Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

CC DFPH > Epi > Flashcards

Epi Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Prevention Paradox?

A

The idea that a policy or intervention that’s good for the population as a whole may only be marginally beneficial for individuals

It is based on the observation that most cases of a disease come from people with low or moderate risk.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Define Evidence Based Medicine.

A

The explicit use of best available evidence for decision making at the level of the individual patient

Challenges include publication bias and time consumption.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is Evidence Based Policy?

A

The use of evidence in policy decision, leading to better and more efficient outcomes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is a Descriptive Study?

A

A study designed only to describe the existing distribution of variables in a population without regard to causal or other hypotheses.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is an Observational Study?

A

An epidemiologic study in which the role of the investigator is to be a mere observer of what happens.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What characterizes an Analytical Study?

A

A study designed to test a hypothesis, generally to examine whether a certain exposure is a risk factor for a particular disease.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is a Case-Control Study?

A

An observational study that starts with the identification of a group of cases and a group of suitable controls, measuring exposure to a risk factor.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is a Nested Case-Control Study?

A

A case-control study in which cases and controls are drawn from the population in a cohort study.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Define Cross-Sectional Study.

A

A study in which information on risk factors and outcomes are measured simultaneously at one point in time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is a Cohort Study?

A

A study in which a group of persons exposed and a group unexposed to a potential risk factor are followed up over time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is a Historical Cohort Study?

A

A cohort study that relies upon data collected in the past.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is an Ecological Study?

A

An epidemiological study where the units of analysis are populations or groups of people rather than individuals.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is a Cluster Randomised Trial?

A

A trial in which groups of individuals (clusters) are randomised, and all individuals within a cluster receive the same intervention.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Define Clinical Trial.

A

An intervention study in which the unit of allocation to different groups is the individual patient.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is a Randomised Clinical Trial?

A

An experimental study in which subjects are randomly allocated to receive or not receive the intervention.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a Single-Blind Trial?

A

A trial in which either the subject or the observer measuring the outcome is unaware of the treatment the subject is receiving.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a Double-Blind Trial?

A

A trial in which neither the subject nor the observer measuring the outcomes know which treatment the subject has received.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is a Crossover Trial?

A

A type of randomised clinical trial in which each subject acts as their own control by receiving at least two different treatments at different times.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is a Factorial Trial?

A

A design of randomised clinical trial in which two or more interventions are compared, either alone or in combination.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is a Field Trial?

A

A trial in which the subjects are members of the general population and not patients.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is a Community Trial?

A

A trial in which the unit of allocation is an entire community.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is a Hospital-Based Study?

A

A study in which the subjects are drawn from a list of patients in a hospital.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Define Prospective Study.

A

A study in which data are collected in an ongoing way during the study.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is a Retrospective Study?

A

A study in which data about the study subjects were collected from past records.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What does a Study of Disease Prognosis estimate?

A

The frequency with which different disease outcomes can be expected to occur.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Define Absolute Risk.

A

A measure of association indicating how much greater the frequency of disease is in the exposed group compared with the unexposed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What are Adjusted Measures?

A

Measures for which the effects of differences in the distribution of confounders have been minimized using statistical techniques.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is the Attack Rate?

A

A cumulative incidence rate usually used for an infectious disease in an epidemic.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What does Attributable Risk indicate?

A

The risk of disease in the exposed group that can be considered attributable to the exposure.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Define Population Attributable Risk.

A

An estimate of the excess risk of disease in the total study population attributable to the exposure.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What is the Case-Fatality Rate?

A

The proportion of cases of a specified condition which are fatal within a specified period of time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What is a Crude Rate?

A

A rate in the total population as a whole, without adjustment for potential confounders.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Define Incidence.

A

The number of new cases of disease that develop in a population of individuals at risk during a specified time interval.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

What is an Odds Ratio?

A

A measure of relative risk comparing the odds of disease in the exposed to the odds of disease in the unexposed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What is Person-Time?

