Semester 1

Question 1

What do public health workers commonly carry out?

Answer 1

• routine use of vaccinations
• improvements in workplace safety
• improvements to sanitation and providing clean water
• giving access to family planning

Question 2

Define epidemiology

Answer 2

The study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations and the application of this study to control health problems.

Question 3

What are the objectives of epidemiology?

Answer 3

• study the natural course of diseases from onset to resolution
• determine the extent of disease in a population
• identify patterns and trends in disease occurrence
• identify the cause of disease
• evaluate the effectiveness of measures to prevent and treat disease

Question 4

Define population

Answer 4

A group of people with a common characteristic

Eg. Place of residence, gender, age or use of certain medical services

Question 5

What is disease frequency?

Answer 5

Quantifying how often a disease arises in a population

Question 6

What steps must we take to find the disease frequency?

Answer 6

1. Develop a definition of the disease
2. Institute a mechanism for counting cases within a population
3. Determine population size

Question 7

What is disease distribution?

Answer 7

The analysis of disease patterns according to the characteristics of person, place and time.

Question 8

Define disease determinants and name the two types

Answer 8

Factors that bring about a change in a person’s health or make a difference to their health
We can have causal and preventative factors

Question 9

What is a sampling frame?

Answer 9

The people that you are going to target in your survey

Eg. People who live in Leicestershire, people who shop at Waitrose

Question 10

Define incidence

Answer 10

The number of new cases of the condition in a population over a specified period of time

Units are per person per time

Question 11

Define prevalence

Answer 11

The number of people within a population with the disease at a particular time

Question 12

What is a census?

Answer 12

The simultaneous recording of demographic data by the government at a particular time pertaining to all the persons who live in a particular territory.

Question 13

Who completes the birth notification and how long do they have to do it?

Answer 13

The attendant at the birth must complete it within 36 hours for the Child Health Register

Question 14

Who completes the birth registration and how long do they have to do it?

Answer 14

The parents complete the birth registration and they have 42 days to do this with the local registrar for births.

Question 15

What is the Crude Birth Rate (CBR)?

Answer 15

The number of live births per 1000 people

Question 16

What is the General Fertility Rate (GFR)?

Answer 16

The number of live births per 1000 females aged 15-44 years

Question 17

What is the Total [Period] Fertility Rate (TPFR)?

Answer 17

The average number of children that would be born to a hypothetical woman in her life.

Question 18

Define fecundity

Answer 18

The physical ability to reproduce

Question 19

What is CBR used for?

Answer 19

Describing the impact of births on the size of a population

Question 20

What is GFR used for?

Answer 20

For comparing the fertility of fertile female populations

Question 21

What is TPFR used for?

Answer 21

Competing fertility of fertile females without being influenced by age group structure

Question 22

What is the main focus of public health?

Answer 22

Preventing illness in the community and promoting health

Question 23

Who does the death registration and how long do they have to do it?

Answer 23

A qualified informant has 5 days to go to the local registrar for deaths

Question 24

Define Crude Death Rate (CDR)

Answer 24

The number of deaths per 1000 people

Question 25

Define Age Specific Death Rate (ASDR)

Answer 25

The number of deaths per 1000 people in a particular age group

Question 26

What does the Standardised Mortality Ratio do?

Answer 26

It compares the observed number of deaths with the number expected if age-sex distributions of populations were identical

Question 27

Define chance

Answer 27

The occurrence of events without any obvious cause

Question 28

Define bias

Answer 28

The inclination/prejudice for or against something or someone, considered unfair

Question 29

What is a confounding variable?

Answer 29

A variable in a statistical model that correlates with both the dependent and independent variables so may be the cause of a link between the dependent and independent.

Question 30

What happens in the Pre-Clinical Phase of drug production?

Answer 30

Laboratory studies - pharmacology and animal toxicology

Question 31

What happens in Phase 1 of drug production?

Answer 31

Volunteer studies

Question 32

What happens in Phase 2 of drug production?

Answer 32

Treatment studies - find the effects and dosages needed, study common side effects

Question 33

What happens in Phase 3 of drug production?

Answer 33

Clinical trials - comparison with standard treatments

Question 34

What happens in Phase 4 of drug production?

Answer 34

Post-marketing surveillance - monitoring for adverse reactions and potential new uses.

Question 35

Define pharmacodynamics

Answer 35

The study of the - biochemical and physiological effects of drugs on the body - mechanisms of drug action - relationship between drug concentration and effect.

Question 36

Define pharmacokinetics

Answer 36

A branch of pharmacology dedicated to determining the fate of substances administered externally to living organisms.

Question 37

What is the formula for incidence rate?

Answer 37

Incidence Rate = (New Events)/(people x time(yrs)) Gives us events per person per year

Question 38

What is a prevalence study?

Answer 38

A cross-sectional survey with no follow up.

Question 39

What is the Incidence Rate Ratio formula?

Answer 39

IRR = (Rate (b))/ (Rate (a)) b - exposed a - unexposed

Question 40

What is the problem with using age-specific rate ratios?

Answer 40

We get too many answers so the results are difficult to interpret

Question 41

What does the Standardised Mortality Ratio do?

Answer 41

It compares the level of mortality observed in a study population with the level of mortality expected if a standard reference population's age-sex specific rates were applied to the study population.