Social health programmes and community participation MCQs With Answer

Introduction

Social health programmes and community participation are essential topics for B. Pharm students, linking pharmacy practice with public health outcomes. This introduction covers program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of initiatives such as immunization, DOTS, mass drug administration and NCD control, emphasizing community engagement, social mobilization, IEC/BCC, and primary healthcare. Pharmacists contribute in drug supply, cold-chain management, adherence support, pharmacovigilance and promoting rational drug use within community settings. Understanding indicators, participatory methods, barriers, ethics and roles in multidisciplinary teams prepares pharmacy students for effective involvement in population-level health interventions. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. What best defines community participation in social health programmes?

• Financial contribution by donors only
• Passive receipt of services without feedback
• Active involvement of community members in planning, implementation and evaluation
• Exclusive professional-led decision making

Correct Answer: Active involvement of community members in planning, implementation and evaluation

Q2. Which of the following is a primary objective of social health programmes?

• Maximizing profit for private stakeholders
• Improving population health through prevention, promotion and equitable access
• Limiting access to essential medicines
• Centralizing all health decisions at tertiary hospitals

Correct Answer: Improving population health through prevention, promotion and equitable access

Q3. Which framework describes increasing levels of citizen power in participation (from manipulation to citizen control)?

• Health Belief Model
• Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation
• Stages of Change model
• Donabedian Framework

Correct Answer: Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation

Q4. Which role is most specific to pharmacists within community immunization programmes?

• Designing surgical procedures
• Maintaining cold chain and ensuring vaccine potency
• Conducting community-level vector control
• Performing diagnostic imaging

Correct Answer: Maintaining cold chain and ensuring vaccine potency

Q5. For most routine vaccines, what is the recommended storage temperature range for the cold chain?

• -20°C to -10°C
• 2°C to 8°C
• 15°C to 25°C
• 30°C to 40°C

Correct Answer: 2°C to 8°C

Q6. Which of the following is NOT a core component of the DOTS strategy for TB control?

• Standardized short-course chemotherapy under supervision
• Regular, uninterrupted drug supply
• Mandatory hospitalization of all TB patients for the entire treatment
• Standardized recording and reporting system

Correct Answer: Mandatory hospitalization of all TB patients for the entire treatment

Q7. IEC in community health stands for:

• Information, Education and Communication
• Immunization, Evaluation and Control
• Investment, Equity and Care
• Integration, Elimination and Cure

Correct Answer: Information, Education and Communication

Q8. Which indicator best represents service coverage in a vaccination programme?

• Number of health workers trained
• Percentage of target population receiving the vaccine
• Monthly vaccine wastage at cold chain stores
• Number of promotional leaflets printed

Correct Answer: Percentage of target population receiving the vaccine

Q9. Mass drug administration (MDA) is commonly used to control which condition?

• Acute appendicitis
• Lymphatic filariasis
• Type 1 diabetes
• Fracture management

Correct Answer: Lymphatic filariasis

Q10. Pharmacovigilance in community health programmes primarily focuses on:

• Marketing new drugs to the community
• Monitoring and reporting adverse drug reactions and ensuring safe use
• Promoting traditional healers over modern medicines
• Reducing vaccine coverage deliberately

Correct Answer: Monitoring and reporting adverse drug reactions and ensuring safe use

Q11. Which community health worker is commonly recognized for mobilizing households and facilitating grassroots participation in many national health programmes?

• Cardiothoracic surgeon
• Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)
• Radiologist
• Pharmacy stock clerk from tertiary hospital

Correct Answer: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

Q12. A major barrier to meaningful community participation is:

• High literacy and awareness
• Strong community leadership
• Lack of trust between community and health providers
• Availability of local health volunteers

Correct Answer: Lack of trust between community and health providers

Q13. Which of the following is a social determinant of health that community programmes should address?

• Individual genetic mutation
• Household income and education level
• Availability of CT scanners in tertiary hospitals
• Pharmacokinetic profile of a drug

Correct Answer: Household income and education level

Q14. An outcome indicator in programme evaluation measures:

• Inputs such as number of vaccines supplied
• Immediate activities like training sessions conducted
• Changes in health status or coverage among the target population
• Budget allocation documents

Correct Answer: Changes in health status or coverage among the target population

Q15. Informed consent in community health interventions primarily ensures:

• Covert enrollment of participants
• Voluntary participation with understanding of risks and benefits
• Mandatory participation for all households
• Exemption from reporting adverse events

Correct Answer: Voluntary participation with understanding of risks and benefits

Q16. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is used for:

• Top-down imposition of health plans without community input
• Rapid community diagnosis using participatory mapping and analysis
• Laboratory-based diagnostic confirmation only
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing quality control

Correct Answer: Rapid community diagnosis using participatory mapping and analysis

Q17. Which financing mechanism commonly supports sustained primary health programmes at community level?

