COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

School: Public Health Academic year:

2015-2016
Department: Environmental Health Sciences Year: 4
Module: INSTITUTIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Module code: EHS4102 Semester 1 Final Examination
Total marks: 100 marks
Duration: 3 hours

Instructions:

o This paper contains 3 sections

o Answer all questions in the booklet provided
o Put your registration number on answer booklet and on the question paper
o Insert your question paper in the answerbooklet and submit both

Section 1: Multiple choice(s) questions (29 Marks)

1. What is meant by the term ‘workplace hazard’?
a. The potential severity of an accident.
b. The likelihood of harm occurring.
c. Something that may cause harm.
d. Something that will definitely cause harm

2. Which of these best defines any personal injury resulting from an

occupational accident?
a. Occupational injury
b. Occupational disease
c. Commuting accident
 d. None of the above

3. Noise levels are measured in:

a. decimals or dB
b. decibels or dB
c. millimeters per second
d. dBs per second

4. You have just started work on a building site. The first thing you must
do is:
a. Identify all the hazards on site. ?
b. Conduct frequent risk assessments.
c. Check the fire extinguishers once a week.
d. Wear the personal protective equipment provided.

5. The most common of the work related musculoskeletal disorders, and in

economic terms, the most costly is:
a. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
b. Tendonitis
c. Epicondylitis
d. Low Back Pain

6. An inflammation of the tendon that occurs in the shoulder, wrist, hands,

or elbow is called:
a. Tendonitis
b. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
c. Muscle strain

7. Which of the following can contribute to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

a. Excessive flexing or twisting of the wrist
b. Poor posture
c. Constant lifting
d. All of the Above
8. Which is the most effective method of preventing contaminants in the
air from getting into the area where workers breathe?
a. PPE
b. Administration controls
c. Ventilation

9. What is main the role of the workplace’s health and safety

representative?
a. To represent the workers’ views and concerns on the workplace’s
OH&S practices to the employer
b. To document the workplace’s OH&S policies and practices
c. To check on whether all workers are complying with the workplace’s
OH&S policies and practices
d. To train and assess all workers in their knowledge of the workplace’s
OH&S policies and practices
10. What are the four reference postures for computer work stations
according to the human factors and Ergonomics society?
a. reclined sitting, upright sitting, declined sitting, standing
b. reclined sitting, declined sitting, kneeling, legs crossed
c. sitting on the floor, sitting on a chair, arms at the same level with
elbows, standing
d. relaxed sitting, upright sitting, arms slightly lower than elbows, legs
parallel to the floor

11. When typing, your wrists should remain _______________

a. Twisted
b. Straight
c. Bent
d. Motionless

12. Chemicals may enter the body through:

a. Ingestion through the mouth
b. The eyes and mucous membranes
c. The skin
 d. Any of the above
13. Effective measures in preventing psychosocial hazards include:
a. Match workloads to the capabilities and resources of each worker
b. Allowing workers to take part in decisions that affect them
c. designing tasks to be stimulating
d. defining work roles and responsibilities clearly
e. providing opportunities for social interaction
f. All of the above
g. None of the above

14. From the following options, what is the best way to control hazards in
the workplace?
a. Replace the hazard for a less risky option
b. Eliminate the hazard completely from the workplace
c. Use personal protective equipment (PPE)
d. Have rules to help people avoid hurting themselves

15. When mechanical equipment hazards cannot be eliminated, you should:

a. Not use the equipment
b. Work close to other workers in case there is an emergency
c. Wear personal protective equipment such as safety glasses, hearing
protection, protective gloves and safety shoes
d. All of the above

16. Which statement is NOT correct?

a. heat stress causes increased sweating
b. heat stress results in reduced capacity for work, inefficiency and
increased risk of hazardous incidents
c. heat stroke is a rare condition and not life threatening
d. high temperatures can result in heat stress

17. Isolating and locking out machinery means:

a. switching off the machine while it's not in use
b. locating the machinery away from busy work areas
 c. fitting a padlock or a locking device so the machine cannot be
accidently turned on
d. switching the machine off during maintenance, cleaning and repair

18. Employers can reduce noise levels in an office by:

a. installing acoustic ceilings, wall linings, carpets and barriers
b. providing headphones to all workers
c. training workers to concentrate on the work so they become used to
the noise from telephones, photocopiers and printers
d. all of the above

