MCHES
MCHES - MASTER CERTIFIED HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST |
VERIFIED EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST VERSION
2026/2027
MASTER CERTIFIED HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST (MCHES)
1. A health education specialist is preparing a community needs
assessment for a rural county. Which step should occur first?
A. Draft the program's behavioral objectives
B. Recruit participants for focus groups
C. Define the purpose and scope of the assessment
D. Select the data collection instruments
C. Define the purpose and scope of the assessment
The purpose and scope guide every later decision, including which data
are needed and how they will be gathered.
2. Which of the following is an example of a secondary data source for a
needs assessment?
A. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reports
B. A newly designed questionnaire given to residents
C. Key informant interviews with local clinic staff
D. A windshield survey of the target neighborhood
A. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reports
BRFSS data were collected by another agency for a different purpose,
which makes them secondary data.
Page 1 of 54
, MCHES
3. A coalition wants to identify the assets, resources, and strengths
already present in a neighborhood. Which approach is most
appropriate?
A. Asset mapping
B. Gap analysis
C. Cost-benefit analysis
D. Force field analysis
A. Asset mapping
Asset mapping inventories existing community capacities rather than
focusing only on deficits.
4. In the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, the phase that examines quality-of-
life concerns of the population is the:
A. Social assessment
B. Administrative and policy assessment
C. Epidemiological assessment
D. Educational and ecological assessment
A. Social assessment
Phase 1, social assessment, identifies the population's quality-of-life
priorities and perceptions.
5. According to PRECEDE-PROCEED, a person's knowledge, attitudes,
and beliefs about a behavior are classified as:
A. Reinforcing factors
B. Enabling factors
C. Predisposing factors
D. Environmental factors
C. Predisposing factors
Predisposing factors exist before the behavior and supply the motivation
or rationale for it.
Page 2 of 54
, MCHES
6. Access to a free walking trail near a worksite would be categorized
in PRECEDE-PROCEED as a(n):
A. Reinforcing factor
B. Enabling factor
C. Behavioral outcome
D. Predisposing factor
B. Enabling factor
Enabling factors are skills, resources, or barriers that make a behavior
easier or harder to carry out.
7. Praise from coworkers after an employee quits smoking is an
example of a:
A. Enabling factor
B. Reinforcing factor
C. Genetic factor
D. Predisposing factor
B. Reinforcing factor
Reinforcing factors follow a behavior and provide reward, feedback, or
social support for repeating it.
8. A health education specialist calculates the number of new diabetes
diagnoses in a county during one year divided by the population at
risk. This measure is:
A. Case-fatality rate
B. Attributable risk
C. Incidence rate
D. Point prevalence
C. Incidence rate
Incidence counts new cases over a specified period among those at risk.
Page 3 of 54
, MCHES
9. Which data collection method is most useful for exploring the
reasons behind low mammography uptake among a small group of
women?
A. Vital statistics analysis
B. Census data review
C. Focus groups
D. Hospital discharge data
C. Focus groups
Focus groups produce in-depth qualitative insight into perceptions,
beliefs, and barriers.
10. When prioritizing health problems, the Basic Priority Rating System
(Hanlon method) weighs size of the problem, seriousness, and:
A. Effectiveness of available interventions
B. Media coverage of the problem
C. Political popularity of the issue
D. Number of agencies involved
A. Effectiveness of available interventions
Hanlon scoring combines size, seriousness, and intervention effectiveness,
then applies PEARL feasibility screening.
11. The PEARL component of the Hanlon method stands for propriety,
economics, acceptability, resources, and:
A. Literacy
B. Longevity
C. Legality
D. Leadership
C. Legality
PEARL screens priorities for legality along with the other four feasibility
criteria.
Page 4 of 54
MCHES - MASTER CERTIFIED HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST |
VERIFIED EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST VERSION
2026/2027
MASTER CERTIFIED HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST (MCHES)
1. A health education specialist is preparing a community needs
assessment for a rural county. Which step should occur first?
A. Draft the program's behavioral objectives
B. Recruit participants for focus groups
C. Define the purpose and scope of the assessment
D. Select the data collection instruments
C. Define the purpose and scope of the assessment
The purpose and scope guide every later decision, including which data
are needed and how they will be gathered.
2. Which of the following is an example of a secondary data source for a
needs assessment?
A. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reports
B. A newly designed questionnaire given to residents
C. Key informant interviews with local clinic staff
D. A windshield survey of the target neighborhood
A. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reports
BRFSS data were collected by another agency for a different purpose,
which makes them secondary data.
Page 1 of 54
, MCHES
3. A coalition wants to identify the assets, resources, and strengths
already present in a neighborhood. Which approach is most
appropriate?
A. Asset mapping
B. Gap analysis
C. Cost-benefit analysis
D. Force field analysis
A. Asset mapping
Asset mapping inventories existing community capacities rather than
focusing only on deficits.
4. In the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, the phase that examines quality-of-
life concerns of the population is the:
A. Social assessment
B. Administrative and policy assessment
C. Epidemiological assessment
D. Educational and ecological assessment
A. Social assessment
Phase 1, social assessment, identifies the population's quality-of-life
priorities and perceptions.
5. According to PRECEDE-PROCEED, a person's knowledge, attitudes,
and beliefs about a behavior are classified as:
A. Reinforcing factors
B. Enabling factors
C. Predisposing factors
D. Environmental factors
C. Predisposing factors
Predisposing factors exist before the behavior and supply the motivation
or rationale for it.
Page 2 of 54
, MCHES
6. Access to a free walking trail near a worksite would be categorized
in PRECEDE-PROCEED as a(n):
A. Reinforcing factor
B. Enabling factor
C. Behavioral outcome
D. Predisposing factor
B. Enabling factor
Enabling factors are skills, resources, or barriers that make a behavior
easier or harder to carry out.
7. Praise from coworkers after an employee quits smoking is an
example of a:
A. Enabling factor
B. Reinforcing factor
C. Genetic factor
D. Predisposing factor
B. Reinforcing factor
Reinforcing factors follow a behavior and provide reward, feedback, or
social support for repeating it.
8. A health education specialist calculates the number of new diabetes
diagnoses in a county during one year divided by the population at
risk. This measure is:
A. Case-fatality rate
B. Attributable risk
C. Incidence rate
D. Point prevalence
C. Incidence rate
Incidence counts new cases over a specified period among those at risk.
Page 3 of 54
, MCHES
9. Which data collection method is most useful for exploring the
reasons behind low mammography uptake among a small group of
women?
A. Vital statistics analysis
B. Census data review
C. Focus groups
D. Hospital discharge data
C. Focus groups
Focus groups produce in-depth qualitative insight into perceptions,
beliefs, and barriers.
10. When prioritizing health problems, the Basic Priority Rating System
(Hanlon method) weighs size of the problem, seriousness, and:
A. Effectiveness of available interventions
B. Media coverage of the problem
C. Political popularity of the issue
D. Number of agencies involved
A. Effectiveness of available interventions
Hanlon scoring combines size, seriousness, and intervention effectiveness,
then applies PEARL feasibility screening.
11. The PEARL component of the Hanlon method stands for propriety,
economics, acceptability, resources, and:
A. Literacy
B. Longevity
C. Legality
D. Leadership
C. Legality
PEARL screens priorities for legality along with the other four feasibility
criteria.
Page 4 of 54
