PUBHEPI 2410 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026
Epidemiologists examine a health event by looking at what three things? - Answers Person, Place,
Time
Who was the English physician who developed a vaccine against smallpox using material from
dairymaids who were infected with cowpox? - Answers Edward Jenner
In the definition of epidemiology, "determinants" generally includes: (check all that apply) - Answers
Causes, Risk Factors
Epidemiologists are concerned with learning about_________ - Answers The causes of disease and
how to cure or control them.
The causal relationships between diseases
The frequency and geographic distribution of disease
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human
populations and the application of this study to control health problems. - Answers True
Which of the following are NOT one of Robert Koch's four postulates? - Answers The microorganism
must reproduce the disease in an animal every time
In the definition of epidemiology, "distribution" refers to (select all that apply): - Answers When
Who
Where
This city in Massachusetts is the site of one of the largest studies on cardiovascular health. - Answers
Framingham
Who was the English physician who removed the pump handle from the Broad Street pump during
the Cholera outbreak in London during the mid-19th Century? - Answers John Snow
A researcher is looking at the possible association between a chemical compound and a disease
condition. The researcher observes that as the amount of exposure increased, so did the risk of
developing disease. Which criterion of judgement is the researcher assessing? - Answers Biological
gradient
The state of Ohio has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the country. This would be an
example of which variable? - Answers Health related outcome
Nurses educating women to take vitamins before and in the early stages of pregnancy on healthy
behaviors would be an example of what level of prevention for infant mortality? - Answers Primary
prevention
A researcher observes that after prolonged exposure to a chemical, some individuals will in the future
develop a disease condition due to that exposure. Which of Hill's criteria does this idea address? -
Answers Temporality
This person first put forth the theory of epidemiologic transition. - Answers Abdel Omran
The epidemiologic transition refers to the observation that: - Answers The rate of communicable or
infectious diseases is decreasing
The National Cancer Institute recently conducted a lung cancer screening program. This is an example
of: - Answers Secondary prevention
What component of Hill's Aspects of Association asks if the same health effect is observed from an
agent at different times, in different locations and under different circumstances. - Answers
Consistency
This transition would be marked by a shift from death by infectious disease to death by chronic
conditions - Answers Age of Degenerative and Man-Made Diseases
Because incidence measures a person's transition from a healthy to disease state, time must pass for
this change to occur and be observed. - Answers True
Which measure of disease frequency is usually reserved for infectious disease outbreaks? - Answers
attack rate
In January 2000 you began a one-year study of tuberculosis (TB) in a subsidized housing community in
the Lower East Side of New York City. You enrolled 500 residents in your study and checked on their
TB status on a monthly basis. At the start of your study on January 1st, you screened all 500 residents.
Upon screening, you found that 20 of the healthy residents were immigrants who were vaccinated for
TB and so were not at risk. Another 30 residents already had existing cases of TB on January 1st. On
February 1st, 5 residents developed TB. On April 1st, 5 more residents developed TB. On June 1st, 10
healthy residents moved away from New York City were lost to follow-up. On July 1st, 10 of the
residents who had existing TB on January 1st died from their disease. The study ended on December
, 31, 2000. Assume that once a person gets TB, they have it for the duration of the study, and assume
that all remaining residents s - Answers True
Which of the following can be thought of as the average risk of getting a disease over a certain period
of time? - Answers cumulative incidence
Membership of which type of population is always defined by a life event? - Answers fixed population
The incidence rate is the: - Answers Number of new cases of a disease divided by the total population
at risk
A long term care facility that houses 80 residents has an outbreak of an adenovirus. Of those
residents, 24 (or 0.3) of the residents have been infected. This is an example of: - Answers Proportion
Which of the following is true of the prevalence measure of morbidity? - Answers It gives health
departments and hospital administrators information for health planning
It does not give an estimate of the risk of developing a disease
It is good for describing a health burden
Which measure is most useful for evaluating the effectiveness of programs that try to prevent disease
from occurring in the first place? - Answers incidence
In January 2000 you began a one-year study of tuberculosis (TB) in a subsidized housing community in
the Lower East Side of New York City. You enrolled 500 residents in your study and checked on their
TB status on a monthly basis. At the start of your study on January 1st, you screened all 500 residents.
Upon screening, you found that 20 of the healthy residents were immigrants who were vaccinated for
TB and so were not at risk. Another 30 residents already had existing cases of TB on January 1st. On
February 1st, 5 residents developed TB. On April 1st, 5 more residents developed TB. On June 1st, 10
healthy residents moved away from New York City were lost to follow-up. On July 1st, 10 of the
residents who had existing TB on January 1st died from their disease. The study ended on December
31, 2000. Assume that once a person gets TB, they have it for the duration of the study, and assume
that all remaining residents s - Answers 6.0%
In January 2000 you began a one-year study of tuberculosis (TB) in a subsidized housing community in
the Lower East Side of New York City. You enrolled 500 residents in your study and checked on their
TB status on a monthly basis. At the start of your study on January 1st, you screened all 500 residents.
