Public health exam flashcards
(104 cards)
1
Q
A cross-sectional study is a purely analytical type of survey method
A
FALSE. (A case-control is purely analytical)
2
Q
Questionnaires are types of survey
A
FALSE (A questionnaire is part of a survey)
3
Q
Relative Risk is a measure of disease frequency
A
FALSE (Relative Risk = The incidence rate of a disease in a population exposed to a given factor relative to the incidence rate of a disease in the population, not exposed to that factor)
4
Q
The cancer registry can provide information with which to compile an ecological study
A
TRUE
5
Q
The quality of data collected in a survey is usually better than that collected through routine sources of data collection
A
TRUE
6
Q
Incidence can be calculated from a Case Control study
A
FALSE (Case Control studies are purely Analytical)
7
Q
A valid tool is one which measures what it sets out to measure
A
TRUE
8
Q
A randomised controlled trial has an in-built design formulated to lower the risk of selection bias
A
TRUE
9
Q
Interviews offer higher response rates prospects than postal questionnaires
A
TRUE
10
Q
Rates rather than individuals are compared in an ecological study
A
TRUE
11
Q
The population strategy is a more radical approach to prevention than is the high risk strategy
A
TRUE
12
Q
Prevalence rates are expressed as proportions or percentages
A
TRUE
13
Q
Cohort studies are inherently lower in bias than case-control studies
A
TRUE
14
Q
The aim of a study is a series of measurable objectives
A
FALSE
15
Q
Defining the study population is an important aspect of survey that usually involves inclusions & exclusion criteria
A
TRUE
16
Q
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution, determinants and control of health conditions in human populations
A
TRUE
17
Q
A new drug is usually released after Phase 3 Trials are completed
A
TRUE
18
Q
The strength of the relationship between a possible determinant and a disease outcome is one of the criteria considered when assessing disease causation
A
TRUE
19
Q
Data are non-random symbols that represent quantities, actions, objects & concepts
A
TRUE
20
Q
Donabedian makes a distinction between 2 types of outcome: Technical outcomes & inter-personal outcomes
A
TRUE
21
Q
Lalonde’s Health Field Concept refers to the following four domains: Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Pathology.
A
FALSE (Human Biology, Health Care systems, Environment, Lifestyle)
22
Q
The latest revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is the sixth revision (ICD-6).
A
FALSE (ICD-11)
23
Q
The National Statistics Office publishes the Demographic Review of the Maltese Islands.
A
TRUE
24
Q
Information on causes of death is more reliable for deaths from age 45 to 64 than for deaths from age 85 upwards.
A
TRUE
25
Typically, a doctor is the data controller of the patient data contained in a Personal Health Record (PHR).
FALSE
26
In healthcare IT, PACS stands for Picture Archiving & Communication System.
TRUE
27
The Government of Malta’s myHealth Record portal provides patients with the possibility to access to personal health data online.
TRUE
28
Since the year 2000 several family doctors in Malta have used a computerised program called GPMALTI for record keeping in general practice
FALSE (TRANSHIS = Backed to be introduced by assocaition of family doctors in 2000 = 15 users by 2003
29
An audit is a study of what is being done
TRUE
30
A study which investigates what should be done falls under the category of research
TRUE
31
An audit may need ethics approval
TRUE
32
Research Ethics committee (REC) must have a member from outside the institution to which the REC belongs
TRUE
33
Qualitative research is often exploratory and it is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of interest
FALSE
34
Research in which the researcher uses the qualitative paradigm for one phase and the quantitative paradigm for another phase is known as Mixed method research
TRUE
35
A characteristic of qualitative research is Standardised tests and measures
FALSE
36
Phenomenology is qualitative research approach where the primary goal is to gain access to individuals’ inner worlds of experience?
TRUE
37
The incidence rate of leishmaniasis in Malta is estimated as the number of new cases over a period of 1 year divided by the Total population of Malta
TRUE
38
The incidence rate of leishmaniasis in Malta is estimated as the number of individuals who have ever had leishmaniasis at any point in their life divided by the total population of Malta.
