NCAS Health Promotion and Education 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which health behavior change model describes five stages through which individuals move when changing a health behavior: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance?
- Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) (Correct answer)
- Health Belief Model
- Social Cognitive Theory
- PRECEDE-PROCEED Model
Correct answer: Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change)
The Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska and DiClemente) describes behavior change as a progression through five distinct stages from not considering change to maintaining new behavior.
Question 2: A community nurse is designing a health education program about hypertension for adults with low health literacy. Which material format is MOST appropriate?
- Simple visuals, large font, and materials written at a 6th-grade reading level (Correct answer)
- Dense medical literature with clinical terminology
- Textbooks with complex charts and statistical tables
- A 90-minute lecture with no visual aids
Correct answer: Simple visuals, large font, and materials written at a 6th-grade reading level
For audiences with low health literacy, materials should use plain language at a 6th-grade level or below, large fonts, and visual aids to ensure understanding.
Question 3: The Health Belief Model proposes that a person will take a health action when they believe:
- They are susceptible to the condition, the condition is serious, and the benefits of action outweigh barriers (Correct answer)
- Their doctor tells them to take action regardless of personal belief
- Other people in their community are taking the action
- The government mandates the health action
Correct answer: They are susceptible to the condition, the condition is serious, and the benefits of action outweigh barriers
The Health Belief Model predicts health action based on perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and cues to action interacting together.
Question 4: Which approach to health education is MOST consistent with the principles of health literacy and patient empowerment?
- Teach-back method: asking patients to explain the information back in their own words (Correct answer)
- One-way lecture from nurse to patient
- Providing written materials only without discussion
- Relying solely on pharmaceutical company pamphlets
Correct answer: Teach-back method: asking patients to explain the information back in their own words
The teach-back method confirms patient understanding by asking them to explain information back, identifying and correcting misunderstandings in real time.
Question 5: In Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, 'self-efficacy' is best defined as:
- A person's confidence in their ability to perform a specific behavior successfully (Correct answer)
- The frequency of a behavior performed in social settings
- External rewards provided to reinforce behavior
- Social norms that pressure behavior change
Correct answer: A person's confidence in their ability to perform a specific behavior successfully
Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their own capability to successfully execute a specific behavior, and it is a central predictor of health behavior change in Social Cognitive Theory.
Question 6: Which level of the socio-ecological model addresses policies and regulations that influence health behavior across entire populations?
- Policy/enabling environment level (Correct answer)
- Individual level
- Interpersonal level
- Community level
Correct answer: Policy/enabling environment level
The policy or enabling environment level of the socio-ecological model addresses laws, regulations, and institutional policies that create structural conditions affecting population health.
NCAS Health Promotion and Education 1
Which health behavior change model describes five stages through which individuals move when changing a health behavior: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance?