CPH EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS
The substance of public health, its core functions, and its essential services must integrate in the
framework of public health performance. Assessment is one of the core suctions of public health as
declared by the institute of medicine. Which of the following activities will be considered in meeting the
essential public health services of this core function? - correct answer ✔✔A. Assessment of community
health needs
B. Investigation of health hazrds and effects
C. Analysis of disease risk factors
D. a and C only
*E. All of above* Correct answer
The Institute of Medicine, in The Future of Public Health landmark release on the mission and vision of
public health, stated categorically that "assurance" is one of the core functions of public health. As a
public health professional assigned to a local health department to direct a newly-created unit for public
health service assurance, which of the following should you expect to be included among your areas of
responsibility? - correct answer ✔✔A. Management resources
B. Implementation of programs
C. Planning and developing policies
*D. a and b only* - Correct answer
E. All of the above
The lessons from the state of California's Tobacco Taxation Program are indicative of the essential role of
policy in disease prevention and health promotion. In 1988, Californian Proposition 99 placed a 25 cent
tax on cigarette packaging ($90 million per year to change social norms/behavior). Ten years later (1999),
there had been a 27% reduction in smoking and a 19% decrease in lung cancer death rates in the state.
Therefore, governmental policies such as taxing tobacco to reduce tobacco smoking among youths who
are most sensitive to price increases are essential for the improvement of population health. Policy
development as a core function of public health embraces all of the following activities except: - correct
answer ✔✔D. Evaluating programs
Public health achievement in the 21st century includes motor vehicle safety. During 1925 there were 18
deaths per million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and in 1997 there were 1.7 deaths per million VMT. The
,decrease in motor vehicle deaths can be attributed primarily to the public health focus on: - correct
answer ✔✔A. Improvements in vehicle safety features
B. Public education on the importance of safety belts
C. Enforcement of traffic laws
D. Improved streets and highways
*E. All of the above* - Correct Answer
In 1990, more than 30% of all deaths occurred among children younger than 5 years old, primarily from
infectious diseases. Today, that thought it staggering. Public health initiatives such as immunizations,
improved sanitation, clean water, and improved food safety have virtually eliminated myriad infectious
diseases, including typhoid and cholera- two major causes of illness and death early in the 20th century.
Which of the following conditions resulted in safe and healthier food? - correct answer ✔✔A.
Refrigeration
B. Pasteurization
C. Healthier animal care, feeding, and processing
D. Improved food supply safety
*E. All of the above* Correct answer
Compared with the 1900s, average life span has increased in the United States as the direct result of
public health initiatives such as vaccinations, sanitation, chlorination, motor vehicle and workplace
safety, and improving people's awareness of the importance of health lifestyle choices. Which of the
following are considered the broad health issues of public health today? - correct answer ✔✔A.
Preventing and controlling disease
B. Keeping our environment clean, healthy, and safe
C. Promoting good health practices
E. None of the above
"D. All of the above* - Correct answer
Clinicians may examine men who are diabetic more often or more thoroughly than men who are not. If
this observation is accurate, and if an association is observed between erectile dysfunction (ED) and
diabetes mellitus in men, the association may be due to which of the following bias? - correct answer
✔✔C. Surveillance bias
,If the relative risk in all subjects differs from the relative risk in the subjects stratified by BMI, which of
the following statements may explain this observation? - correct answer ✔✔A. BMI itself is a factor in
type II DM
B. BMI is related to exercise
C. BMI is a confounder
*D. All of the above* correct answer
E. None of the above
The incidence rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in those who smoke is 400 per
10,000 person-years; in those who are exposed to air pollution, it is 200; and in those with neither
exposure, it is 40. Estimate the incidence rate in those with both exposure, assuming an additive model.
A. 560 per 10,000 person-years
B. 640 per 10,000 person-years
C. 600 per 10,000 person-years
D. 240 per 10,000 person-years
E. 440 per 10,000 person-years - correct answer ✔✔A. 560 per 10,000 person-yearsUsing the additive
model:
Incidence rate in those who smoke = 400 per 10,000 person-years
Incidence rate in those exposed to air pollution = 200 per 10,000 person-years
Incidence rate in those with neither exposure = 40 per 10,000 person-years
Now, to estimate the incidence rate in those with both exposures:
Incidence rate in those with both exposures = (Incidence rate in smokers + Incidence rate in those
exposed to air pollution) - Incidence rate in those with neither exposure
Incidence rate in those with both exposures = (400 + 200) - 40 = 560 per 10,000 person-years
, Assuming that smoke and air pollution exert independent effects on COPD in question 10**, rendering
this joint effect multiplicative, calculate the joint effects of these two variables in the multiplicative
model. - correct answer ✔✔C. 2,000 per 10,000Using the multiplicative model:First, figure
out the Relative Risk (RR) for smoking(400/40) = 10Then, the RR for air pollution(200/40) = 5Lastly, the
joint RR(10x5) = 50Then we multiple the joint relative risk by the baseline rate to get the expected
incidence rate for the joint exposure:40 x 50 = 2,000 per 10,000
In a case-control study relating smoking to cancer of the cervix in women, the investigators found the
crude odds ratio to be 6.6 and the Mantel-Haenzel odds ratio, adjusted for age, to be 6.3. In addition,
their stratified analysis by age indicated the following odds ratio (OR) by the three age groups for
smokers, relative to nonsmokers: (a) age 20-29 years, OR = 27.9; (b) age 30-39 years, OR = 5.9; and (c)
age 40+, OR = 2.8. Based on these results, age is considered to be a (an): - correct answer ✔✔D. Effect
Measure Modifier
Methods for controlling for confounding at the analysis phase of a study include all of the following,
except: - correct answer ✔✔B. Randomization
All of the following are advantages of prospective cohort study, except: - correct answer ✔✔A. Recall
bias is minimized compared to case-control designs
*B. It is relatively inexpensive compare to case-control design*
C. Precise measurement of exposure possible
D. Incidence rate can be estimated
E. A number of disease outcomes can be studied simultaneously
Regarding a case-control design, all of the following are accurate, except: - correct answer ✔✔A. Recall
bias is a potential problem
B. It is possible to have multiple comparison groups