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Question 0

What does prevalence mean?

Answer 0

The number of people with a disease in a population

Question 1

What is an incidence rate?

Answer 1

The number of new cases of a disease per thousand people per year (or person-years)

Question 2

How is an incidence rate ratio calculated?

Answer 2

Rate B (exposed) / Rate A (unexposed)

Rate B = no. of new cases / population x no. years

Same formula for Rate A

Question 3

What can an IRR be used to find out?

Answer 3

The aetiology of a disease

The effects of two treatments

Question 4

What is a confounding factor?

Answer 4

Something that is associated with both the outcome and the exposure of interest, but is not on the causal pathway between outcome and exposure

Question 5

What is a census?

Answer 5

The simultaneous recording of demographic data by the government at a particular time pertaining to all the persons who live in a particular territory.

Question 6

What can a census be used to find out?

Answer 6

• The rates of different things within populations
• Population structure and therefore service needs
• Population characteristics eg measures of deprivation such as unemployment, overcrowding, lone pensioners, single parents and lack of basic amenities

Question 7

What is the crude birth rate?

Answer 7

The number of live births per thousand population

Question 8

What is the general fertility rate?

Answer 8

Number of live births per thousand females aged 15-44

Question 9

What is the total period fertility rate?

Answer 9

The average number of children that would be born to a hypothetical woman in her life time.

Question 10

How is the total period fertility rate calculated?

Answer 10

The sum of all the current age-specific fertility rates.

Question 11

What is a use of the crude birth rate?

Answer 11

Describes the impact of births on population size

Question 12

What is the use of a general fertility rate?

Answer 12

Can compare fertility of fertile female populations.

Question 13

What is the use of total period fertility rate?

Answer 13

Compare fertility of fertile females without being influenced by age group structure

Question 14

What is fecundity and what increases and decreases it?

Answer 14

The physical ability to reproduce

Decreased by sterilisation and hysterectomies.

Question 15

What is fertility and what increases it or decreases it?

Answer 15

The realisation of the potential to reproduce
Increased by sexual activity and a better economic climate
Decreased by contraception and abortion

Question 16

What is a crude death rate?

Answer 16

The number of deaths per thousand in a population.

Question 17

What is the age-specific death rate?

Answer 17

The number of deaths per thousand people within a given age group

Question 18

What is a standardised mortality ratio?

Answer 18

Compares observed number of deaths with expected number of deaths if age-sex distribution of populations were identical.

Question 19

How would you interpret an SMR?

Answer 19

100 means there is no increased risk

>100 means there is a greater risk in the study population

Question 20

Why measure birth rates?

Answer 20

So that general and maternity services can be provided

Question 21

Why record mortality data?

Answer 21

Planning
Public health monitoring
Research
Healthcare needed

Question 22

Define morbidity

Answer 22

Any departure, subjective or objective, from a state of physiological or psychological well-being.

Question 23

Why have cancer registration?

Answer 23

Incidence, prevalence and survival with time
Effectiveness of cancer prevention and screening
Evaluate quality and outcomes of cancer care
Evaluate environmental and social factors on cancer risk
Support genetic counselling services