Epidemiology Final Exam

Which of the following is not included in descriptive epidemiology? Creating a spot map with two
different kinds of spots — one for human cases of West Nile virus infection and a different one for
animal cases.

A case definition used during an outbreak investigation in which investigators are trying to identify a
cause can include all of the following components except… the hypothesized exposure

Define Endemic- persistent level of disease

Define Pandemic- Number of cases clearly greater than expected in multiple countries during a given
period.

Define Expected- Average number of cases during the same period during the previous 3 years.

An epidemic curve should have all of the following features except… data are graphed as a vertical bar
chart.

A case-control study differs from a cohort study in that… in a case-control study subjects are enrolled on
the basis of their disease status in a cohort study they are not.

After a hurricane devastated multiple counties in a state, public health officials conducted a rapid needs
assessment. They interviewed a representative sample of residents and asked about acute and chronic
medical conditions, access to clean water, access to medications, and other immediate needs. This study
design is a…cross sectional study

The recommendation to drain standing water, thereby eliminating mosquito breeding sites and reducing
the risk of vectorborne West Nile virus infection, is intended to interrupt which link in the chain of
transmission? Mode of transmission

Eleven students experienced gastroenteritis after a school trip. The number of episodes of diarrhea
reported by each student was 2, 11, 3, 2, 3, 5, 4, 3, 3, 5, and 3. What is the mean number of episodes of
diarrhea among the students with gastroenteritis? 4.0

What is the median number of episodes of diarrhea among the students with gastroenteritis? 3.0

What is the mode of number of episodes of diarrhea among the students with gastroenteritis? 3.0

What is the shape of the distribution of episodes of diarrhea? Skewed to the right

For this distribution of data, the median is the preferred measure of central location. True

For this distribution of data, the preferred measure of spread is which of the following? Range

Which is the most appropriate measure of central location for such laboratory assay dilution data as 1:8,
1:16, 1:32, 1:64, 1:128, etc.? Geometric mean

Which measure of spread is most commonly reported with the mean? Standard deviation
The following day, the laboratory technician called to correct one value patient 37s serum cholesterol
level was 380 mg/dL, not 280 mg/dL as initially reported. Which one of the following measures would
not change as a result of this correction? Median

Within minutes after the main course was served at a June wedding celebration that included a sit-
down dinner, a number of guests began to experience tingling and burning around the mouth and
facial flushing. Some had headaches and abdominal symptoms, and several elderly guests were
transported to a local hospital. A quick-acting epidemiologist who was a guest at the wedding was
able to determine that 25 of the 80 guests complained of the acute illness. The following two-by-two
table indicates consumption of the main course by illness status.

Which of the following is a food-specific attack rate? 5/40

The fraction 20/25 is a/an…proportion

The best measure of association to use for these data is a/an...risk ration

The best estimate of the magnitude of the association between tuna and illness is… 4.0

Which of the following describes the design of the study that was conducted? Retrospective cohort
study

What type of measure are you calculating with the following fraction?
Prevalance

Number of persons living with HIV infection in State A during 2005

              Estimated population of State A on July 1, 2005 

According to an analysis of vital statistics death certificate data from 1999, a total of 14,802 deaths were
attributed to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States. The same year, 45,104
new cases of AIDS were reported. Assuming that these numbers are complete, the fraction
14,802/45,104 is which of the following types of measure? Death to case ratio

Vaccine efficacy indicates which of the following? The proportional reduction in disease among
vaccinated persons compared with unvaccinated persons.

The most appropriate time to create a table shell.. after cleaning your data, but before data analysis.

What is the most important problem with the frequency distribution shown in the following table?
Overlapping class intervals

In the United States, the annual number of reported cases of measles has ranged from over 250,000 in
1965 to less than 100 in 2000. Which type of graph can best display these numbers by year?
Semilogarithmic-scale line graph
Researchers asked 100 women with colon cancer and 200 women without colon cancer if they had ever
smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime (yes / no). What is the best way to display the data
from this study? Two by two table

The best measure of association to use for the study described in Question 30 is a/an… incidence
proportion.

A hospital infection control practitioner wants to display the number of cases of surgical wound
infections by week for the months of July and August. The number of cases per week ranges from 0 to
10. Which type of graph should be used? Histogram

Which of the following factors cannot be gleaned from an epidemic curve alone, that is, without
additional information? Risk of disease among the population

Which of the following graphs is not appropriate for displaying data from a one-variable table such as a
frequency distribution? Scattered diagram

What is the primary disadvantage of a spot map? The map does not reflect risk of disease.

A comprehensive definition of public health surveillance is that it is the ongoing, systematic collection,
analysis, and interpretation of health-related data essential to the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of public health practice, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to
those responsible for prevention and control. True

Which one of the following activities is not considered part of the activities of public health surveillance?
Distributing meningococcal vaccine to prevent additional cases on a college campus.

The ultimate goal of public health surveillance is… to guide public health action and policy.

The ability of a surveillance system to detect the cases it is intended to detect is referred to as:
Sensitivity

What is the primary limitation of state notifiable disease surveillance systems? Underreporting by those
expected to report

Vital statistics are important sources of data on: Mortality

A passive surveillance system is usually less expensive, more easily sustainable, and less sensitive than
an active surveillance system. True

Which of the following is not an example of syndromic surveillance? Surveillance of antibiotic resistance
patterns transmitted electronically from hospital laboratories.

The primary purpose for evaluating a surveillance system is to ensure that the system is…serving a
useful public health function

Which of the following defines the predictive value positive of a surveillance system? The proportion of
reported case-patients that truly have the disease.

Usually, the first two steps of an outbreak investigation, other than preparing for field work, are…
confirm the existence of an outbreak and confirm the diagnosis.
After a case definition has been established early in an investigation, to maintain consistency, it should
not be changed. False

Which one of the following categories is usually not included on a data collection form used during an
outbreak investigation? Health insurance information

Which one of the following is the least appropriate way to generate hypotheses in an outbreak
investigation? Conduct a case control study

When should control and prevention measures be implemented? As early as possible