Chapter 10: Epidemiological
Applications Questions with
Accurate Answers
A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer. Which of the following data should the
nurse know to answer the man when he asks, "What are the chances I'll survive
this thing?"
a. Attack rate
b. Case fatality rate
c. Cause-specific morbidity rate
d. Crude mortality rate correct answer ANS: B
The case fatality rate (CFR) is the proportion of persons diagnosed with a
particular disorder (i.e., cases) who die within a specified period. The CFR is
considered an estimate of the risk for death within that period for a person newly
diagnosed with the disease. Persons diagnosed with a particular disease often
want to know the probability of surviving.
A nurse advises a client with osteoporosis to have three servings of milk or dairy
products daily. Which of the following levels of prevention is being used by the
nurse?
a. Primary prevention
b. Secondary prevention
c. Tertiary prevention
d. Treatment, but not prevention correct answer ANS: C
Interventions that prevent worsening of a condition are tertiary prevention
activities. In this instance, the client alr eady has a health problem (osteoporosis).
By advising adequate dairy intake, the nurse aims to ensure that enough calcium
is available to limit worsening of the osteoporosis.
,A nurse believes a new mouth care procedure (MCP) is exacerbating a client oral
tissue problems. Which of the following must be present for the nurse to go to
administration with confidence that the MCP is causing problems? (Select all that
apply.)
a. A plausible explanation of how the new MCP could cause harm
b. A strong feeling that the MCP is the cause
c. Consistently seeing mouth inflammation in many of the patients who have
received the MCP
d. Documentation from patient records that mouth inflammation in clients did
not occur until after the new procedure was implemented
e. A less expensive option for appropriate oral care correct answer ANS: A, C, D
Strength of association is suggested by the fact that patients who did not receive
the MCP and patients seen on the floor before the new MCP did not have
problems, whereas patients who received the new MCP are having problems.
Seeing the problems in many of the patients suggests a consistency. The fact that
those who had the procedure more often have worse problems suggests a dose-
response relationship
A nurse has only a regular blood pressure cuff when conducting a health
screening for all of the residents of a community. Which of the following may be
lacking when obtaining blood pressure readings?
a. Reliability
b. Sensitivity
c. Specificity
d. Validity correct answer ANS: D
, Validity is the accuracy of a test or measurement, or how closely it measures what
it claims to measure. With only one regular BP cuff, the nurse cannot obtain
accurate measurements on those who are extremely obese or extremely thin. A
thigh cuff and a pediatric cuff would allow the nurse to obtain accurate—that is,
valid—measurements. Reliability refers to the consistency or repeatability of the
measure.
A nurse is administering a tuberculosis (TB) skin test to a client who has acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Which of the following results should the
nurse anticipate when using this screening test?
a. Decreased positive predictive value
b. Decreased reliability
c. Decreased sensitivity
d. Decreased specificity correct answer ANS: C
Persons with immune deficiencies may have a negative tuberculosis skin test even
though they are infected. Sensitivity is the extent to which a test identifies those
individuals who have the condition being examined. AIDS is an acquired immune
deficiency; thus, clients with AIDS may have a false-negative response to TB skin
tests; that is, they have the disease but the test is not sensitive enough to detect
infection in these individuals.
A nurse is concerned about the high incidence of sexually transmitted infection
(STIs) in the community college population and sets up a special STI screening.
Which of the following groups of students would be encouraged to attend?
(Select all that apply.)
a. Sexually active students currently receiving treatment for an STI
b. Sexually active students who had been screened the previous year
c. Students who are not sexually active and do not plan to become sexually active
Applications Questions with
Accurate Answers
A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer. Which of the following data should the
nurse know to answer the man when he asks, "What are the chances I'll survive
this thing?"
a. Attack rate
b. Case fatality rate
c. Cause-specific morbidity rate
d. Crude mortality rate correct answer ANS: B
The case fatality rate (CFR) is the proportion of persons diagnosed with a
particular disorder (i.e., cases) who die within a specified period. The CFR is
considered an estimate of the risk for death within that period for a person newly
diagnosed with the disease. Persons diagnosed with a particular disease often
want to know the probability of surviving.
A nurse advises a client with osteoporosis to have three servings of milk or dairy
products daily. Which of the following levels of prevention is being used by the
nurse?
a. Primary prevention
b. Secondary prevention
c. Tertiary prevention
d. Treatment, but not prevention correct answer ANS: C
Interventions that prevent worsening of a condition are tertiary prevention
activities. In this instance, the client alr eady has a health problem (osteoporosis).
By advising adequate dairy intake, the nurse aims to ensure that enough calcium
is available to limit worsening of the osteoporosis.
,A nurse believes a new mouth care procedure (MCP) is exacerbating a client oral
tissue problems. Which of the following must be present for the nurse to go to
administration with confidence that the MCP is causing problems? (Select all that
apply.)
a. A plausible explanation of how the new MCP could cause harm
b. A strong feeling that the MCP is the cause
c. Consistently seeing mouth inflammation in many of the patients who have
received the MCP
d. Documentation from patient records that mouth inflammation in clients did
not occur until after the new procedure was implemented
e. A less expensive option for appropriate oral care correct answer ANS: A, C, D
Strength of association is suggested by the fact that patients who did not receive
the MCP and patients seen on the floor before the new MCP did not have
problems, whereas patients who received the new MCP are having problems.
Seeing the problems in many of the patients suggests a consistency. The fact that
those who had the procedure more often have worse problems suggests a dose-
response relationship
A nurse has only a regular blood pressure cuff when conducting a health
screening for all of the residents of a community. Which of the following may be
lacking when obtaining blood pressure readings?
a. Reliability
b. Sensitivity
c. Specificity
d. Validity correct answer ANS: D
, Validity is the accuracy of a test or measurement, or how closely it measures what
it claims to measure. With only one regular BP cuff, the nurse cannot obtain
accurate measurements on those who are extremely obese or extremely thin. A
thigh cuff and a pediatric cuff would allow the nurse to obtain accurate—that is,
valid—measurements. Reliability refers to the consistency or repeatability of the
measure.
A nurse is administering a tuberculosis (TB) skin test to a client who has acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Which of the following results should the
nurse anticipate when using this screening test?
a. Decreased positive predictive value
b. Decreased reliability
c. Decreased sensitivity
d. Decreased specificity correct answer ANS: C
Persons with immune deficiencies may have a negative tuberculosis skin test even
though they are infected. Sensitivity is the extent to which a test identifies those
individuals who have the condition being examined. AIDS is an acquired immune
deficiency; thus, clients with AIDS may have a false-negative response to TB skin
tests; that is, they have the disease but the test is not sensitive enough to detect
infection in these individuals.
A nurse is concerned about the high incidence of sexually transmitted infection
(STIs) in the community college population and sets up a special STI screening.
Which of the following groups of students would be encouraged to attend?
(Select all that apply.)
a. Sexually active students currently receiving treatment for an STI
b. Sexually active students who had been screened the previous year
c. Students who are not sexually active and do not plan to become sexually active