FALSE
39
The incidence rate ratio for Malta versus Gozo is the incidence rate for GOZO divided by that for Malta
FALSE (Incidence rate ratio = ratio of the incidence rate in an exposed group divided by the incidence rate in an unexposed)
40
The best significance test to assess whether the incidence of leishmaniasis varies between Malta and Gozo is the Chi-squared test of association
TRUE
41
The chi-squared test of association can still be used if only 3 new cases of leishmaniasis are identified in one year.
FALSE (Fischers exact test for skewed distribution would need to be used
42
In hypothesis testing, incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis is known as a Type II error
FALSE (Rejecting the Null Hypothesis when its' actually true = Type I error) (Failing to reject the null hypothesis when its' actually false = Type II error)
Incorrectly rejection null hypothesis = Type 1
Incorrectly accepting null hypothesis = Type 2
43
In hypothesis testing, incorrectly retaining the null hypothesis is known as a Type II error
TRUE
44
A sample size calculation is typically carried out to reduce the risk of Type II error.
TRUE
45
Type I error typically results when a non-representative sample would have been used to generate the statistic of interest.
TRUE
46
Type II error results from having an underpowered study.
TRUE
47
When inputting a dataset, every variable would have its own column.
TRUE
48
A spreadsheet or database software application should be used for the purposes of data inputting
TRUE
49
In a study database on a spreadsheet, every respondent should be in a different row.
TRUE
50
Individual responses should be entered as text in a study database.
FALSE
51
In order to maintain data integrity, a blank line should be left between the column titles between the title row and the data.
FALSE
52
The subjects used for the pilot study may be utilized again for the main study
FALSE
53
Convenience sampling, such as in a vox pop, can be considered as perfectly representative of the country’s population.
FALSE
54
Cluster sampling involves sampling groups instead of individuals
TRUE (Tribe in Africa)
55
Random Sampling needs to be carried out on a computer
FALSE
56
Snowball sampling enables fairly representative sampling of hard-to-identify subpopulations
TRUE
57
Stratified sampling ensures representation of small subgroups within the population
TRUE
58
The mortality register is a source of routine epidemiological data
TRUE
59
Incidence & prevalence are both measures of disease frequency
TRUE
60
Cohort Studies are commenced after disease onsets
FALSE
61
The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality is based in the United States of America
TRUE
62
The last Census of Population & Housing in Malta was held in 2001
FALSE (Being Held right now in November 2021) (2011 & 2005 before that)
63
A copy of the Health For All database of the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation may be freely downloaded through the Internet
TRUE
64
In healthcare IT, PACS stands for Pathology Administration Computer System
FALSE (Picture Archiving & Communicating System)
65
Health Level 4 (HL4) is the latest standard for messaging of structured data between healthcare IT systems
FALSE
66
Typically, a patient is the data controller of his/her own personal health data in a Personal Health Record
TRUE
67
Issues in integration of data between different IT systems may arise because of different field lengths, different value sets and/or different meanings of data in different systems
TRUE
68
Non-experimental is one of the approaches (methods) used in qualitative research
FALSE (Quantitative)
69
Mixed method research is research in which the researcher used the qualitative paradigm for one phase and the quantitative paradigm for another phase
TRUE
70
Generalisation to the population is a characteristic of qualitative research
FALSE (Quantitative)
71
Participant observations is a source of data which is appropriate for qualitative study
TRUE
72
An ecological study is a type of survey
False (Ecological study uses routinely collected data)
73
Using routine data as a source of epidemiological information offers the advantage of greater validity
FALSE
74
True incidence can only be measured by a Cohort Study
TRUE
75
A questionnaire is a tool of measurement in a survey
TRUE
76
Population standardised death rates for a disease (Breast Cancer) are based on a dynamic population
TRUE
77
Information bias is commoner in prospective (Cohort) studies rather than in retrospective (Case-control) studies
