HK 207 EXAM 1 CH. 1, 3, 4 QUESTIONS AND
ACCURATE ANSWERS
What are the two primary concerns of epidemiology? - Answers - Quality of data
available and appropriate applications of these data.
What are three factors that affect the quality of epidemiologic data? - Answers - Nature
of the data, availability of the data, and completeness of population coverage.
What does representativeness refer to in epidemiologic data? - Answers - The
generalizability of the findings to the population from which the data have been taken.
What is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)? - Answers - A
law that protects personal information contained in health records and restricts the
release of identifiable data without consent.
What type of data does the US Bureau of the Census provide? - Answers - Data used to
define the denominator in rates with respect to official estimates of total population size
and subdivisions by geographical area.
What are vital events in the context of the Vital Registration System? - Answers -
Deaths, births, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths.
Why is mortality data considered almost totally complete in the US? - Answers - Deaths
are unlikely to go unrecorded.
What information is included in death certificate data in the US? - Answers -
Demographic characteristics, date and place of death, and cause of death.
What are the limitations of specified cause of death data? - Answers - Primary cause
may be unclear, diagnostic criteria may lack consistency, and some conditions may be
unreported due to stigma.
What is the purpose of public health surveillance? - Answers - To systematically and
continuously gather information about the occurrence of diseases and other health
phenomena.
What are reportable and notifiable diseases? - Answers - Diseases that must be
reported by physicians and healthcare providers to health authorities, usually infectious
diseases that may endanger a population.
, What is the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)? - Answers - A
system used by the US to monitor behavioral risk factors associated with chronic
diseases at the state level.
What is a case registry? - Answers - A centralized database for the collection of
information about a disease.
What is the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)? - Answers - A survey conducted
by NCHS to monitor health objectives and track health status and access to healthcare
in the US.
What is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)? - Answers -
A continuous survey that collects information from physical examinations and interviews
to characterize illness and disability in the US.
What are some examples of miscellaneous data sources in epidemiology? - Answers -
Patient databases, clinical data, school health records, and absenteeism reports.
What is the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in epidemiology? - Answers -
To provide global infectious disease surveillance, health indicators, and mortality data.
What are some limitations of data from public health surveillance programs? - Answers -
Population coverage may be incomplete, and there may be no information on
asymptomatic individuals or those who do not seek medical attention.
What is the significance of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)? - Answers
- It compiles and publishes national health data, including mortality rates and health
surveys.
Ratio - Answers - The value obtained by dividing one quantity by another.
Proportion - Answers - A type of ratio in which the numerator is part of the denominator
(may be expressed as a percentage).
Percentage - Answers - A proportion that has been multiplied by 100.
Rate - Answers - A type of ratio where the denominator involves a measure of time.
Count - Answers - Number of cases of a disease or other health phenomenon being
studied.
Incidence - Answers - Occurrence of NEW disease or mortality within a defined period
of observation in a specified population at risk.
Prevalence - Answers - The total number of cases of a disease in a population at a
specific time.
ACCURATE ANSWERS
What are the two primary concerns of epidemiology? - Answers - Quality of data
available and appropriate applications of these data.
What are three factors that affect the quality of epidemiologic data? - Answers - Nature
of the data, availability of the data, and completeness of population coverage.
What does representativeness refer to in epidemiologic data? - Answers - The
generalizability of the findings to the population from which the data have been taken.
What is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)? - Answers - A
law that protects personal information contained in health records and restricts the
release of identifiable data without consent.
What type of data does the US Bureau of the Census provide? - Answers - Data used to
define the denominator in rates with respect to official estimates of total population size
and subdivisions by geographical area.
What are vital events in the context of the Vital Registration System? - Answers -
Deaths, births, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths.
Why is mortality data considered almost totally complete in the US? - Answers - Deaths
are unlikely to go unrecorded.
What information is included in death certificate data in the US? - Answers -
Demographic characteristics, date and place of death, and cause of death.
What are the limitations of specified cause of death data? - Answers - Primary cause
may be unclear, diagnostic criteria may lack consistency, and some conditions may be
unreported due to stigma.
What is the purpose of public health surveillance? - Answers - To systematically and
continuously gather information about the occurrence of diseases and other health
phenomena.
What are reportable and notifiable diseases? - Answers - Diseases that must be
reported by physicians and healthcare providers to health authorities, usually infectious
diseases that may endanger a population.
, What is the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)? - Answers - A
system used by the US to monitor behavioral risk factors associated with chronic
diseases at the state level.
What is a case registry? - Answers - A centralized database for the collection of
information about a disease.
What is the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)? - Answers - A survey conducted
by NCHS to monitor health objectives and track health status and access to healthcare
in the US.
What is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)? - Answers -
A continuous survey that collects information from physical examinations and interviews
to characterize illness and disability in the US.
What are some examples of miscellaneous data sources in epidemiology? - Answers -
Patient databases, clinical data, school health records, and absenteeism reports.
What is the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in epidemiology? - Answers -
To provide global infectious disease surveillance, health indicators, and mortality data.
What are some limitations of data from public health surveillance programs? - Answers -
Population coverage may be incomplete, and there may be no information on
asymptomatic individuals or those who do not seek medical attention.
What is the significance of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)? - Answers
- It compiles and publishes national health data, including mortality rates and health
surveys.
Ratio - Answers - The value obtained by dividing one quantity by another.
Proportion - Answers - A type of ratio in which the numerator is part of the denominator
(may be expressed as a percentage).
Percentage - Answers - A proportion that has been multiplied by 100.
Rate - Answers - A type of ratio where the denominator involves a measure of time.
Count - Answers - Number of cases of a disease or other health phenomenon being
studied.
Incidence - Answers - Occurrence of NEW disease or mortality within a defined period
of observation in a specified population at risk.
Prevalence - Answers - The total number of cases of a disease in a population at a
specific time.
