Public health policy and management MCQs, Master of

Public Health
What is Public Health Policy?
Public health policy is defined as the laws, regulations, actions, and decisions
implemented within society in order to promote wellness and ensure that specific
health goals are met. Public health policies can range from formal legislation to
community outreach efforts. Public health policy plays a role in multiple sectors,
including:
 Health care
 Insurance
 Education
 Agriculture
 Business
 And more.
A clear public health policy definition can be hard to pin down due to its
multidisciplinary nature. However, at the core of all public health policy is a
singular mission towards health.
Organizations such as the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and other governmental and non-
governmental agencies play a large role in public health policy. These
organizations perform research and implement education and health initiatives for
a population—creating laws and policies that ensure the society has nutritious food
to eat, clean water to drink, vaccines for the sick, and access to health care.

The Importance of Public Health Policy

Public health policy is crucial because it brings the theory and research of public
health into the practical world. Public health policies create action from research
and find widespread solutions to previously identified problems.

As a public health policy official, you are responsible for initiating strategies and
policies around both health intervention and prevention. To allow your target
population to flourish, you must address not only physical health, but mental,
social, and economic well-being as well.

Public Health Policy Examples

Before public health policies are implemented, policymakers and officials will go
through an extensive research process to determine what public health issues need
to be addressed and formulate the best subsequent solutions. Here are a few
common public health policies that have become a core part of society today:

Food Safety Policy: Food safety policies are very important to the general health of
individuals and people in society. Food-related illnesses are a significant concern,
and it is the job of public health officials to formulate policies to ensure that only
food that is safe for consumption is made available for the public.

Tobacco Use: Many public health officials have put measures in place to reduce
the risks of deaths and illnesses caused by tobacco consumption and smoking.
Some of these policies include increasing tobacco prices and creating tobacco-free
areas in communities to protect non-smokers from the effects of secondary
smoking.

HIV: Public health policy plays an important role in educating the public about
HIV prevention, how to live with the virus, treatment options, and preventing
stigma. Public health policies, including increased access to testing, birth control,
and medicine, have been implemented to drastically reduce the impact and spread
of the virus in various communities.

Alcohol: Alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of vehicular accidents,

violence, sexual assault, health complications, and more. Public health policies are
crucial in the fight to curtail alcohol dependence and reduce its negative effects on
users. Policies on alcohol differ depending on the community, but the most
common example is age restrictions in the consumption and purchase of alcohol.

With a Master of Public Health Degree, graduates can pursue careers in

government agencies, healthcare organizations, non-profits, higher education, and
more. Students will use their knowledge of public health assessment and solutions
to promote a healthier society and world at large.

Through intensive study and expert curriculum, the Columbia Mailman School of
Public Health’s MPH program provides students with the critical skills and
knowledge to tackle a wide range of health challenges in society.

Begin your public health career today by visiting our Master of Public Health
program page. For more information on public health news, trends, and research,
visit our blog.

Since 1922, the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health has led the charge in
public health research, education, and community collaboration. We tackle today's
pressing public health issues and translate research into action. Learn more about
our public health degree programs.

