CHES EXAM PRACTICE TEST 2026 WITH
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PLUS
RATIONALES LATEST UPDATE
Instructions: Choose the single best answer for each question. The correct
answer and rationale are provided after each question.
1. A health educator is planning a program to reduce obesity in a rural community. Before
designing any interventions, the educator conducts a thorough assessment. Which of the
following is the most important first step in this process?
A) Identifying evidence-based obesity prevention programs.
B) Securing funding for the potential program.
C) Conducting a community needs assessment.
D) Developing a logic model for the program.
Answer: C) Conducting a community needs assessment.
Rationale: A community needs assessment is the foundational step in program planning. It
gathers data on the community's specific health status, assets, and needs, ensuring the subsequent
program is relevant and targeted. Identifying programs (A), securing funding (B), or developing
a logic model (D) are all important but premature without first understanding the community's
actual needs.
2. A health educator is using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to plan a program. In which
phase would the educator identify the factors that predispose, enable, and reinforce a specific
health behavior?
A) Phase 1: Social Assessment
B) Phase 2: Epidemiological Assessment
,C) Phase 3: Behavioral and Environmental Assessment
D) Phase 4: Educational and Ecological Assessment
Answer: D) Phase 4: Educational and Ecological Assessment.
Rationale: The PRECEDE-PROCEED model's Phase 4 is specifically designed to categorize the
factors influencing behavior. Predisposing factors (knowledge, attitudes), enabling factors (skills,
resources), and reinforcing factors (peer support, rewards) are identified in this phase to guide
the selection of appropriate educational strategies.
3. Which of the following is an example of a secondary data source for a community health
needs assessment?
A) Focus group interviews with community members.
B) A survey distributed to local high school students.
C) U.S. Census Bureau demographic data.
D) Direct observation of a community park's usage.
Answer: C) U.S. Census Bureau demographic data.
Rationale: Secondary data is information that has already been collected by someone else for a
different purpose. Census data (C) is a classic example. Focus groups (A), surveys (B), and
direct observation (D) are all methods of collecting primary data, which is new data gathered
directly by the health educator.
4. A health educator is prioritizing health issues in a community. The issues are: (1) high rates of
teen vaping, (2) low rates of adult physical activity, and (3) a high incidence of asthma-related
hospitalizations. Which criterion is most important for the educator to consider when setting
priorities?
A) The cost of the potential intervention.
B) The magnitude of the health problem.
C) The availability of a local celebrity to endorse the program.
,D) The personal interest of the health educator.
Answer: B) The magnitude of the health problem.
Rationale: When prioritizing health issues, the magnitude (or severity and prevalence) of the
problem is a primary consideration. It helps determine which issue affects the most people or
causes the most significant harm. While cost (A) is a factor, the initial prioritization should be
based on the problem's impact on the community. Celebrity endorsement (C) and personal
interest (D) are not objective or ethical criteria for prioritization.
5. A health educator is developing a program to increase colorectal cancer screening rates.
Which of the following is the best example of a measurable program objective?
A) To educate the community about the importance of colorectal cancer screening.
B) To increase awareness of colorectal cancer risk factors.
C) To increase the proportion of adults aged 50-75 who are up-to-date with colorectal cancer
screening by 10% within one year.
D) To provide free screening kits to all interested community members.
Answer: C) To increase the proportion of adults aged 50-75 who are up-to-date with colorectal
cancer screening by 10% within one year.
Rationale: A measurable objective must be specific, time-bound, and include a quantifiable
indicator. Option C is the only one that meets all these criteria (who: adults 50-75; what: increase
screening rates; how much: by 10%; when: within one year). Options A, B, and D are activities
or goals, not measurable objectives.
6. In the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, what is the primary purpose of the PROCEED
component?
A) To assess the community's quality of life.
B) To conduct a behavioral and environmental assessment.
C) To implement and evaluate the program.
, D) To identify predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors.
Answer: C) To implement and evaluate the program.
Rationale: The PRECEDE component is the diagnostic/planning phase. The PROCEED
component is the implementation and evaluation phase. It consists of Phase 5 (Implementation),
Phase 6 (Process Evaluation), Phase 7 (Impact Evaluation), and Phase 8 (Outcome Evaluation).
7. A health educator is using a logic model. The "inputs" section of the model would include
which of the following?
A) Increased knowledge about nutrition.
B) Staff time, funding, and curriculum materials.
C) A decrease in the incidence of diabetes.
D) The number of people who attended a workshop.
Answer: B) Staff time, funding, and curriculum materials.
Rationale: In a logic model, "Inputs" are the resources that go into the program. This includes
human resources (staff), financial resources (funding), and material resources (curriculum).
"Outputs" would be the number of attendees (D), "Short-term Outcomes" would be increased
knowledge (A), and "Long-term Outcomes" would be a decrease in diabetes (C).
8. Which of the following best describes the concept of "community capacity"?
A) The number of hospitals and clinics in a geographic area.
B) The community's ability to identify and solve its own health problems.
C) The total amount of grant funding available for health programs.
D) The prevalence of chronic disease in a specific population.