19. Employers should give instructions to workers on how to deal with

emergencies, and tell them where to find:
a. emergency services such as the ambulance
b. first aid items, emergency exits and fire extinguishers
c. personal protective overalls
d. all of the above

20. Workplace stress can be started or made worse by:

a. bullying, conflict and harassment
b. a lack of leadership and clear direction
c. work arrangements, deadlines and demands set without consultation
d. all of the above

21. If someone is suffering from heat stress, you should give them:
a. a cup of warm, sweet tea
b. cool fluids
c. a drink of iced water
d. no fluids until the doctor arrives

22. From the hazards listed below, select a potential chemical workplace
hazard:
a. Dust
b. Bacteria
c. Paint
 d. Stress

23. Dwellings with following basic deficiencies are considered to be an

extreme slum:

a. Provided with inadequate and contaminated water supply, Lack of

toilets, Lack of bathing facility, Overcrowding of sleeping rooms.
b. Lack of bathing facility, Lack of toilets, Overcrowding of sleeping
rooms.
c. Rooms lacking windows for light and ventilation, overcrowding of
sleeping rooms, Having problems of arthropods and rodents
24. A healthful house should satisfy the following fundamental
physiological needs except:
a. maintain thermal environment that will avoid undue heat loss from
the human body during cold weather conditions
b. Protection against excessive outdoor and indoor noise.
c. Provision of adequate sleeping spaces minimizes the spread of
contagious infections such as scabies, and other dermatological
problems.
d. Provision of adequate space for exercise, gardening and for the play
of children.
25. The following are CBEHPP(Community Based Environmental Health
Promotion Programme) priorities except:
a. Improved household and institutional (schools, clinics and prisons)
hygiene and sanitation
b. Food safety and improved nutrition
c. Indoor air pollution
d. Vector Control
 e. Health and safety of workers

26. The Following statement is not true as of provision of safe and ample
water supply for drinking and personal hygiene of students and staff:
a. About 40 liters per student per day of water in boarding school,
and 3-5 liters per student per day (excluding toilet flush and bathing)
in day school should be provided.
b. A water tap at the rate of 3 per 150 children should be provided.
c. Pupils should be prohibited from using common drinking cup to
prevent the transmission of communicable diseases.
27. The following conditions directly or indirectly are responsible for the
occurrence of substandard housing:
a. With the movement of people to cities, urban areas are congested,
and desirable housing becomes unattainable.
b. Inadequate transportation facilities to and from work place
makes it necessary for any people to accept less desirable housing, in
the cities, closer to their work places.
c. Low income to afford satisfactory housing.
d. Slow measures by the local governmental units, to control
potential problems, and lack of integrated efforts to control the
problem
e. All of the above.
28. Following statements are not true about Level of Noise (in Decibels)
recommended at office, dwelling, and sleeping rooms:
a. Offices less than 30
b. Dwellings less than 50
c. Sleeping room less than 35
 29. Following are sources of infections in the prison:
a. Some prisoners may join the prison with apparent or inapparent
infection from outside & infect healthy ones.
b. Infection that originate in the prison itself because of poor
environment (Poor housing, inadequate ventilation, overcrowding,
malnutrition, poor hygiene due to lack of facilities, inadequate water
supply, etc).
c. All of the above

Section 2: True or False Statements (13 Marks)