1. The purpose is to limit the incidence of

disease by controlling causes and risk factors
A. Primordial prevention
B. Primary prevention
C. Secondary prevention
D. Tertiary prevention
Answer: B
2. The property of a test to identify the
proportion of truly ill persons in a population
who are identified as ill by a screening test
A. Sensitivity
B. Specificity
C. Positive predictive value
D. Negative predictive value
Answer: A
3. The probability of a persons having the
disease when the test is positive
A. Sensitivity
B. Specificity
C. Positive predictive value
D. Negative predictive value
Answer: C
4. The extent to which a test is measuring what
it is intended to measure
A. Reliability
B. Validity
C. Sensitivity
D. Specificity
Answer: B
5. A study that measures the number of persons
with influenza in a calendar year
A. Cohort study
B. Case control
C. Cross sectional
D. Case report
Answer: C
6. Stage by which the presence of factors favors
the occurrence of disease
A. Stage of susceptibility
B. Stage of presymptomatic disease
C. Stage of clinical disease
D. Stage of disability
Answer: A
7. Modes of horizontal transmission of disease,
except
A. Contact
B. Vector
C. Common Vehicle
D. Genetic
Answer: D
8. An infected person is less likely to encounter
a susceptible person when a large proportion of
the members of the group are immune
A. Active immunity
B. Passive immunity
C. Herd immunity
D. Specific immunity
Answer: C
9. Occurrence in the community of a number of
cases of disease that is unusually large or
unexpected
A. Endemic
B. Epidemic
C. Pandemic
D. Infection
Answer: B
10. Measures of central tendency, except
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Variance
Answer: D
11. Range of values surrounding the estimate
which has a specified probability of including
the true population values
A. Standard deviation
B. Standard error
C. Confidence interval
D. Correlation coefficient
Answer: C
12. The probability of rejecting the null
hypothesis when it is true
A. Type 1 error
B. Type 2 error
C. Power of a statistical test
D. Level of significance
Answer: A
13. The following are measures of disease
frequency, except
A. Incidence rate
B. Prevalence
C. Cumulative incidence
D. Relative risk
Answer: D
14. The proportion of cases of a specified
disease or condition which are fatal within a
specified time
A. Morbidity rate
B. Case fatality rate
C. Proportionate mortality
D. Death rate
Answer: B
15. The relation between exposure and disease
is considered to be causal or etiological in the
following, except
A. Dose response relation
B. Cessation of exposure
C. Temporal relation
D. No confounding
Answer: D
16. A study that measures the incidence of a
disease
A. Case report
B. Cross sectional
C. Case control
D. Cohort
Answer: D
17. A study wherein bias is less likely to occur
A. Case report
B. Cross sectional
C. Case control
D. Cohort
Answer: D
18. The proportion of disease incidence that can
be attributed to a specific exposure
A. Relative risk
B. Odds ratio
C. Attributable risk
D. Potential risk
Answer: C
19. All of the following are potential benefits of
a randomized clinical trial, except
A. The likelihood that the study groups will be
comparable is increased
B. Self-selection for a particular treatment is
eliminated
C. External validity of the study is increased
D. Assignment of the next subject cannot be
predicted
Answer: C
20. Recall is an example of what type of bias
A. Selection bias
B. Information bias
C. Confounding
D. Systematic
Answer: B
21. Type of design where both exposure and
disease are determined simultaneously for each
subject
A. Case study
B. Cross sectional study
C. Case control study
D. Cohort study
Answer: B
22. A study is conducted to determine the
proportion of persons in the population with
PTB using AFB sputum for diagnosis
A. Case study
B. Cross sectional study
C. Case control study
D. Cohort study
Answer: B
23. Randomization is the best approach in
designing a clinical trial in order to
A. Achieve predictability
B. Achieve unpredictability
C. Achieve blinding
D. Limit confounding
Answer: B
24. Type of sampling whereby subjects are
assigned according to a factor that would
influence the outcome of a study
A. Simple random sampling
B. Systematic sampling
C. Stratified random sampling
D. Cluster sampling
Answer: C
25. The extent to which a specific health care
treatment, service, procedure, program, or other
intervention produces a beneficial result under
ideal controlled conditions is its
A. Effectiveness
B. Efficacy
C. Efficiency
D. Effect modification
Answer: B
26. Leading cause of Diarrheal disease
A. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
B.Salmonella (non-typhoid)
C.Rotavirus
D. Campylobacter jejuni
Answer: C
37. Mammography should be done annually in
women of what age?
A. 50 years old. and above
B. 60 years old and above
C. 45 years old and above
D. 30 years old and above
Answer: A
28. APGAR family assessment is interpreted by
means of
A. Scoring
B. Comparing with a standard table
C. Using a scale of wellness
D. Consultation with a family psychologist
Answer: A
Epidemiology.
Epidemiology is defined as the distribution and determinants of disease frequency
or health events in man. Modern day epidemiology is different from the earlier
period where it just referred to as study of epidemics. It now includes
comprehensive methods for control of diseases, including non-communicable
diseases. Distribution refers to the time; place and person characteristics of disease
while the determinants (what determines disease) are generally characterized as
agent, host and environmental factors. Since freedom from disease allows an
individual to remain healthy, it is also important to find out how and why
individuals do not suffer from disease and remain healthy. Such analyses will help
in finding solutions to disease and maintaining good health. 
What are the uses of epidemiology?
The major uses of epidemiology are: a. To assess the magnitude or burden of
disease in a community. It, therefore, helps in studying the occurrence of disease in
a population. b. To assess the health status of communities. It, therefore, helps in
establishing a community diagnosis. c. To search for determinants of disease. To
find out how and why disease is caused is a major use of epidemiology. d. To
estimate an individual’s risks and chances of suffering from a disease and to
establish the prognosis in an individual suffering from disease. e. To plan
comprehensive health services, including specific strategies and ways and means
of implementation. f. To evaluate strategies and interventions for disease control.
Such evaluation helps in identifying weaknesses and to suggest remedial measures
for the future. Evaluation of costs and benefits or effectiveness of specific
interventions is also an integral use. g. To complete the natural history of disease.
In a hospital setting only the terminal cases are seen and how disease starts and
presents in its initial stages is only possible by studying disease in the community.
h. To forecast future disease trends. i.To identify syndromes.