• Out-of-pocket payments as the only source
• Blend of government funding, donor support and local contributions
• International loans with no local engagement
• Sole dependence on private pharmaceutical sales

Correct Answer: Blend of government funding, donor support and local contributions

Q18. Behavior Change Communication (BCC) strategies in community programmes aim to:

• Dump health messages without context
• Change unhealthy behaviors through targeted, culturally appropriate communication
• Replace clinical services entirely
• Only collect data without acting on it

Correct Answer: Change unhealthy behaviors through targeted, culturally appropriate communication

Q19. Community-based surveillance contributes to early detection by:

• Relying only on hospital reports
• Engaging community volunteers to report unusual events and symptoms
• Delaying reporting until a formal investigation is completed
• Ignoring non-communicable disease signals

Correct Answer: Engaging community volunteers to report unusual events and symptoms

Q20. Pharmacists supporting mass drug administration (MDA) should prioritize:

• Offering unregulated alternate medicines
• Assuring drug quality, correct dosing, documentation and adherence counseling
• Skipping adverse event monitoring
• Refusing to participate due to workload

Correct Answer: Assuring drug quality, correct dosing, documentation and adherence counseling

Q21. Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) is a metric that:

• Measures only economic costs of illness
• Combines years of life lost and years lived with disability to quantify disease burden
• Counts only infectious disease cases
• Is used only for laboratory quality assessment

Correct Answer: Combines years of life lost and years lived with disability to quantify disease burden

Q22. In impact evaluation of a community programme, which design feature is most important to attribute change to the intervention?

• Use of baseline and endline measurements with a comparison group where possible
• Relying solely on anecdotal success stories
• Measurement only after the programme ends
• Changing outcome definitions mid-evaluation

Correct Answer: Use of baseline and endline measurements with a comparison group where possible

Q23. Which of the following is an effective social mobilization activity to raise awareness at community level?

• Closed-door expert meetings only
• Street plays, community meetings and school programs
• Restricting information to radio advertisements in foreign language
• Limiting engagement to digital-only campaigns in areas without internet

Correct Answer: Street plays, community meetings and school programs

Q24. What increases sustainability of community health programmes?

• External management without local input
• Community ownership, local capacity building and integration into existing systems
• Short-term one-off campaigns only
• Dependence on temporary volunteers with no training

Correct Answer: Community ownership, local capacity building and integration into existing systems

Q25. Health systems strengthening to support community programmes typically includes which element?

• Ignoring workforce development
• Investing in human resources, supply chains and information systems
• Removing primary care and focusing only on tertiary facilities
• Eliminating monitoring and evaluation

Correct Answer: Investing in human resources, supply chains and information systems

Q26. Promoting rational drug use at community level often involves:

• Encouraging over-the-counter antibiotic misuse
• Implementing an essential medicines list, guidelines and patient counseling
• Withholding information on side effects
• Discouraging adherence to chronic medications

Correct Answer: Implementing an essential medicines list, guidelines and patient counseling

Q27. Intersectoral coordination for vector-borne disease control should ideally involve which sector besides health?

• Only the pharmaceutical industry
• Municipal or environmental services for sanitation and water management
• Space exploration agencies
• International luxury brands

Correct Answer: Municipal or environmental services for sanitation and water management

Q28. Supportive supervision in community programmes primarily aims to:

• Punish frontline workers publicly
• Mentor, enhance skills, solve problems and improve performance
• Replace local staff with external contractors
• Reduce community feedback mechanisms

Correct Answer: Mentor, enhance skills, solve problems and improve performance

Q29. Which ethical consideration is particularly relevant when running drug distribution camps in communities?

• Distributing drugs without label or instructions
• Ensuring informed consent, clear dosing instructions and reporting adverse events
• Prioritizing sales over safety
• Refusing to document who receives medicines

Correct Answer: Ensuring informed consent, clear dosing instructions and reporting adverse events

Q30. Which monitoring indicator would best reflect program quality for community drug distribution?

• Total number of pamphlets printed regardless of distribution
• Proportion of patients receiving correct dose with recorded follow-up and adverse event reporting
• Number of celebrity endorsements
• Length of campaign banners

Correct Answer: Proportion of patients receiving correct dose with recorded follow-up and adverse event reporting

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