BSN Community/Public Health Nursing
Examination Practice Questions &
[Verified Answers], Plus Explained
Rationales|2026 Latest Update| Instant
Download PDF
1. What is the primary goal of community/public health nursing?
A. Providing treatment to acutely ill individuals
B. Promoting and protecting the health of populations
C. Managing hospital-based nursing units
D. Performing complex diagnostic procedures
Answer: B. Promoting and protecting the health of populations
Rationale: Community/public health nursing focuses on population
health, disease prevention, health promotion, protection from
environmental hazards, and reducing health disparities. Although
individual care may be provided, the broader goal is improving the
health of communities and populations.
2. Which level of prevention is best represented by childhood
immunization?
A. Primary prevention
B. Secondary prevention
C. Tertiary prevention
D. Rehabilitation
1|Page
,Answer: A. Primary prevention
Rationale: Immunization prevents disease before it occurs and
therefore represents primary prevention. Secondary prevention
focuses on early detection, while tertiary prevention reduces
complications and disability after disease has developed.
3. A public health nurse conducts blood pressure screenings at a
community health fair. Which level of prevention is being
implemented?
A. Primary
B. Secondary
C. Tertiary
D. Primordial
Answer: B. Secondary
Rationale: Blood pressure screening identifies hypertension in people
who may not yet have symptoms. Screening and early detection are
characteristic of secondary prevention.
4. Which activity is an example of tertiary prevention?
A. Administering influenza vaccines
B. Teaching adolescents about nutrition
C. Screening adults for colorectal cancer
D. Providing rehabilitation after a stroke
Answer: D. Providing rehabilitation after a stroke
Rationale: Tertiary prevention focuses on reducing disability,
complications, and loss of function associated with established
2|Page
,disease. Stroke rehabilitation helps the client regain or maximize
functional abilities.
5. Which statement best describes the population-focused approach
to public health nursing?
A. Care is limited to hospitalized clients
B. The nurse focuses exclusively on individual diagnoses
C. The nurse considers health needs and risks affecting groups of
people
D. Care is provided only after disease develops
Answer: C. The nurse considers health needs and risks affecting
groups of people
Rationale: Population-focused nursing examines patterns of health,
disease, risk factors, resources, and social determinants affecting
groups or communities. Individual interventions may still be used
when they contribute to population health goals.
6. A nurse is conducting a windshield survey of a community. What is
the primary purpose of this assessment?
A. To diagnose individual residents
B. To observe community characteristics and conditions
C. To determine hospital staffing needs
D. To calculate individual medication doses
Answer: B. To observe community characteristics and conditions
Rationale: A windshield survey involves systematic observation of the
physical, social, and environmental characteristics of a community.
3|Page
, The nurse may assess housing, transportation, businesses, safety,
sanitation, recreational areas, and available resources.
7. Which finding would be considered a social determinant of health?
A. Blood glucose level
B. Serum potassium concentration
C. Access to safe housing
D. Heart rate
Answer: C. Access to safe housing
Rationale: Social determinants of health include conditions in which
people are born, grow, live, work, and age. Housing, education,
income, transportation, food access, and social conditions can
substantially influence health outcomes.
8. A public health nurse wants to identify the number of existing cases
of diabetes in a community at a particular point in time. Which
epidemiological measure should the nurse use?
A. Incidence
B. Prevalence
C. Mortality rate
D. Case-fatality rate
Answer: B. Prevalence
Rationale: Prevalence measures the total number of existing cases of
a disease or condition in a population at a specified time or during a
specified period. Incidence measures new cases occurring during a
specified period.
4|Page
Examination Practice Questions &
[Verified Answers], Plus Explained
Rationales|2026 Latest Update| Instant
Download PDF
1. What is the primary goal of community/public health nursing?
A. Providing treatment to acutely ill individuals
B. Promoting and protecting the health of populations
C. Managing hospital-based nursing units
D. Performing complex diagnostic procedures
Answer: B. Promoting and protecting the health of populations
Rationale: Community/public health nursing focuses on population
health, disease prevention, health promotion, protection from
environmental hazards, and reducing health disparities. Although
individual care may be provided, the broader goal is improving the
health of communities and populations.
2. Which level of prevention is best represented by childhood
immunization?
A. Primary prevention
B. Secondary prevention
C. Tertiary prevention
D. Rehabilitation
1|Page
,Answer: A. Primary prevention
Rationale: Immunization prevents disease before it occurs and
therefore represents primary prevention. Secondary prevention
focuses on early detection, while tertiary prevention reduces
complications and disability after disease has developed.
3. A public health nurse conducts blood pressure screenings at a
community health fair. Which level of prevention is being
implemented?
A. Primary
B. Secondary
C. Tertiary
D. Primordial
Answer: B. Secondary
Rationale: Blood pressure screening identifies hypertension in people
who may not yet have symptoms. Screening and early detection are
characteristic of secondary prevention.
4. Which activity is an example of tertiary prevention?
A. Administering influenza vaccines
B. Teaching adolescents about nutrition
C. Screening adults for colorectal cancer
D. Providing rehabilitation after a stroke
Answer: D. Providing rehabilitation after a stroke
Rationale: Tertiary prevention focuses on reducing disability,
complications, and loss of function associated with established
2|Page
,disease. Stroke rehabilitation helps the client regain or maximize
functional abilities.
5. Which statement best describes the population-focused approach
to public health nursing?
A. Care is limited to hospitalized clients
B. The nurse focuses exclusively on individual diagnoses
C. The nurse considers health needs and risks affecting groups of
people
D. Care is provided only after disease develops
Answer: C. The nurse considers health needs and risks affecting
groups of people
Rationale: Population-focused nursing examines patterns of health,
disease, risk factors, resources, and social determinants affecting
groups or communities. Individual interventions may still be used
when they contribute to population health goals.
6. A nurse is conducting a windshield survey of a community. What is
the primary purpose of this assessment?
A. To diagnose individual residents
B. To observe community characteristics and conditions
C. To determine hospital staffing needs
D. To calculate individual medication doses
Answer: B. To observe community characteristics and conditions
Rationale: A windshield survey involves systematic observation of the
physical, social, and environmental characteristics of a community.
3|Page
, The nurse may assess housing, transportation, businesses, safety,
sanitation, recreational areas, and available resources.
7. Which finding would be considered a social determinant of health?
A. Blood glucose level
B. Serum potassium concentration
C. Access to safe housing
D. Heart rate
Answer: C. Access to safe housing
Rationale: Social determinants of health include conditions in which
people are born, grow, live, work, and age. Housing, education,
income, transportation, food access, and social conditions can
substantially influence health outcomes.
8. A public health nurse wants to identify the number of existing cases
of diabetes in a community at a particular point in time. Which
epidemiological measure should the nurse use?
A. Incidence
B. Prevalence
C. Mortality rate
D. Case-fatality rate
Answer: B. Prevalence
Rationale: Prevalence measures the total number of existing cases of
a disease or condition in a population at a specified time or during a
specified period. Incidence measures new cases occurring during a
specified period.
4|Page