A

A measurement combining number of people and time observed, used as a denominator in the calculation of rates.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Define Period Prevalence.

A

The total number of individuals in a population who had the disease or health event of interest at any time during a specified period.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

What is person-time?

A

A measurement combining number of people and time observed, used as a denominator in the calculation of rates. It represents the sum of each individual’s time at risk, usually expressed as person-years.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Define period prevalence.

A

The total number of individuals in a population who had the disease or health event of interest at any time during a specified (short) period, taken as a proportion of the total population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

What is point prevalence?

A

The number of cases of disease in a population at one point in time, taken as a proportion of the total number of people in that population at the same point in time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

What does proportional mortality ratio indicate?

A

The proportion of observed deaths from a specified condition in a defined population divided by the proportion of deaths expected from this condition in a standard population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

What is the prevalence difference?

A

The absolute difference in the prevalence of disease in those exposed to a putative risk factor and those not exposed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Define prevalence ratio.

A

A measure of the strength of an association; the ratio of the prevalence of the outcome of interest in those exposed to the putative risk factor to the prevalence in the unexposed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

What is a proportion?

A

A type of ratio in which the numerator is included in the denominator, taking values between 0 and 1.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

Define rate.

A

A special type of ratio in which the denominator is expressed in units of person-time at risk.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

What is the rate difference?

A

The absolute difference in incidence rate between a group of individuals exposed to a potential risk factor and a group not exposed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

What is relative risk?

A

Estimates the magnitude of an association between exposure and disease, indicating likelihood of disease development in those exposed relative to those unexposed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

What is standardisation?

A

A set of techniques used to remove the effects of differences in age or other confounding variables when comparing populations.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

What is the standardized mortality ratio (SMR)?

A

The ratio of the number of events observed in the study group to the number expected, allowing for age, sex, and other confounders.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

Define birth rate.

A

A summary rate based on the number of live births in a population over a given period, usually one year.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
50
Q

What is the infant mortality rate (IMR)?

A

A measure of the yearly frequency of deaths in children less than one year old per number of live births in the same year.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
51
Q

What does burden of disease measure?

A

Impact of disease in a population, accounting for number of events and severity/impact on quality of life.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
52
Q

What is the global burden of disease study (GBD)?

A

A comprehensive research program assessing mortality and disability from major diseases, injuries, and risk factors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
53
Q

What is health-adjusted life expectancy?

A

Average number of years a person can expect to live in full health, incorporating information on mortality and health status.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
54
Q

Define number needed to treat (NNT).

A

The number of patients who need to receive a treatment for one patient to benefit with respect to the outcome of interest.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
55
Q

What is negative predictive value?

A

The proportion of people who truly do not have a disease or risk factor out of those with a negative result in a screening test.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
56
Q

What is mass screening?

A

Screening of the whole population.

57
Q

Define positive predictive value.

A

The proportion of people who truly have a disease or risk factor out of those with a positive result in a screening test.

58
Q

What does specificity measure?

A

The proportion of truly non-diseased persons identified correctly by the screening test.

59
Q

What is the basic reproductive rate (R₀)?

A

The expected number of cases directly generated by one case in a fully susceptible population, indicating the transmissibility of an infectious disease.

60
Q

What is herd immunity?

A

The immunity of a group or community based on the resistance to infection of a high proportion of individual members.

61
Q

What is the epidemic threshold?

A

The fraction of the population that must be susceptible for an epidemic to occur.

62
Q

Define attack rate.

A

The proportion of a group that experiences the outcome under study over a given period, used traditionally in outbreak investigations.

63
Q

What is the latent period?

A

The time between exposure to an agent and the infectious period starting.

64
Q

What is bias in study design?

A

Errors that cause a systematic deviation from the truth, leading to consistent differences between recorded values and true values.

65
Q

What is blinding in research?

A

Concealing information about exposure or outcome from participants and observers to reduce bias.

66
Q

What is confounding?

