MPH Global Health & Disease Prevention 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as:
- The absence of disease and infirmity
- A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease (Correct answer)
- Optimal functioning of all organ systems
- Access to quality health care services
Correct answer: A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease
WHO's 1948 definition of health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being — a positive, holistic conception beyond mere absence of disease.
Question 2: The epidemiological transition refers to:
- The shift from hospital-based to community-based care
- A change in the leading causes of morbidity and mortality from infectious to chronic non-communicable diseases (Correct answer)
- The movement of disease surveillance from local to global systems
- Migration patterns that change disease distribution worldwide
Correct answer: A change in the leading causes of morbidity and mortality from infectious to chronic non-communicable diseases
The epidemiological transition describes how populations shift from high infectious disease mortality to predominance of chronic NCDs as development and living conditions improve.
Question 3: Which intervention is credited with the global eradication of smallpox?
- Antibiotic treatment
- Mass vaccination campaigns (Correct answer)
- Water sanitation programs
- Quarantine of affected regions
Correct answer: Mass vaccination campaigns
Smallpox was eradicated in 1980 through a WHO-coordinated global vaccination campaign using the ring vaccination strategy to surround and contain outbreaks.
Question 4: The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study uses 'DALYs' to measure:
- Deaths attributable to lifestyle factors
- Years of healthy life lost due to illness, disability, and premature death (Correct answer)
- Direct economic costs of disease at the population level
- Disease incidence rates across global regions
Correct answer: Years of healthy life lost due to illness, disability, and premature death
DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) combine years of life lost to premature death with years lived with disability, providing a comprehensive disease burden measure.
Question 5: 'Herd immunity' is achieved when:
- All individuals in a population are vaccinated
- A sufficient proportion of the population is immune to prevent sustained transmission (Correct answer)
- The most vulnerable individuals are protected through treatment
- A pathogen mutates to become less virulent
Correct answer: A sufficient proportion of the population is immune to prevent sustained transmission
Herd immunity occurs when enough people are immune — through vaccination or prior infection — to interrupt ongoing transmission and protect even unvaccinated individuals.
Question 6: Primary prevention of disease focuses on:
- Early detection of disease through screening
- Preventing disease occurrence before it develops (Correct answer)
- Reducing disability in those already diagnosed
- Rehabilitation after illness
Correct answer: Preventing disease occurrence before it develops
Primary prevention aims to stop disease from occurring by addressing risk factors or providing protective exposures such as vaccines and health education.
MPH Global Health & Disease Prevention 1
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as: