HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY 6TH CANADIAN
EDITION ACTUAL EXAM PAPER 2026
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ An operating room nurse is talking with colleagues during a meeting.
She asks, "I wonder if we would see fewer wound infections if we used
chlorhexidine instead of povidone-iodine to clean the skin of our
surgical patients? What does the P represent in this example of a PICOT
question? Answer: Surgical patients.
(Surgical patients are the patient population of interest (P) in the PICOT
(patient population, intervention, comparison, outcome, time) question.
The intervention is the cleaning of the skin, and the comparison of
interest is between chlorhexidine use and povidone-iodine use.
Operating room nurses are not an element of the PICOT question.)
◉ A nurse researcher is designing an exercise study that involves 100
patients who attend a wellness clinic. As the patients come to the clinic,
each has a choice as to whether he or she wants to be in the new exercise
program or remain in the traditional program. The nurse plans to
measure the patients' self-report of exercise before and 6 months after
the program begins. What factor might influence the results of this study
in an unfavourable way? Answer: Sampling method.
,(Because the patients at the clinic are allowed their choice of the
traditional versus the new exercise program, the sampling in this study is
not random sampling.)
◉ The foundation of research is which of the following? Answer:
Scientific method.
(The scientific method is the foundation of research and is the most
reliable and objective of all methods of obtaining knowledge.
Documentation, critical thinking, and evidence are not the foundations
of research.)
◉ A researcher gives a subject full and complete information about the
purpose of a study. This is an example of which of the following?
Answer: Informed consent.
(Informed consent implies that the research subjects are given full and
complete information about the purpose of the study, procedures, data
collection, potential harms and benefits, and alternative methods of
treatment. Confidentiality rules guarantee that any information the
subject provides will not be reported to people outside the research team.
Bias is any personal opinion or judgement that may be interjected into
the results. Anonymity means that the subject's name and identifying
information would not be disclosed during the research study.)
, ◉ A new nurse on an orthopedic unit is assigned to care for a patient
undergoing skeletal traction. The nurse asks a colleague, "What is the
best practice for cleaning pin sites in skeletal traction?" This question is
an example of which of the following? Answer: Knowledge-focused
trigger.
(A knowledge-focused trigger is a question regarding new information
available on a topic. A problem-focused trigger is one faced while the
nurse is caring for a patient or noting a trend. The PICOT (population,
intervention, comparison, outcome, time) format is a way to phrase a
question to help clarify the question and the parts. A hypothesis is a
prediction about the relationship between study variables.)
◉ The nurses on a medical unit have seen an increase in the number of
pressure injuries developing in their patients. The nurses decide to
initiate a quality improvement project with the plan, do, study, act
(PDSA) model. Which of the following is an example of the "do" step of
that model? Answer: Implement a new skin care protocol on all medical
units.
(The "do" step consists of selecting an intervention on the basis of a data
review, implementing the change, and studying the results of the change.
The "plan" step includes reviewing the available data to understand
existing practice conditions or problems to identify the need for change.
The results of the change are evaluated in the "study" step. The "act"
step is the incorporation of the findings into current practice.)
EDITION ACTUAL EXAM PAPER 2026
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ An operating room nurse is talking with colleagues during a meeting.
She asks, "I wonder if we would see fewer wound infections if we used
chlorhexidine instead of povidone-iodine to clean the skin of our
surgical patients? What does the P represent in this example of a PICOT
question? Answer: Surgical patients.
(Surgical patients are the patient population of interest (P) in the PICOT
(patient population, intervention, comparison, outcome, time) question.
The intervention is the cleaning of the skin, and the comparison of
interest is between chlorhexidine use and povidone-iodine use.
Operating room nurses are not an element of the PICOT question.)
◉ A nurse researcher is designing an exercise study that involves 100
patients who attend a wellness clinic. As the patients come to the clinic,
each has a choice as to whether he or she wants to be in the new exercise
program or remain in the traditional program. The nurse plans to
measure the patients' self-report of exercise before and 6 months after
the program begins. What factor might influence the results of this study
in an unfavourable way? Answer: Sampling method.
,(Because the patients at the clinic are allowed their choice of the
traditional versus the new exercise program, the sampling in this study is
not random sampling.)
◉ The foundation of research is which of the following? Answer:
Scientific method.
(The scientific method is the foundation of research and is the most
reliable and objective of all methods of obtaining knowledge.
Documentation, critical thinking, and evidence are not the foundations
of research.)
◉ A researcher gives a subject full and complete information about the
purpose of a study. This is an example of which of the following?
Answer: Informed consent.
(Informed consent implies that the research subjects are given full and
complete information about the purpose of the study, procedures, data
collection, potential harms and benefits, and alternative methods of
treatment. Confidentiality rules guarantee that any information the
subject provides will not be reported to people outside the research team.
Bias is any personal opinion or judgement that may be interjected into
the results. Anonymity means that the subject's name and identifying
information would not be disclosed during the research study.)
, ◉ A new nurse on an orthopedic unit is assigned to care for a patient
undergoing skeletal traction. The nurse asks a colleague, "What is the
best practice for cleaning pin sites in skeletal traction?" This question is
an example of which of the following? Answer: Knowledge-focused
trigger.
(A knowledge-focused trigger is a question regarding new information
available on a topic. A problem-focused trigger is one faced while the
nurse is caring for a patient or noting a trend. The PICOT (population,
intervention, comparison, outcome, time) format is a way to phrase a
question to help clarify the question and the parts. A hypothesis is a
prediction about the relationship between study variables.)
◉ The nurses on a medical unit have seen an increase in the number of
pressure injuries developing in their patients. The nurses decide to
initiate a quality improvement project with the plan, do, study, act
(PDSA) model. Which of the following is an example of the "do" step of
that model? Answer: Implement a new skin care protocol on all medical
units.
(The "do" step consists of selecting an intervention on the basis of a data
review, implementing the change, and studying the results of the change.
The "plan" step includes reviewing the available data to understand
existing practice conditions or problems to identify the need for change.
The results of the change are evaluated in the "study" step. The "act"
step is the incorporation of the findings into current practice.)