A

A situation where an estimate of the association between an exposure and a disease is distorted due to another associated factor.

67
Q

What is reverse causality?

A

The association where the outcome causes a change in the exposure rather than the other way around.

68
Q

What is confounding?

A

A type of bias causing an observed association where none exists or causing reverse associations.

Confounding can lead to underestimation or overestimation of associations.

69
Q

What is reverse causality?

A

The association between an exposure and an outcome is due to the outcome causing a change in the exposure.

70
Q

What criteria are used to assess true causality?

A

Bradford Hill criteria, after ruling out chance, bias, confounding, and reverse causality.

71
Q

Define ‘control’ in intervention studies.

A

An individual in a comparison group who did not receive the intervention under study.

72
Q

What is a ‘determinant’ in epidemiology?

A

Any factor that brings about a change in a health condition.

73
Q

What is ecological bias?

A

Bias that occurs when results from an ecological study are extrapolated to individuals.

74
Q

Define mediator/intermediate factor.

A

A variable that is on the causal pathway between an exposure and outcome of interest.

75
Q

What is an effect modifier?

A

A factor that modifies the effect of the putative causal factor under study.

76
Q

What does ‘effectiveness’ refer to?

A

The extent to which an intervention does what it is intended to do when applied through a routine delivery system.

77
Q

What is the difference between efficacy and effectiveness?

A

Efficacy refers to the extent an intervention works under ideal conditions; effectiveness refers to its performance in real-world settings.

78
Q

What is equipoise?

A

A state of genuine uncertainty about the benefits or harms that may result from different exposures or interventions.

79
Q

What characterizes an epidemic?

A

The occurrence of an illness or health-related event sharply exceeding what is normally expected in a defined population.

80
Q

Who are the ‘exposed’ in epidemiology?

A

Individuals who have been exposed to a putative cause of a disease or condition of interest.

81
Q

Fill in the blank: The relationship in which a change in exposure is associated with a change in risk is called the _______.

A

exposure-response relationship.

82
Q

What is genetic epidemiology?

A

The study of the role of genetic factors and their interaction with environmental factors in disease occurrence.

83
Q

What is a genome-wide association study (GWAS)?

A

A study analyzing numerous genetic variants across the genome to measure differences associated with a disease.

84
Q

Define generalizability.

A

The extent to which findings are applicable to populations other than that studied.

85
Q

What is the healthy worker effect?

A

A type of selection bias occurring in occupational cohorts where workers have lower morbidity and mortality rates than the general population.

86
Q

What is primary prevention?

A

Measures taken to prevent the onset of illness and injury.

87
Q

What does matching refer to in epidemiological studies?

A

A technique used to adjust for confounding by selecting controls that match the distribution of potential confounders among cases.

88
Q

What is observer bias?

A

A type of measurement bias where data gathering is influenced by the investigator’s knowledge of exposure or disease status.

89
Q

What is a pilot study?

A

A small-scale study to test the feasibility of methods and procedures before a larger study.

90
Q

What is a placebo?

A

An inert medication or procedure given to the control group in an intervention trial.

91
Q

What is randomization?

A

The allocation of individuals to groups determined by chance.

92
Q

What is recall bias?

A

A type of measurement bias where the ability to remember past events is influenced by disease or exposure status.

93
Q

What is measurement error?

A

The difference between a recorded value of an exposure or outcome and the true value.

94
Q

What is non-differential misclassification?

A

Misclassification that occurs with equal probability across study groups.

95
Q

What is intention to treat analysis?

A

Analyzing subjects in a randomized controlled trial as originally allocated, regardless of treatment compliance.

96
Q

Define differential misclassification.

A

Misclassification that varies between groups in a study.

97
Q

What is an outbreak?

A

A sudden epidemic, usually of short duration.

98
Q

What is an intervention group?

A

The group deliberately assigned to receive the intervention in an intervention study.

99
Q

What is the purpose of sensitivity analysis in imputation?

