Community Health Nursing Final Exam | Practice Questions &
Answers 2026/2027
The WHY questions.
Descriptive epidemiology describes the distribution of disease, death, and other health outcomes in the
population according to person, place, and time—the who, where, and when of disease patterns.
Analytic epidemiology, by contrast, searches for the determinants of the patterns observed—the how
and why of disease patterns. - Correct answer✅✅ Studies in analytic epidemiology differ from
descriptive epidemiology because they seek to answer what kind of questions?
A
Nurses are a key part of the interdisciplinary team in community settings and are involved in the
surveillance and monitoring of disease trends. - Correct answer✅✅ Nurses in community health often
use epidemiology because in the community, it is often difficult to control the environment. Which
statement demonstrates an epidemiological strategy for monitoring disease trends?
a)A community health nurse (CHN) conducts a diabetic education class for newly diagnosed clients.
b)A CHN investigates reported cases of whooping cough in an elementary school.
c)A CHN organizes a health and wellness fair at the community health centre.
d)A CHN participates on a county school board that addresses student health issues.
B
Primary prevention refers to interventions that promote health and prevent the occurrence of disease,
injury, or disability. Interventions at this level are aimed at individuals and groups who are susceptible to
disease but have no discernible pathology (i.e., they are in a state of prepathogenesis). - Correct
answer✅✅ A CHN teaches a client with asthma to recognize and avoid exposure to asthma triggers
and assists the family in implementing specific protection strategies, such as removing carpets and
avoiding pets. What level of intervention is represented by this practice?
a) Assessment
,b) Primary prevention
c) Secondary prevention
d) Tertiary prevention
Current and past breast cancer events in this population of women (20+35/8000)
The prevalence rate identifies the number of persons in a population that have a disease or experienced
an event at a particular time (i.e., the number of existing [old and new] cases divided by the population
at risk). - Correct answer✅✅ A breast cancer screening program screened 8 000 women and
discovered cancer in 35 women who had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and in 20
women with no previous history of breast cancer. What is the prevalence rate of breast cancer in this
scenario?
a)Current and past breast cancer events in this population of women
b)Newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer in this population of women
c)Past breast cancer events in this population of women
d)Population of women who had no evidence of breast cancer
The probability that an event will occur within a specified time period. - Correct answer✅✅ One of the
basic concepts in epidemiology is the concept of risk. How is risk can be defined?
B, A, D, C - Correct answer✅✅ Notable developments in history have contributed to the science of
epidemiology. List, in order of occurrence (earliest to most recent event), the following developments
that contributed to this science.
a) Germ theory, pasteurization, and antiseptic surgery
b) Person, place, and time examined for influence on health
c) Appearance of Ebola virus and drug-resistant forms of old diseases
d) Effective vaccinations, immunizations, and mass screening programs implemented
B
,Validity of a screening test is measured by sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity quantifies how
accurately the test identifies those with the condition or trait. It represents the proportion of persons
with the disease whom the test correctly identifies as positive (true positives). High sensitivity is needed
when early treatment is important and when identification of every case is important. - Correct
answer✅✅ A nurse is concerned about the accuracy of a purified protein derivative (PPD) test in
identifying cases of TB exposure for follow-up chest X-ray. Which measure will help the nurse address
the validity of the test?
a)Reliability
b)Sensitivity
c)specificity
d)variation
A
Any description of disease patterns should take into account the size of the population at risk for the
disease. That is, it should look not only at the numerator (the number of cases) but also at the
denominator (the number of people in the population at risk) during the specified time period each was
observed. - Correct answer✅✅ A description of health-related patterns in a population should take
into account which information?
a)The size of the population at risk during a specified time period
b)The annual number of cases of the health-related event
c) The ratio of the number of cases to the frequency of the health event
d)The simple count of cases in the general population
Ecological studies
Ecological studies use aggregate data, rather than data on individuals' exposures, characteristics, and
outcomes. In ecological studies, the descriptive component considers variations in disease rates by
person, place, or time. The analytic component in ecological studies tries to determine if there is a
relationship between disease rates and variations in rates for possible risk (or protective) factors or
characteristics. - Correct answer✅✅ Which study designs uses aggregate data, such as population
rates, to determine the association between exposure and outcome?
, a)Case control studies
b)Cohort studies
c)Cross-sectional studies
d)ecological studies
B
Epidemiologists understand that disease results from complex relationships among causal agents,
susceptible persons, and environmental factors. These three elements—agent, host, and environment—
are called the epidemiological triangle, a model that is particularly suited to infectious disease
epidemiology. Changes in one of the elements of the triangle can influence the occurrence of disease by
decreasing or increasing a person's risk of disease. - Correct answer✅✅ A business executive develops
symptoms of the flu one day after returning by air from a cross-Atlantic business trip that ran for two
consecutive, stressful 10-hour days. What relationships are illustrated by this development of flu
symptoms?
a)Person, place, and time
b)Host, agent, and environment
c)Risk and causality
d)Morbidity and disease
Two new cases divided by 16 at risk
An incidence rate quantifies the rate of development of new cases in a population at risk (persons
without the event or outcome of interest but who have a chance of experiencing it). - Correct
answer✅✅ Twenty people attended a church picnic on the weekend. By Monday, four individuals
exhibited symptoms of food poisoning. On Tuesday, the CHN records the addition of two new cases.
