Definitions and determinants of public health MCQs With Answer

Introduction: Public health integrates definitions and determinants to understand how population health is shaped by biological, environmental, social, behavioral, and health system factors. For B.Pharm students, mastering key public health concepts—epidemiology, prevention levels, surveillance, risk factors, health promotion, social determinants, environmental health, and pharmacovigilance—strengthens clinical judgment and community interventions. These keyword-rich MCQs focus on definitions and determinants, measurement of disease (incidence, prevalence, DALY), prevention strategies, screening principles, vaccine concepts, and the pharmacist’s role in public health. Questions progress from core definitions to applied scenarios relevant to pharmacy practice. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. What is the best concise definition of public health?

• The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized community efforts
• Individual clinical care provided in hospitals
• Marketing of pharmaceutical products to consumers
• Private insurance management and billing

Correct Answer: The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized community efforts

Q2. Which determinant of health relates to income, education, occupation and social status?

• Biological determinant
• Environmental determinant
• Social determinant
• Behavioral determinant

Correct Answer: Social determinant

Q3. Incidence rate primarily measures which aspect of disease in a population?

• Total number of existing cases at a point in time
• Number of new cases over a specified time divided by population at risk
• Average duration of disease in survivors
• Proportion of false positives in a test

Correct Answer: Number of new cases over a specified time divided by population at risk

Q4. Prevalence differs from incidence because prevalence indicates:

• Only new cases in a period
• Existing cases (new and old) at a specific time
• Mortality associated with a disease
• Vaccine effectiveness

Correct Answer: Existing cases (new and old) at a specific time

Q5. Which of the following is a biological determinant of health?

• Air pollution levels
• Genetic predisposition to diabetes
• Access to primary care
• Health literacy

Correct Answer: Genetic predisposition to diabetes

Q6. An example of primary prevention is:

• Screening mammography
• Vaccination against measles
• Rehabilitation after stroke
• Insulin therapy for diabetes

Correct Answer: Vaccination against measles

Q7. Secondary prevention primarily aims to:

• Prevent disease occurrence
• Detect disease early and reduce progression
• Restore function after advanced disease
• Control environmental pollution

Correct Answer: Detect disease early and reduce progression

Q8. Tertiary prevention focuses on:

• Health education to prevent exposure
• Early detection of asymptomatic disease
• Rehabilitation and reducing disability from disease
• Surveillance of infectious agents in water

Correct Answer: Rehabilitation and reducing disability from disease

Q9. Which indicator measures years of life lost due to premature mortality?

• Prevalence
• Years of life lost (YLL)
• Odds ratio
• Case-fatality ratio

Correct Answer: Years of life lost (YLL)

Q10. DALY stands for:

• Daily Adjusted Life Years
• Disability-Adjusted Life Years
• Disease-Adjusted Life Years
• Diagnostic Annual Life Yield

Correct Answer: Disability-Adjusted Life Years

Q11. Herd immunity threshold refers to:

• Proportion of immune individuals needed to interrupt disease transmission
• Time needed for vaccine cold chain maintenance
• Number of doses required for individual immunity
• Proportion of false negatives in surveillance

Correct Answer: Proportion of immune individuals needed to interrupt disease transmission

Q12. Passive surveillance is characterized by:

• Active case finding by public health teams
• Routine reporting of cases by healthcare providers
• Population surveys conducted annually
• Environmental sampling of water sources only

Correct Answer: Routine reporting of cases by healthcare providers

Q13. Sensitivity of a screening test indicates:

• Ability to identify true negatives
• Ability to identify true positives
• Proportion of disease in population
• Cost-effectiveness of the test

Correct Answer: Ability to identify true positives

Q14. A high positive predictive value (PPV) depends most on:

• Test sensitivity only
• Test specificity only
• Disease prevalence in the tested population
• Laboratory turnaround time

Correct Answer: Disease prevalence in the tested population

Q15. Bradford Hill criteria are used to assess:

• Laboratory diagnostic accuracy
• Causal association between an exposure and disease
• Costing of health programs
• Pharmacokinetic parameters