FALSE
78
Surveys are considered as more telling of a causative relationship between exposure & outcome than are ecological studies based on routine data
TRUE
79
Case-Control studies are usually retrospective
TRUE
80
Utilising interviews carries the risk of a lower response than a mailed questionnaire when collecting data in a survey
FALSE
81
The RCT study is the highest form of analytical survey method available
TRUE
82
The definition of a disease is the same in clinical medicine as it is in an epidemiological survey
FALSE
83
The prevalence of a disease is the proportion of persons in a defined population who have the disease at a point in time
TRUE
84
Epidemiology involves a quantitative approach to disease & its causation
TRUE
85
Screening is advisable if a disease is considered important by the population, irrespective of the health resources for other diseases
FALSE
86
Case Control studies are purely descriptive & do not produce any analytical information
FALSE (Case-Control = purely analytical)
87
Advantages of cohort studies include the ability for clear chronological sequence by which exposures invariably precede disease
TRUE
88
Consistency & Gradation of dose response are among the key criteria cited by Bradford Hill by which causality can be considered
TRUE
89
Exclusion criteria are often part of the way study populations are defined in epidemiological surveys
TRUE
90
Screening is one type of strategy for disease prevention
FALSE (To find disease in their earliest stages)
91
Patients with mild to moderate dementia can give informed consent
TRUE*****
92
A study based on a representative sample of 250 Maltese residents, investigating inequality in the incidence of diabetes between districts of Malta, resulted in a p-value of 0.06 for the difference between the district incidences. This suggests that , should one repeat the study on the whole population of Malta, no difference between districts would be identified
FALSE
93
A small study on Parkinson's disease patients using a specific quality of life score, resulted in the following percentage scores:
45, 90, 95, 75, 75, 75, 60, 30, 60, 55
(1) The median score = 66%
(2) The mean score is 66%
(3) The mode is 75%
(4) The maximum value = 90%
(5) All patients attained a score higher than the minimum acceptable threshold of 50%
(1) FALSE
(2) TRUE
(3) TRUE
(4) FALSE
(5) FALSE
94
Decide whether the correct significance test has been applied in this case:
A chi-squared test of association has been used to check whether daily consumption of ice-tea was associated with an increase in the number of teeth showing decay
FALSE
95
Decide whether the correct significance test has been applied in this case:
A chi-squared test of association has been used to check whether daily smoking amongst patients hospitalised within MCH was associated with permanent discolouration of the teeth
TRUE
96
Decide whether the correct significance test has been applied in this case:
A Pearson correlation test was used to assess whether the dose of clozapine used was correlated with the white blood cell count
TRUE
97
Decide whether the correct significance test has been applied in this case:
A paired T-test was used to assess whether the mean thyroid stimulating hormone level amongst patients using lithium tablets was significantly different than in other patients not having this treatment
FALSE
98
Decide whether the correct significance test has been applied in this case:
A paired T-test was used to assess whether there was any individual change in BMI in a small number of patients after being introduced to Zumba
TRUE
99
Are the following categorical variables?
(1) Gender
(2) Height
(3) Age
(4) Blood Pressure
(5) Age Group
(1) True
(2) False
(3) False
(4) False
(5) True
100
Regarding Sample Sizes:
The larger the difference between the 2 results expected from the intervention and the control group, the larger the sample size required
FALSE
101
Regarding Sample Sizes:
The sample size required increases proportionally to the difference between the interventional and control group
FALSE
102
Regarding Sample Sizes:
Once the predicted sample size is achieved, one should always get a significant difference between groups
FALSE
103
Regarding Sample Sizes:
If a researcher is working in a small country, the sample size will decrease accordingly
FALSE
104
Regarding Sample Sizes:
In a case-control study wherein cases are quite rare to find, the number of cases required can be kept to a minimum by increasing the ratio of controls to cases
TRUE