What is the incidence rate for this occurrence?
C
Answers 2026/2027
The WHY questions.
Descriptive epidemiology describes the distribution of disease, death, and other health outcomes in the
population according to person, place, and time—the who, where, and when of disease patterns.
Analytic epidemiology, by contrast, searches for the determinants of the patterns observed—the how
and why of disease patterns. - Correct answer✅✅ Studies in analytic epidemiology differ from
descriptive epidemiology because they seek to answer what kind of questions?
A
Nurses are a key part of the interdisciplinary team in community settings and are involved in the
surveillance and monitoring of disease trends. - Correct answer✅✅ Nurses in community health often
use epidemiology because in the community, it is often difficult to control the environment. Which
statement demonstrates an epidemiological strategy for monitoring disease trends?
a)A community health nurse (CHN) conducts a diabetic education class for newly diagnosed clients.
b)A CHN investigates reported cases of whooping cough in an elementary school.
c)A CHN organizes a health and wellness fair at the community health centre.
d)A CHN participates on a county school board that addresses student health issues.
B
Primary prevention refers to interventions that promote health and prevent the occurrence of disease,
injury, or disability. Interventions at this level are aimed at individuals and groups who are susceptible to
disease but have no discernible pathology (i.e., they are in a state of prepathogenesis). - Correct
answer✅✅ A CHN teaches a client with asthma to recognize and avoid exposure to asthma triggers
and assists the family in implementing specific protection strategies, such as removing carpets and
avoiding pets. What level of intervention is represented by this practice?
a) Assessment
,b) Primary prevention
c) Secondary prevention
d) Tertiary prevention
Current and past breast cancer events in this population of women (20+35/8000)
The prevalence rate identifies the number of persons in a population that have a disease or experienced
an event at a particular time (i.e., the number of existing [old and new] cases divided by the population
at risk). - Correct answer✅✅ A breast cancer screening program screened 8 000 women and
discovered cancer in 35 women who had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and in 20
women with no previous history of breast cancer. What is the prevalence rate of breast cancer in this
scenario?
a)Current and past breast cancer events in this population of women
b)Newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer in this population of women
c)Past breast cancer events in this population of women
d)Population of women who had no evidence of breast cancer
The probability that an event will occur within a specified time period. - Correct answer✅✅ One of the
basic concepts in epidemiology is the concept of risk. How is risk can be defined?
B, A, D, C - Correct answer✅✅ Notable developments in history have contributed to the science of
epidemiology. List, in order of occurrence (earliest to most recent event), the following developments
that contributed to this science.
a) Germ theory, pasteurization, and antiseptic surgery
b) Person, place, and time examined for influence on health
c) Appearance of Ebola virus and drug-resistant forms of old diseases
d) Effective vaccinations, immunizations, and mass screening programs implemented
B
,Validity of a screening test is measured by sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity quantifies how
accurately the test identifies those with the condition or trait. It represents the proportion of persons
with the disease whom the test correctly identifies as positive (true positives). High sensitivity is needed
when early treatment is important and when identification of every case is important. - Correct
answer✅✅ A nurse is concerned about the accuracy of a purified protein derivative (PPD) test in
identifying cases of TB exposure for follow-up chest X-ray. Which measure will help the nurse address
the validity of the test?
a)Reliability
b)Sensitivity
c)specificity
d)variation
A
Any description of disease patterns should take into account the size of the population at risk for the
disease. That is, it should look not only at the numerator (the number of cases) but also at the
denominator (the number of people in the population at risk) during the specified time period each was
observed. - Correct answer✅✅ A description of health-related patterns in a population should take
into account which information?
a)The size of the population at risk during a specified time period
b)The annual number of cases of the health-related event
c) The ratio of the number of cases to the frequency of the health event
d)The simple count of cases in the general population
Ecological studies
Ecological studies use aggregate data, rather than data on individuals' exposures, characteristics, and
outcomes. In ecological studies, the descriptive component considers variations in disease rates by
person, place, or time. The analytic component in ecological studies tries to determine if there is a
relationship between disease rates and variations in rates for possible risk (or protective) factors or
characteristics. - Correct answer✅✅ Which study designs uses aggregate data, such as population
rates, to determine the association between exposure and outcome?
, a)Case control studies
b)Cohort studies
c)Cross-sectional studies
d)ecological studies
B
Epidemiologists understand that disease results from complex relationships among causal agents,
susceptible persons, and environmental factors. These three elements—agent, host, and environment—
are called the epidemiological triangle, a model that is particularly suited to infectious disease
epidemiology. Changes in one of the elements of the triangle can influence the occurrence of disease by
decreasing or increasing a person's risk of disease. - Correct answer✅✅ A business executive develops
symptoms of the flu one day after returning by air from a cross-Atlantic business trip that ran for two
consecutive, stressful 10-hour days. What relationships are illustrated by this development of flu
symptoms?
a)Person, place, and time
b)Host, agent, and environment
c)Risk and causality
d)Morbidity and disease
Two new cases divided by 16 at risk
An incidence rate quantifies the rate of development of new cases in a population at risk (persons
without the event or outcome of interest but who have a chance of experiencing it). - Correct
answer✅✅ Twenty people attended a church picnic on the weekend. By Monday, four individuals
exhibited symptoms of food poisoning. On Tuesday, the CHN records the addition of two new cases.
What is the incidence rate for this occurrence?
C
