Formative

Question 1

An elderly man presents to his general practitioner reporting that he is suffering from stress. On examination the GP notices that the patients’ blood pressure is raised and his breathing is shallow. What type of stress response is this patient likely to be experiencing?

Answer 1

Physiological

Question 2

A 42-year-old woman has attended her general practitioner reporting that she is suffering from stress. She says that she very tearful, has been increasingly irritable with her partner and has had mood swings. What type of stress response is this patient experiencing?

Answer 2

Emotional

Question 3

Which term would best describe: The total number of UK adults with a BMI greater than 30 (i.e. obese) at a given time?

Answer 3

Prevalence

Question 4

Which term would best describe: The detection of early disease in order to alter its course, for example cancer screening and the early identification of heart disease?

Answer 4

Secondary prevention

Question 5

Which term would best describe: The number of newly diagnosed cases of alcohol related liver disease per 100,000 in England during 2009.

Answer 5

Incidence

Question 6

Behaviour change can be carried out on two levels which ultimately are not mutually exclusive for improving the health of the nation. Specify with examples the two levels of behaviour change. (4 marks)

Answer 6

Individual level - stop smoking
Population level - tax, screening (health promotion)

Question 7

Theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1988) suggests that behaviours are governed by our intentions to carry out target behaviours. Specify the three factors that influence our intentions and give an example of each with reference to smoking cessation (6 marks)

Answer 7

Attitude - patient’s own attitudes to smoking
Subjective norm - attitudes of significant others to smoking
Perceived behavioural control- self-efficacy/belief that one can quit

Question 8

The stages of change model identifies six stages in giving up smoking that need to be considered in supporting a patient through smoking cessation, name and give brief details of the four main stages of behaviour change? (8 marks)

Stage 1: Precontemplation - when the smoker is not thinking about quitting
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
Stage 4:
Stage 5:
Stage 6: Relapse – quit smoking then a lapse led to smoking being resumed

Answer 8

2 : contemplation -thinking about quitting
3 : preparing to change - taking steps to prepare
4: action - has stopped
5 : maintenance - quit for >6 months

Question 9

A GP with a special interest in mental health wants to explore the evidence for brief mindfulness rather than prescribing pharmacological therapies for adolescent patients who are diagnosed with depression. When trying to identify evidence it is important to think about exactly what you want to know. The ‘PICO’ framework is recommended to make the process of asking focused questions easier. Outline what each element of PICO stands for (8 marks)

Answer 9

Population studied eg adolescent with depression
Intervention given eg brief mindfulness
Comparator chosen eg usual care
Outcome measured eg lower levels of depression

Question 10

Data from individual studies in systematic reviews are sometimes combined to address the research question. What is this statistical method called? (2marks)

Answer 10

Meta-analysis

Question 11

The NHS cervical screening is what type of prevention programme and why?

Answer 11

Secondary prevention
- intervention to detect the disease early to prevent the progression of a disease once it has started