Answer: B) The community's ability to identify and solve its own health problems.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PLUS
RATIONALES LATEST UPDATE
Instructions: Choose the single best answer for each question. The correct
answer and rationale are provided after each question.
1. A health educator is planning a program to reduce obesity in a rural community. Before
designing any interventions, the educator conducts a thorough assessment. Which of the
following is the most important first step in this process?
A) Identifying evidence-based obesity prevention programs.
B) Securing funding for the potential program.
C) Conducting a community needs assessment.
D) Developing a logic model for the program.
Answer: C) Conducting a community needs assessment.
Rationale: A community needs assessment is the foundational step in program planning. It
gathers data on the community's specific health status, assets, and needs, ensuring the subsequent
program is relevant and targeted. Identifying programs (A), securing funding (B), or developing
a logic model (D) are all important but premature without first understanding the community's
actual needs.
2. A health educator is using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to plan a program. In which
phase would the educator identify the factors that predispose, enable, and reinforce a specific
health behavior?
A) Phase 1: Social Assessment
B) Phase 2: Epidemiological Assessment
,C) Phase 3: Behavioral and Environmental Assessment
D) Phase 4: Educational and Ecological Assessment
Answer: D) Phase 4: Educational and Ecological Assessment.
Rationale: The PRECEDE-PROCEED model's Phase 4 is specifically designed to categorize the
factors influencing behavior. Predisposing factors (knowledge, attitudes), enabling factors (skills,
resources), and reinforcing factors (peer support, rewards) are identified in this phase to guide
the selection of appropriate educational strategies.
3. Which of the following is an example of a secondary data source for a community health
needs assessment?
A) Focus group interviews with community members.
B) A survey distributed to local high school students.
C) U.S. Census Bureau demographic data.
D) Direct observation of a community park's usage.
Answer: C) U.S. Census Bureau demographic data.
Rationale: Secondary data is information that has already been collected by someone else for a
different purpose. Census data (C) is a classic example. Focus groups (A), surveys (B), and
direct observation (D) are all methods of collecting primary data, which is new data gathered
directly by the health educator.
4. A health educator is prioritizing health issues in a community. The issues are: (1) high rates of
teen vaping, (2) low rates of adult physical activity, and (3) a high incidence of asthma-related
hospitalizations. Which criterion is most important for the educator to consider when setting
priorities?
A) The cost of the potential intervention.
B) The magnitude of the health problem.
C) The availability of a local celebrity to endorse the program.
,D) The personal interest of the health educator.
Answer: B) The magnitude of the health problem.
Rationale: When prioritizing health issues, the magnitude (or severity and prevalence) of the
problem is a primary consideration. It helps determine which issue affects the most people or
causes the most significant harm. While cost (A) is a factor, the initial prioritization should be
based on the problem's impact on the community. Celebrity endorsement (C) and personal
interest (D) are not objective or ethical criteria for prioritization.
5. A health educator is developing a program to increase colorectal cancer screening rates.
Which of the following is the best example of a measurable program objective?
A) To educate the community about the importance of colorectal cancer screening.
B) To increase awareness of colorectal cancer risk factors.
C) To increase the proportion of adults aged 50-75 who are up-to-date with colorectal cancer
screening by 10% within one year.
D) To provide free screening kits to all interested community members.
Answer: C) To increase the proportion of adults aged 50-75 who are up-to-date with colorectal
cancer screening by 10% within one year.
Rationale: A measurable objective must be specific, time-bound, and include a quantifiable
indicator. Option C is the only one that meets all these criteria (who: adults 50-75; what: increase
screening rates; how much: by 10%; when: within one year). Options A, B, and D are activities
or goals, not measurable objectives.
6. In the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, what is the primary purpose of the PROCEED
component?
A) To assess the community's quality of life.
B) To conduct a behavioral and environmental assessment.
C) To implement and evaluate the program.
, D) To identify predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors.
Answer: C) To implement and evaluate the program.
Rationale: The PRECEDE component is the diagnostic/planning phase. The PROCEED
component is the implementation and evaluation phase. It consists of Phase 5 (Implementation),
Phase 6 (Process Evaluation), Phase 7 (Impact Evaluation), and Phase 8 (Outcome Evaluation).
7. A health educator is using a logic model. The "inputs" section of the model would include
which of the following?
A) Increased knowledge about nutrition.
B) Staff time, funding, and curriculum materials.
C) A decrease in the incidence of diabetes.
D) The number of people who attended a workshop.
Answer: B) Staff time, funding, and curriculum materials.
Rationale: In a logic model, "Inputs" are the resources that go into the program. This includes
human resources (staff), financial resources (funding), and material resources (curriculum).
"Outputs" would be the number of attendees (D), "Short-term Outcomes" would be increased
knowledge (A), and "Long-term Outcomes" would be a decrease in diabetes (C).
8. Which of the following best describes the concept of "community capacity"?
A) The number of hospitals and clinics in a geographic area.
B) The community's ability to identify and solve its own health problems.
C) The total amount of grant funding available for health programs.
D) The prevalence of chronic disease in a specific population.
Answer: B) The community's ability to identify and solve its own health problems.
