Public Health & Epidemiology: Exam I

Chapter 1

True/False
1. True or False? Unless something unusual happens, like the outbreak of Cryptosporidium in the
Milwaukee water supply, people assume that they are basically safe.
2. True or False? Even when public health scientists are certain they know all about the causes of
a problem and what should be done about it, a political decision is generally necessary before
action can be taken to solve it.
3. True or False? As biomedical and environmental sciences have conquered many of the
diseases that killed people of previous generations, people in modern societies are dying of
diseases caused by their behavior and the social environment.

Multiple Choice
4. In the mid-19th century, what was the single largest cause of death?
A) Smallpox
B) Typhoid
C) Cholera
D) Tuberculosis

5. The discovery of which of the following allowed medicine to gain the power to work miracles
of healing, leading to a period of rapidly growing influence?
A) Immunizations
B) Antibiotics
C) Stem cells
D) Monoclonal antibodies

6. What type of prevention seeks to minimize the severity of the illness or the damage due to an
injury-causing event once the event has occurred?
A) Primary prevention
B) Secondary prevention
C) Tertiary prevention
D) Quaternary prevention

Fill-in-the-Blank

7. The mission of ___________ health is the fulfillment of society’s interest in ensuring the
conditions in which people can be healthy.

8. As part of the ___________________ function, public health seeks to understand the medical
care system in an area of study generally referred to as health policy and management or health
administration, which also includes the administration and functioning of the public health
system.

9. Concern about runaway costs, lack of access, and questionable quality of care has led to an
increasing interest in studying the medical care system and its effectiveness, efficiency, and
equity, leading to a science called health ________________ research.

10. __________collects data that serves as diagnostic tools to inform experts on how healthy or
sick a society is and where its weaknesses are.

Chapter 2

Fill-in-the-Blank

1. According to Beauchamp, market ____________________ emphasizes individual

responsibility, minimal obligation to the common good, and the fundamental freedom to all
individuals to be left alone.

2. The UCS report put pressure on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote
abstinence-only programs for preventing ____________ pregnancy.
3. And example of __________ is children and young people can be restricted in their behavior
on the basis that they are not yet mature enough to make considered judgments as to their own
best interests.

4. The _____________ omitted an entire climate change section from a major report rather than
compromise its credibility by misrepresenting the scientific consensus.

True/False
5. True or False? In times of economic difficulty, people are often willing to pay short-term
costs in order to obtain a benefit in the long term.

6. True or False? While the government cannot guarantee health and safety for each individual,
its role is to provide for maximum health and safety for the community as a whole.

7. True or False? Public health measures such as sex education in schools and the provision of
contraceptive services are widely accepted by members of certain religious groups who believe
they discourage immoral behavior.

Multiple Choice

8. Public health often arouses controversy on moral grounds, most often when it confronts what
type of issues?
A) Economic issues
B) Legislative issues
C) Sexual and reproductive issues
D) Drug and alcohol issues

9. In 2003, what publication reported that the National Cancer Institute’s website contained
information suggesting that having an abortion increased a woman’s risk of breast cancer?
A) Wall Street Journal
B) Washington Post
C) Chicago Tribune
D) New York Times

10. The Bush administration especially sought to suppress information and to discredit scientific
evidence regarding which of the following issues?
A) Bioterrorism
B) Embryonic stem cells
C) AIDS epidemic
D) Global warming

Chapter 3
Fill-in-the-Blank
1. The Constitution, in the _____________________, includes among the fundamental purposes
of government, “to promote the general welfare.”

2. Congress removed the financial penalty for lack of motorcycle helmet laws in _________.

3. As recently as the late 19th century, milk was commonly watered down, then doctored with
__________________ to make it look normal.

4. ____________ discusses new infectious diseases that occur naturally as well as potential
bioterrorist threats.

Multiple Choice
5. Which of the following is the nation’s leading spokesperson on matters of public health?
A) Secretary of Health and Human Services
B) Chief Justice of the United States
C) Surgeon General of the United States
D) Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6. The first published report that heralded the onset of the AIDS epidemic appeared in what
publication on June 4, 1981?
A) Emerging Infectious Diseases
B) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
C) Future of Public Health
D) New York Times

7. What agency has often been attacked by Congress and often had its policies watered down by
the George W. Bush administration?
A) Food and Drug Administration
B) Department of Education
C) Environmental Protection Agency
D) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

True/False

8. True or False? Individual states have total flexibility in how to administer the Medicaid
program.

9. True or False? Regulation of the food and drug industries has been difficult and controversial
since Massachusetts passed the first American pure-food law in 1784.

10. True or False? Despite the lack of explicit constitutional authority, the federal government
has established a significant presence in public health.
Essay Questions
Select one from each chapter and write an essay on the topic (300-500 words).

Chapter I
• Describe actions that governments have taken to ensure that people are safer and healthier today
than people were 100 years ago.

• What are the three core functions of public health?

• How do these functions compare with the functions of medical care?

• How are the six disciplines of public health used to accomplish the core functions?

• Identify a health problem in your community.

• What are some risk factors associated with the problem?

• Suggest a possible intervention that the community could take to ameliorate the problem.

Chapter II
• Do you agree that the philosophy of social justice is preferable to the philosophy of market
justice?

• Which is likely to lead to greater improvements in public health?

• Choose a specific health problem.

• How might federal, state, and local levels of government divide responsibility for
addressing it?

• Give an example of a measure that would benefit public health but that might be expensive to
implement.

• Who would benefit?

• Who would pay the cost?

• Give an example of a measure that would improve public health but that might limit some
people’s freedom.

• Who would benefit?

• Whose freedom would be limited?

• How far do you believe government should go in advocating and/or enforcing moral behavior?
Chapter III
• Choose a specific health problem.

• How might federal, state, and local levels of government divide responsibility for
addressing it?

• Choose a federal public health agency and visit its website.

• Identify an issue that it is currently dealing with and describe reasons for current concern.

• Discuss any controversies that may be involved in actions that the agency has taken or
might need to take.

• Why is it important for nongovernmental organizations to be involved in public health activities?

• Choose one of the philanthropic foundations. Why is it important?