Upon screening, you found that 20 of the healthy residents were immigrants who were vaccinated for
TB and so were not at risk. Another 30 residents already had existing cases of TB on January 1st. On
February 1st, 5 residents developed TB. On April 1st, 5 more residents developed TB. On June 1st, 10
healthy residents moved away from New York City were lost to follow-up. On July 1st, 10 of the
residents who had existing TB on January 1st died from their disease. The study ended on December
31, 2000. Assume that once a person gets TB, they have it for the duration of the study, and assume
that all remaining residents s - Answers 22.2 per 1,000
A population of 1,600 healthy, at risk people is monitored for one year starting on January 1st and the
development of cases of chicken pox is noted. No one has chicken pox at the start of the
investigation. Twenty people develop chicken pox on June 30th and forty people develop chicken pox
on September 30th. Assume that you can get chicken pox only once. What is the cumulative incidence
of chicken pox in this population during the one-year period from January 1st through December
31st? - Answers 3.8%
Among 13,963,753 males and 14,272,325 females there were 20,734 cases of prostate cancer and
19,107 cases of female breast cancer. What is the incidence of female breast cancer per 100,000? -
Answers 133.9 per 100,000
A population of 1,600 healthy, at risk people is monitored for one year starting on January 1st and the
development of chicken pox cases is noted. No one has chicken pox at the start of the investigation.
Twenty people develop chicken pox on June 30th and forty people develop chicken pox on September
30th. Twenty-four people were lost to follow-up on March 31st and twenty-four people were lost to
follow-up on November 30th. None of those lost to follow-up had developed chicken pox prior to
becoming lost. Assume that you can get chicken pox only once. What is the person-time incidence
rate of chicken pox in this population during the one-year period from January 1st through December
31st per 1,000 person years? - Answers 38.5 per 1,000 person-years
Race/Ethnicity is an example of a: - Answers Person variable
Increases and decreases in the frequency of a disease or other phenomenon within each year are: -
Answers Cyclic fluctuations
Descriptive epidemiology - Answers Can be used to identify specific etiological factors that are
investigated in analytical studies
Epidemiologists examine a health event by looking at what three things? - Answers Person, Place,
Time
Who was the English physician who developed a vaccine against smallpox using material from
dairymaids who were infected with cowpox? - Answers Edward Jenner
In the definition of epidemiology, "determinants" generally includes: (check all that apply) - Answers
Causes, Risk Factors
Epidemiologists are concerned with learning about_________ - Answers The causes of disease and
how to cure or control them.
The causal relationships between diseases
The frequency and geographic distribution of disease
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human
populations and the application of this study to control health problems. - Answers True
Which of the following are NOT one of Robert Koch's four postulates? - Answers The microorganism
must reproduce the disease in an animal every time
In the definition of epidemiology, "distribution" refers to (select all that apply): - Answers When
Who
Where
This city in Massachusetts is the site of one of the largest studies on cardiovascular health. - Answers
Framingham
Who was the English physician who removed the pump handle from the Broad Street pump during
the Cholera outbreak in London during the mid-19th Century? - Answers John Snow
A researcher is looking at the possible association between a chemical compound and a disease
condition. The researcher observes that as the amount of exposure increased, so did the risk of
developing disease. Which criterion of judgement is the researcher assessing? - Answers Biological
gradient
The state of Ohio has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the country. This would be an
example of which variable? - Answers Health related outcome
Nurses educating women to take vitamins before and in the early stages of pregnancy on healthy
behaviors would be an example of what level of prevention for infant mortality? - Answers Primary
prevention
A researcher observes that after prolonged exposure to a chemical, some individuals will in the future
develop a disease condition due to that exposure. Which of Hill's criteria does this idea address? -
Answers Temporality
This person first put forth the theory of epidemiologic transition. - Answers Abdel Omran
The epidemiologic transition refers to the observation that: - Answers The rate of communicable or
infectious diseases is decreasing
The National Cancer Institute recently conducted a lung cancer screening program. This is an example
of: - Answers Secondary prevention
What component of Hill's Aspects of Association asks if the same health effect is observed from an
agent at different times, in different locations and under different circumstances. - Answers
Consistency
This transition would be marked by a shift from death by infectious disease to death by chronic
conditions - Answers Age of Degenerative and Man-Made Diseases
Because incidence measures a person's transition from a healthy to disease state, time must pass for
this change to occur and be observed. - Answers True
Which measure of disease frequency is usually reserved for infectious disease outbreaks? - Answers
attack rate
In January 2000 you began a one-year study of tuberculosis (TB) in a subsidized housing community in
the Lower East Side of New York City. You enrolled 500 residents in your study and checked on their
TB status on a monthly basis. At the start of your study on January 1st, you screened all 500 residents.
