PBHL 511 Final Exam UPDATED QUESTIONS
AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Opioid drugs bind to opiate receptors leading to analgesia (loss of pain). Why does drug
addiction occur even after the individual has recovered from the illness/disorder which
caused the pain? - CORRECT ANSWER Opioid drugs stimulate the release of
dopamine in the reward pathway regions of the brain. This causes structural and chemical
changes in the brain which resemble the learning process.
What are the stages in the stages of change model? - CORRECT ANSWER Pre-
contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance
Cancer treatment is an example of what level of prevention? - CORRECT
ANSWER Tertiary
What are the levels of the Social Ecological Model ordered from "micro" to "macro"? -
CORRECT ANSWER Individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, policy
What is the result of an action potential reaching the axon terminal of the presynaptic cell that
has a chemical synapse? - CORRECT ANSWER A neurotransmitter is released from
the presynaptic cell. The neurotransmitter binds to a receptor on the postsynaptic cell often
resulting in an action potential in the postsynaptic cell
Which of the following characterize some of the limits of the brain/disease paradigm of
addiction? - CORRECT ANSWER A.
Underplays/ignores the impact of social determinants of health on the etiology of addiction.
B.
Creates a risk of stigmatizing addicts as diseased.
C.
Evidence for this paradigm has been challenged.
D.
All of the above.
, What principles of the Health Belief Model describe perceptions/beliefs about a disease or
health condition? - CORRECT ANSWER Perceived susceptibility, perceived severity
Suppose the rate of overdose deaths due to heroin in Springfield County--where you are the
Health Officer--decreased sharply between 2016 and 2017. You know that the total number of
people in the county did not change much. What might explain the change in rate in 2017? -
CORRECT ANSWER A.
Many fewer people in the population used heroin in fatal quantities
B.
There were more overdose reversals with naloxone by emergency medical technicians
C.
A new medical examiner was hired, who was less likely to attribute deaths to specific drugs
D.
Any or all of the above
Which of the following activities best matches the definition of a public health surveillance
system? - CORRECT ANSWER A registry of all persons diagnosed with cancer in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1985, from which data are used to set priorities for
prevention and control programs
Sandy Ford was an employee at the CDC Parasitic Disease Division. Her job was to dispense
drugs for rare parasitic diseases to doctors throughout the US. In 1981, she noticed an
increase in demand for pentamidine isethionate. This drug was used to treat pneumocystis
pneumonia (PCP), a previously rare type of pneumonia only seen in immunocompromised
people. She notified others at the CDC about this increase in demand. We now know this was
an indication that a new pandemic had started - the HIV pandemic. What type of surveillance
did Sandy Ford use here? - CORRECT ANSWER Event-based surveillance
State based notifiable disease surveillance programs are an example of which type of
surveillance system: - CORRECT ANSWER Indicator-based surveillance
Since about 2014, the largest and most rapid increases in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. are
attributed to which category of opioids? - CORRECT ANSWER Synthetic opioids
other than methadone, such as fentanyl
AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Opioid drugs bind to opiate receptors leading to analgesia (loss of pain). Why does drug
addiction occur even after the individual has recovered from the illness/disorder which
caused the pain? - CORRECT ANSWER Opioid drugs stimulate the release of
dopamine in the reward pathway regions of the brain. This causes structural and chemical
changes in the brain which resemble the learning process.
What are the stages in the stages of change model? - CORRECT ANSWER Pre-
contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance
Cancer treatment is an example of what level of prevention? - CORRECT
ANSWER Tertiary
What are the levels of the Social Ecological Model ordered from "micro" to "macro"? -
CORRECT ANSWER Individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, policy
What is the result of an action potential reaching the axon terminal of the presynaptic cell that
has a chemical synapse? - CORRECT ANSWER A neurotransmitter is released from
the presynaptic cell. The neurotransmitter binds to a receptor on the postsynaptic cell often
resulting in an action potential in the postsynaptic cell
Which of the following characterize some of the limits of the brain/disease paradigm of
addiction? - CORRECT ANSWER A.
Underplays/ignores the impact of social determinants of health on the etiology of addiction.
B.
Creates a risk of stigmatizing addicts as diseased.
C.
Evidence for this paradigm has been challenged.
D.
All of the above.
, What principles of the Health Belief Model describe perceptions/beliefs about a disease or
health condition? - CORRECT ANSWER Perceived susceptibility, perceived severity
Suppose the rate of overdose deaths due to heroin in Springfield County--where you are the
Health Officer--decreased sharply between 2016 and 2017. You know that the total number of
people in the county did not change much. What might explain the change in rate in 2017? -
CORRECT ANSWER A.
Many fewer people in the population used heroin in fatal quantities
B.
There were more overdose reversals with naloxone by emergency medical technicians
C.
A new medical examiner was hired, who was less likely to attribute deaths to specific drugs
D.
Any or all of the above
Which of the following activities best matches the definition of a public health surveillance
system? - CORRECT ANSWER A registry of all persons diagnosed with cancer in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1985, from which data are used to set priorities for
prevention and control programs
Sandy Ford was an employee at the CDC Parasitic Disease Division. Her job was to dispense
drugs for rare parasitic diseases to doctors throughout the US. In 1981, she noticed an
increase in demand for pentamidine isethionate. This drug was used to treat pneumocystis
pneumonia (PCP), a previously rare type of pneumonia only seen in immunocompromised
people. She notified others at the CDC about this increase in demand. We now know this was
an indication that a new pandemic had started - the HIV pandemic. What type of surveillance
did Sandy Ford use here? - CORRECT ANSWER Event-based surveillance
State based notifiable disease surveillance programs are an example of which type of
surveillance system: - CORRECT ANSWER Indicator-based surveillance
Since about 2014, the largest and most rapid increases in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. are
attributed to which category of opioids? - CORRECT ANSWER Synthetic opioids
other than methadone, such as fentanyl