1. If you have to evacuate the workplace during an emergency, ensure that

you take all of your personal belongings before evacuating the building
(True/False)
2. The safety and wellbeing of people in the workplace also includes guests
and customers of the workplace. (True/False)
3. When providing a safe working environment for staff, employers must
eliminate all risks to health and safety. (True/False)
4. One the factors affecting the successful outcome of Occupational safety
is lack of accessibility of Occupational health services (True/False)
5. Engineering controls act on the source of the hazard and control
employee exposure to the hazard without relying on the employee to
take self-protective action or intervention (True/False)
6. The main health hazards that are potential problem in the hospital
setting are bacterial infections caused by streptococcus and
staphylococcus, and viral infections such as hepatitis B.(True or False)
7. Dry heat is used to sterilize surgical supplies and equipment, syringe,
textile products, and rubber gloves. Autoclaves are preferred for
sterilizing needles and sharp cutting instruments. (True or False)
8. Incineration (for combustible wastes) and burying or controlled tipping
(for non-combustible wastes, wet wastes due to body discharges and
still births) are the best methods of disposal of infectious wastes in the
health institutions. (True or False)
9. Blighted area is an area, which is undesirable only for residential,
agricultural, commercial, industrial (True or False)
10. Control of communicable diseases is part of school health
programs therefore the teacher should note signs and symptoms of
illness among pupils attempt should be made to diagnose the specific
disease or to treat the illness, the teacher should be able alert to such
evident signs as flushed face, rash, difficulty breathing, abnormal cough,
chills, fever, headache and diarrhea.(True or False)
11. Substandard housing is particularly the problem of urban areas,
while the formation of slum area predominates in both rural and urban
and settings. (True or False)
12. The central objectives of sanitation in hospitals are aimed only at
maintaining a high degree of effective sterilization techniques in order
to prevent nosocomial infections. (True or False)
13. To evaluate noise level in homes during visits or inspection, the
sanitarian checks whether certain sources of noise can simply interfere
with one’s attention in the home that is performing some tasks
deserving concentration such as reading and carrying normal
conversation. (True or False)
Section 3: Answer the following questions (58Marks)

1. Name at least 4 occupational settings in which workers can be exposed to

ionizing radiation (4 marks)
1. Health facilities
2. Research institution
3. Nuclear power plant and other uranium fuel cycle facilities and
their support facilities
4. Nuclear weapon production facilities

2. List the basic elements in an occupational setting (4 Marks)

The basic elements in an occupational setting such as a manufacturing plant,
industry, or offices are four. These are:

1. The worker
2. The tool
3. The process
4. The work environment
3. Outline the main reasons why workers in developing countries are at great
risk of Occupational hazards (4 Marks)
In general, workers are at greater risk of occupational hazards for a
variety of reasons because of low education and literacy rates;
unfamiliarity with work processes and exposures, inadequate
training, predisposition not to complain about working conditions or
exposures because of jobs, whether or not they are hazardous, are
relatively scarce; high prevalence of endemic (mainly infections)
diseases and malnutrition; inadequate infrastructure and human
resources to diagnose, treat, and prevent work - related diseases and
injuries.

4. Explain why Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be considered

as a last resort in the control of Occupational health hazards (4 Marks)

It provides barrier between wearer and hazards may fail with little non
warning

5. Outline the means of controlling exposure to ionizing radiation(6Marks)

 As low as reasonably achievable ALARA
Time
Distance
Shielding

6. List 2 hazards that you may find in the following workplaces (8 Marks)
a. Office noise, ergonomic hazards, ventilation, psychosocial
b. Farm pesticide, bovis anthrax
c. Building sites ergonomic vibration nose dust light
d. Hospitals

7. What can employees do to show that they are fulfilling their duty of
ensuring their safety at work? (3 Marks) people claim source of hazard,
report of source of hazard

8. Explain different types of inspections for food establishment (10 Marks)

Routine inspection is unannounced and occurs at frequency based

priority rating
Complaints types of inspection conduct as the result of complaints
received are unannounced focus on issues complain up on
New establishment is open inspection where facility receive licensure
and ok to begin food services operation
follow up occur after facility has been placed in non-compliance from
previous inspection take place within two weeks from initial
inspection depend on severity of violence
Construction inspection occur during construction phase of food
establishment it ensures that physical facility requirements of
establishment are being met

9. With Examples explain this term “Hand washing at critical times” ( 5

Marks)

After use of toilet

Before and after breast feeding

Before and after eating

Before and after handling food

After touching any body part

10. What are the aim of prison health services ( 4 Marks)

To solve immediate physical and mental health problem of prisoners
To teach prisoners the basic principles of health living
To prevent the infection diseases specially the chronic ones such as TB
To advise prison administrator on health and environment conditions of
prison

11. What are Strategies solving health problems that may arise in prisons
(6 Marks)

Discus and convince prison administrators to actively participate in the

planning and implementation of health activities in the prison
environment
Organize the prisoners and form health committee to clean their
environment on regular basis
Give Continuous health education in language the prisoners understand
which is useful for them
to solve their immediate health problem
Treat cases and do follow up to ensure relief, recovery and cure
Screening the prisoners for any communicable disease before assigning
cells when they first arrived at the prisons
Regular inspection of prison environment for any actual or potential
sources of health risks

GOOD LUCK