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Population Health and Epidemiology Flashcards

7 cards from real MCCQE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Population Health and Epidemiology flashcards as text

  1. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommends against routine PSA screening for prostate cancer in average-risk men primarily because:

    Answer: Benefits of screening are outweighed by harms including overdiagnosis and overtreatment

    High rates of overdiagnosis and overtreatment (incontinence, impotence) from PSA screening outweigh modest mortality benefits in average-risk men.

  2. Social determinants of health refer to:

    Answer: The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age

    Social determinants encompass the broader social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health outcomes across populations.

  3. In an outbreak investigation, the epidemic curve shows a sharp peak with cases clustered within one incubation period. This pattern most suggests:

    Answer: A common-source point exposure

    A sharp unimodal peak with cases within one incubation period is characteristic of a point-source outbreak with simultaneous exposure.

  4. Which of the following best represents secondary prevention?

    Answer: Mammography screening for breast cancer

    Secondary prevention involves screening to detect disease at an early, asymptomatic stage, enabling earlier treatment.

  5. A meta-analysis pools results from 15 RCTs. Significant heterogeneity is detected (I² = 75%). The most appropriate next step is to:

    Answer: Explore sources of heterogeneity through subgroup analysis or meta-regression

    High heterogeneity (I² > 50%) warrants investigation of clinical or methodological reasons through subgroup analysis or meta-regression.

  6. Standardized mortality ratio (SMR) is used to:

    Answer: Compare observed deaths in a study population to expected deaths based on a reference population

    SMR = observed deaths / expected deaths × 100; an SMR > 100 indicates excess mortality compared to the reference population.

  7. Which of the following is an example of tertiary prevention?

    Answer: Stroke rehabilitation to minimize disability

    Tertiary prevention reduces the impact of established disease by restoring function and minimizing complications.