CBIC Epidemiology 3

Question 1

A foodborne outbreak affects 40 of 100 people who ate potato salad and 10 of 100 who did not. What is the relative risk of illness from eating potato salad?

Accepted Answer

4.0

Answer

Relative risk = attack rate in exposed (40/100 = 0.40) divided by attack rate in unexposed (10/100 = 0.10) = 4.0, indicating a fourfold higher risk in those who ate the potato salad.

Question 2

Which term describes the systematic, ongoing collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data essential to planning, implementing, and evaluating public health practice?

Accepted Answer

Public health surveillance

Answer

Public health surveillance is the continuous, systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to guide timely public health action.

Question 3

In a prospective cohort study of SSI risk factors, the loss to follow-up of sicker patients would most likely introduce which type of bias?

Accepted Answer

Selection bias

Answer

Loss to follow-up of sicker patients introduces selection bias because those who leave the study differ systematically from those who remain, distorting the true association between exposures and outcomes.

Question 4

Which generation time concept is critical when modeling person-to-person transmission of a respiratory pathogen in a hospital setting?

Accepted Answer

Serial interval

Answer

The serial interval—the time between symptom onset in a primary case and symptom onset in a secondary case—is critical for modeling transmission dynamics and predicting outbreak trajectories.

Question 5

A study reports an odds ratio of 0.3 for hand hygiene compliance and MRSA transmission. How should this be interpreted?

Accepted Answer

Hand hygiene reduces the odds of MRSA transmission by 70%

Answer

An odds ratio of 0.3 means the odds of MRSA transmission are 70% lower (1 - 0.3 = 0.7) among those with good hand hygiene compliance compared to those without.

CBIC - Certification Board of Infection Control Practice Test

CBIC - Certification Board of Infection Control Practice Test

CBIC Epidemiology 3