NUR 452 STUDY EXAMS GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Rate - ✔✔a statistic used for describing an event, characteristic or happening. Time
important or a proportion. Used to make comparisons among populations or to compare
a subgroup of the population with the total population
-Crude rate: the total population
-Specific rate: subgroup of the population
✔✔Rate formula: - ✔✔number of events/population at risk x 100,000
✔✔Morbidity vs mortality - ✔✔Morbidity: the illness rates/usually expressed as
incidence or prevalence
Mortality: death
***Morbidity stats less accurate that Mortality stats because not systematically recorded.
Think....there is a death certificate for every death.
✔✔Leading causes of mortality - ✔✔-Leading cause of preventable death is tobacco
-Under 1 is congenital abnormalities, young adults is unintentional injury, 45-64 is
malignant neoplasms, 65+is heart diseases
✔✔Incidence vs prevalence - ✔✔Incidence: the rate at which a specific disease
develops in a population - the number of NEW cases of an illness or injury that occurs
within a specified time frame
Prevalence: measures ALL the existing cases at a given point in time-includes
incidence and all the existing cases
✔✔Calculating the incidence rate - ✔✔Incidence rate: (# of new cases of a specific
disease or injury within a specific time frame / population at risk) X 100,000
,(282 new cases of TB in AZ as of mid year ,462, 435 pop at risk in AZ) x
100,000
= 6.31 new cases of TB in AZ per 100,000 population in 2010
✔✔Calculating the prevalence rate - ✔✔Prevalence rate: the number of ALL cases of a
specific disease or injury at a given point in time / population at risk X100,000
(500* ongoing cases of TB in AZ on mid -year ,217 pop at risk in AZ on
7/1/10) X 100,000
=11.2 cases of TB in AZ per 100,000 population in 2010
✔✔The epidemiological triangle - ✔✔
✔✔Agent - ✔✔an animate or innominate factor that must be present or lacking for a
disease or condition to develop
-Bacteria
-Fungus
-Obesity
✔✔Host - ✔✔a living species (human or animal) capable of being infected or affected
by an agent
-Unprotected sex practices of a person
-Prisoner's risk behavior
-Healthcare worker
-A person's diet choice
✔✔Environment - ✔✔all that is internal of external to a given host or agent and that is
influenced and influences the host and/or agent
-Legislation and policies
-Dusty ground
-Crowded living conditions.
✔✔Nursing duties in epidemiology - ✔✔Data: collect, report, analyze, interpret,
communicate
Communicable disease: identify, report, treat, follow up
✔✔What is surveillance? - ✔✔ongoing systematic collection, analysis interpretation and
dissemination of specific health data. Monitors disease trends to decrease morbidity
and mortality to improve health. Infectious and chronic disease, injuries and exposures.
, I.e. During the influenza season, a nurse working for the Health Department might visit
pharmacies, provider offices and health care facilities to collect data about the numbers
of cases of influenza. These data are then transmitted to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to help determine if an epidemic is occurring.
✔✔What is disease/outbreak investigation? - ✔✔investigation of unusual increase in
disease incidence or an unusual event. Determines who else has been exposed to
prevent a larger outbreak. The objectives are to control and prevent disease or death, to
ID factors that contribute to the outbreak of the disease or occurrence of the event, to
implement measures to prevent occurrences.
It is usually directed at a specific person with a new diagnosis, to determine who else
has been exposed. For instance, if a case of pertussis (Whooping cough) is reported, a
nurse from the Health Department may visit that person and find out who else has been
exposed, and making arrangements for those people to obtain prophylactic antibiotics
from their primary care providers. This is done to try to prevent a larger outbreak
✔✔Chain of infection - ✔✔1) agent 2) reservoir 3) exit 4) transmission 5) re-entry 6)
susceptible new host
✔✔1) Agent - ✔✔Microbes: bacteria, fungus, virus, parasites
Factors
-Virulence: refers to the proportion of people with clinical disease who will become
severely ill or die. Highly virulent = greater morbidity/mortality-Invasiveness: ability to
penetrate and spread
-Pathogenicity: measures the proportion of the infected people who actually develop the
disease (clinical reaction)
-Infectivity: the ability to enter or multiply in the hot
-Resistance: ability resist meds, alter genetic structure
A. Bacteria - antibiotics (bacteriocidal drug)
B. Pasteurization of milk/juices
C. Virus - anti-virals
D. Chlorine/boiling of water
E.Sterilizing/bleach
F. Cooking
✔✔2) Reservoir - ✔✔Humans: the principle reservoir
-Frank cases: obvious, but usually not spreading due to precautions
-Subclinical: cases that are not known yet (walking around)
-Carriers: no symptoms, circulate freely
-Incubation period: time interval between invasion by an infectious agent and the first
appearance of symptoms
-Communicable period: in the interval during which an agent may be transmitted directly
or indirectly
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Rate - ✔✔a statistic used for describing an event, characteristic or happening. Time
important or a proportion. Used to make comparisons among populations or to compare
a subgroup of the population with the total population
-Crude rate: the total population
-Specific rate: subgroup of the population
✔✔Rate formula: - ✔✔number of events/population at risk x 100,000
✔✔Morbidity vs mortality - ✔✔Morbidity: the illness rates/usually expressed as
incidence or prevalence
Mortality: death
***Morbidity stats less accurate that Mortality stats because not systematically recorded.
Think....there is a death certificate for every death.