Upon screening, you found that 20 of the healthy residents were immigrants who were vaccinated for
TB and so were not at risk. Another 30 residents already had existing cases of TB on January 1st. On
February 1st, 5 residents developed TB. On April 1st, 5 more residents developed TB. On June 1st, 10
healthy residents moved away from New York City were lost to follow-up. On July 1st, 10 of the
residents who had existing TB on January 1st died from their disease. The study ended on December
, 31, 2000. Assume that once a person gets TB, they have it for the duration of the study, and assume
that all remaining residents s - Answers True
Which of the following can be thought of as the average risk of getting a disease over a certain period
of time? - Answers cumulative incidence
Membership of which type of population is always defined by a life event? - Answers fixed population
The incidence rate is the: - Answers Number of new cases of a disease divided by the total population
at risk
A long term care facility that houses 80 residents has an outbreak of an adenovirus. Of those
residents, 24 (or 0.3) of the residents have been infected. This is an example of: - Answers Proportion
Which of the following is true of the prevalence measure of morbidity? - Answers It gives health
departments and hospital administrators information for health planning
It does not give an estimate of the risk of developing a disease
It is good for describing a health burden
Which measure is most useful for evaluating the effectiveness of programs that try to prevent disease
from occurring in the first place? - Answers incidence
In January 2000 you began a one-year study of tuberculosis (TB) in a subsidized housing community in
the Lower East Side of New York City. You enrolled 500 residents in your study and checked on their
TB status on a monthly basis. At the start of your study on January 1st, you screened all 500 residents.
Upon screening, you found that 20 of the healthy residents were immigrants who were vaccinated for
TB and so were not at risk. Another 30 residents already had existing cases of TB on January 1st. On
February 1st, 5 residents developed TB. On April 1st, 5 more residents developed TB. On June 1st, 10
healthy residents moved away from New York City were lost to follow-up. On July 1st, 10 of the
residents who had existing TB on January 1st died from their disease. The study ended on December
31, 2000. Assume that once a person gets TB, they have it for the duration of the study, and assume
that all remaining residents s - Answers 6.0%
In January 2000 you began a one-year study of tuberculosis (TB) in a subsidized housing community in
the Lower East Side of New York City. You enrolled 500 residents in your study and checked on their
TB status on a monthly basis. At the start of your study on January 1st, you screened all 500 residents.
Upon screening, you found that 20 of the healthy residents were immigrants who were vaccinated for
TB and so were not at risk. Another 30 residents already had existing cases of TB on January 1st. On
February 1st, 5 residents developed TB. On April 1st, 5 more residents developed TB. On June 1st, 10
healthy residents moved away from New York City were lost to follow-up. On July 1st, 10 of the
residents who had existing TB on January 1st died from their disease. The study ended on December
31, 2000. Assume that once a person gets TB, they have it for the duration of the study, and assume
that all remaining residents s - Answers 22.2 per 1,000
A population of 1,600 healthy, at risk people is monitored for one year starting on January 1st and the
development of cases of chicken pox is noted. No one has chicken pox at the start of the
investigation. Twenty people develop chicken pox on June 30th and forty people develop chicken pox
on September 30th. Assume that you can get chicken pox only once. What is the cumulative incidence
of chicken pox in this population during the one-year period from January 1st through December
31st? - Answers 3.8%
Among 13,963,753 males and 14,272,325 females there were 20,734 cases of prostate cancer and
19,107 cases of female breast cancer. What is the incidence of female breast cancer per 100,000? -
Answers 133.9 per 100,000
A population of 1,600 healthy, at risk people is monitored for one year starting on January 1st and the
development of chicken pox cases is noted. No one has chicken pox at the start of the investigation.
Twenty people develop chicken pox on June 30th and forty people develop chicken pox on September
30th. Twenty-four people were lost to follow-up on March 31st and twenty-four people were lost to
follow-up on November 30th. None of those lost to follow-up had developed chicken pox prior to
becoming lost. Assume that you can get chicken pox only once. What is the person-time incidence
rate of chicken pox in this population during the one-year period from January 1st through December
31st per 1,000 person years? - Answers 38.5 per 1,000 person-years
Race/Ethnicity is an example of a: - Answers Person variable
Increases and decreases in the frequency of a disease or other phenomenon within each year are: -
Answers Cyclic fluctuations
Descriptive epidemiology - Answers Can be used to identify specific etiological factors that are
investigated in analytical studies