Correct Answer: Causal association between an exposure and disease

Q16. Confounding in epidemiology refers to:

• A direct causal relationship between two variables
• An extraneous factor associated with both exposure and outcome that distorts the effect
• A random error due to small sample size
• Measurement precision of an instrument

Correct Answer: An extraneous factor associated with both exposure and outcome that distorts the effect

Q17. Antimicrobial resistance is primarily driven by:

• Appropriate use of vaccines
• Overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals
• High water sanitation standards
• Increased physical activity in the population

Correct Answer: Overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals

Q18. Pharmacovigilance mainly involves:

• Monitoring climate change effects
• Detecting, assessing and preventing adverse drug reactions
• Manufacturing of generic medicines
• Designing hospital architecture

Correct Answer: Detecting, assessing and preventing adverse drug reactions

Q19. Cold chain management is critical for vaccines because:

• Vaccines are stable at any temperature
• Temperature extremes can reduce vaccine potency
• It reduces vaccine cost dramatically
• It shortens the vaccination schedule

Correct Answer: Temperature extremes can reduce vaccine potency

Q20. An outbreak investigation first step is usually:

• Implementing mass vaccination
• Confirming the existence of an outbreak and verifying diagnoses
• Publishing a research paper
• Closing all healthcare facilities

Correct Answer: Confirming the existence of an outbreak and verifying diagnoses

Q21. Social determinants of health include all EXCEPT:

• Educational opportunities
• Genetic mutations inherited from parents
• Employment and working conditions
• Neighborhood safety and housing

Correct Answer: Genetic mutations inherited from parents

Q22. Environmental determinants that affect health commonly include:

• Taste preferences and hobbies
• Air quality, water quality, and chemical exposures
• Individual immune genotype only
• Insurance premiums

Correct Answer: Air quality, water quality, and chemical exposures

Q23. The basic reproduction number (R0) represents:

• Average number of secondary cases produced by one case in a fully susceptible population
• Average incubation period of a disease
• Mortality rate among infected individuals
• Number of vaccine doses needed per person

Correct Answer: Average number of secondary cases produced by one case in a fully susceptible population

Q24. Lead-time bias can affect interpretation of screening programs by:

• Making survival appear longer without changing the natural history
• Increasing test specificity artificially
• Reducing prevalence in the community
• Improving vaccine efficacy estimates

Correct Answer: Making survival appear longer without changing the natural history

Q25. Which is a key role of pharmacists in public health?

• Only dispensing medicines with no patient counseling
• Participating in vaccination, health education, and ADR reporting
• Replacing epidemiologists in outbreak investigations
• Designing surgical procedures

Correct Answer: Participating in vaccination, health education, and ADR reporting

Q26. Screening is most appropriate when the target condition is:

• Rare and rapidly fatal with no effective treatment
• Common, has a detectable preclinical phase, and has effective early treatment
• Only diagnosable at autopsy
• Associated exclusively with genetic markers unavailable to test

Correct Answer: Common, has a detectable preclinical phase, and has effective early treatment

Q27. A measure that compares disease risk in exposed versus unexposed groups is:

• Absolute risk reduction
• Relative risk (risk ratio)
• Number needed to harm
• Prevalence

Correct Answer: Relative risk (risk ratio)

Q28. A pharmacist notices unexpected cluster of adverse reactions after a new drug release; the appropriate public health action is to:

• Ignore and continue dispensing
• Report the events to pharmacovigilance authorities and support investigation
• Increase stock of the drug immediately
• Advertise the medication to increase use

Correct Answer: Report the events to pharmacovigilance authorities and support investigation

Q29. Behavioral determinants of health include:

• Diet, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use
• Soil contamination only
• Genomic sequence variants only
• National GDP figures only

Correct Answer: Diet, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use

Q30. Community diagnosis in public health primarily involves:

• Assessing health needs, resources, and determinants in a population
• Only prescribing medications for individuals
• Building hospital administration offices
• Setting pharmacy prices without data

Correct Answer: Assessing health needs, resources, and determinants in a population

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