B. Assess contributing risk factors
Rationale: Community interventions should be based on assessment data. The nurse should
investigate diet, physical activity, obesity, access to care, socioeconomic factors, and other
contributors before designing an intervention.
7. Which statement best describes epidemiology?
A. The treatment of individual injuries
B. The study of disease distribution and determinants in populations
C. The administration of medications
D. The study of hospital finances
Correct Answer: B. The study of disease distribution and determinants in populations
Rationale: Epidemiology examines patterns, causes, risk factors, and distribution of health
events in populations.
**8. Incidence measures:
A. All existing cases
B. New cases occurring during a specified period
C. Deaths from all causes only
D. Hospital admissions only
Correct Answer: B. New cases occurring during a specified period
Rationale: Incidence measures the occurrence of new cases in a population during a specified
time period.
**9. Prevalence refers to:
A. Only newly diagnosed cases
B. All existing cases in a population at a particular time or period
C. Only fatal cases
D. Only cases requiring hospitalization
Correct Answer: B. All existing cases in a population at a particular time or period
, Rationale: Prevalence includes both new and previously existing cases that are present in the
population.
10. Which measure is particularly useful for describing how common a chronic disease is in a
population?
A. Prevalence
B. Incidence only
C. Case-fatality rate only
D. Birth rate
Correct Answer: A. Prevalence
Rationale: Chronic conditions may persist for long periods, making prevalence useful for
estimating the burden of disease in a population.
11. A nurse wants to identify factors associated with a disease by comparing people who have
the disease with people who do not. Which study design is most appropriate?
A. Case-control study
B. Randomized controlled trial only
C. Case report
D. Ecological census only
Correct Answer: A. Case-control study
Rationale: Case-control studies begin with people who have a condition and compare them
with controls to identify previous exposures or risk factors.
12. Which finding represents a health disparity?
A. Everyone receives identical educational materials
B. One population has substantially poorer health outcomes associated with social disadvantage
C. All residents have access to the same clinic
D. A nurse follows the same schedule every week
Correct Answer: B. One population has substantially poorer health outcomes associated with
social disadvantage