✔✔Leading causes of mortality - ✔✔-Leading cause of preventable death is tobacco
-Under 1 is congenital abnormalities, young adults is unintentional injury, 45-64 is
malignant neoplasms, 65+is heart diseases
✔✔Incidence vs prevalence - ✔✔Incidence: the rate at which a specific disease
develops in a population - the number of NEW cases of an illness or injury that occurs
within a specified time frame
Prevalence: measures ALL the existing cases at a given point in time-includes
incidence and all the existing cases
✔✔Calculating the incidence rate - ✔✔Incidence rate: (# of new cases of a specific
disease or injury within a specific time frame / population at risk) X 100,000
,(282 new cases of TB in AZ as of mid year ,462, 435 pop at risk in AZ) x
100,000
= 6.31 new cases of TB in AZ per 100,000 population in 2010
✔✔Calculating the prevalence rate - ✔✔Prevalence rate: the number of ALL cases of a
specific disease or injury at a given point in time / population at risk X100,000
(500* ongoing cases of TB in AZ on mid -year ,217 pop at risk in AZ on
7/1/10) X 100,000
=11.2 cases of TB in AZ per 100,000 population in 2010
✔✔The epidemiological triangle - ✔✔
✔✔Agent - ✔✔an animate or innominate factor that must be present or lacking for a
disease or condition to develop
-Bacteria
-Fungus
-Obesity
✔✔Host - ✔✔a living species (human or animal) capable of being infected or affected
by an agent
-Unprotected sex practices of a person
-Prisoner's risk behavior
-Healthcare worker
-A person's diet choice
✔✔Environment - ✔✔all that is internal of external to a given host or agent and that is
influenced and influences the host and/or agent
-Legislation and policies
-Dusty ground
-Crowded living conditions.
✔✔Nursing duties in epidemiology - ✔✔Data: collect, report, analyze, interpret,
communicate
Communicable disease: identify, report, treat, follow up
✔✔What is surveillance? - ✔✔ongoing systematic collection, analysis interpretation and
dissemination of specific health data. Monitors disease trends to decrease morbidity
and mortality to improve health. Infectious and chronic disease, injuries and exposures.
, I.e. During the influenza season, a nurse working for the Health Department might visit
pharmacies, provider offices and health care facilities to collect data about the numbers
of cases of influenza. These data are then transmitted to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to help determine if an epidemic is occurring.
✔✔What is disease/outbreak investigation? - ✔✔investigation of unusual increase in
disease incidence or an unusual event. Determines who else has been exposed to
prevent a larger outbreak. The objectives are to control and prevent disease or death, to
ID factors that contribute to the outbreak of the disease or occurrence of the event, to
implement measures to prevent occurrences.
It is usually directed at a specific person with a new diagnosis, to determine who else
has been exposed. For instance, if a case of pertussis (Whooping cough) is reported, a
nurse from the Health Department may visit that person and find out who else has been
exposed, and making arrangements for those people to obtain prophylactic antibiotics
from their primary care providers. This is done to try to prevent a larger outbreak
✔✔Chain of infection - ✔✔1) agent 2) reservoir 3) exit 4) transmission 5) re-entry 6)
susceptible new host
✔✔1) Agent - ✔✔Microbes: bacteria, fungus, virus, parasites
Factors
-Virulence: refers to the proportion of people with clinical disease who will become
severely ill or die. Highly virulent = greater morbidity/mortality-Invasiveness: ability to
penetrate and spread
-Pathogenicity: measures the proportion of the infected people who actually develop the
disease (clinical reaction)
-Infectivity: the ability to enter or multiply in the hot
-Resistance: ability resist meds, alter genetic structure
A. Bacteria - antibiotics (bacteriocidal drug)
B. Pasteurization of milk/juices
C. Virus - anti-virals
D. Chlorine/boiling of water
E.Sterilizing/bleach
F. Cooking
✔✔2) Reservoir - ✔✔Humans: the principle reservoir
-Frank cases: obvious, but usually not spreading due to precautions
-Subclinical: cases that are not known yet (walking around)
-Carriers: no symptoms, circulate freely
-Incubation period: time interval between invasion by an infectious agent and the first
appearance of symptoms
-Communicable period: in the interval during which an agent may be transmitted directly
or indirectly