A

To test the robustness of results when replacing missing values.

100
Q

What is a random sample?

A

A group of subjects selected randomly from the general population.

101
Q

What is the purpose of a case-control study?

A

To compare individuals with a disease to those without it to identify associations with risk factors.

102
Q

What is a RANDOM SAMPLE?

A

A group of subjects selected from the general population in a random manner, where each individual has the same (or a known) probability of being selected.

103
Q

Define RECALL BIAS.

A

A type of measurement bias where the ability to remember past events is not independent of disease/exposure status.

104
Q

What does RELIABILITY refer to in research?

A

Consistency of instruments’ performance over time and across subjects.

105
Q

List the types of RELIABILITY.

A
  • Inter-observer
  • Intra-observer
  • Inter-method / equivalence
  • Internal consistency
106
Q

What is REPEATABILITY?

A

A test or measurement is repeatable if it yields identical results each time it is conducted under the same conditions.

107
Q

What is a REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE?

A

A sample that resembles the general population from which it was drawn.

108
Q

Define RESIDUAL CONFOUNDING.

A

A spurious association due to confounding that persists even after adjustment for the confounder.

109
Q

What is RESPONDER BIAS?

A

A type of measurement bias that occurs when information given by participants is not independent of their exposure or disease status.

110
Q

What is the RESPONSE RATE?

A

The number of people who completed and returned a questionnaire divided by the total number of people eligible to participate.

111
Q

What does RESTRICTION mean in epidemiological studies?

A

A technique used to control for confounding at the design stage by limiting the study to people similar in relation to the confounder.

112
Q

Define RISK FACTOR.

A

An environmental exposure, lifestyle, or inherited characteristic associated with an increased or decreased probability of occurrence of a disease.

113
Q

What is a RISK RATIO?

A

The ratio of the risk of becoming diseased in the exposed group to the risk of becoming diseased in the unexposed group.

114
Q

What is SCREENING?

A

The organized attempt to detect among apparently healthy people disorders or risk factors of which they are unaware.

115
Q

What is SECONDARY PREVENTION?

A

Measures to detect pre-symptomatic disease where earlier detection will lead to more effective treatment.

116
Q

Define SECULAR TRENDS.

A

Changes in the frequency of a disease or attribute in a population over a long period of time.

117
Q

What is SELECTION BIAS?

A

Error due to systematic differences in characteristics between those selected for study and those not selected.

118
Q

What is SMALL AREA ANALYSIS?

A

Studying patterns of disease at a local or regional level, useful for local planning.

119
Q

Define STRATIFIED RANDOMISATION.

A

A modified method of randomisation where subjects are separated into strata based on key risk factors before being randomly allocated.

120
Q

What is STRATIFICATION?

A

The process of separating a sample into subsamples according to specified criteria.

121
Q

What does SUBJECT refer to in studies?

A

A person involved as one of the participants in an epidemiological study.

122
Q

What is SURVEILLANCE in public health?

A

The systematic, continuous examination of the incidence and spread of a disease or exposure.

123
Q

Define SURVEY.

A

An observational investigation in which information is systematically collected.

124
Q

What is a SUSCEPTIBLE INDIVIDUAL?

A

An uninfected individual that is able to become infected.

125
Q

What is a SYSTEMATIC SAMPLE?

A

The selection of subjects using a pre-determined order, such as selecting every tenth patient.

126
Q

What is a SYSTEMATIC REVIEW?

A

A review of scientific evidence using strategies to limit bias in the assembly and synthesis of relevant studies.

127
Q

Define META-ANALYSIS.

A

A statistical analysis of results from separate studies leading to a quantitative summary of results.

128
Q

What is GREY LITERATURE?

A

Information not published in databases, not produced by commercial publishers, and not peer reviewed.

129
Q

What is a BOOLEAN SEARCH?

A

A search technique that uses logical operators to narrow or broaden search results.

130
Q

What is PUBLICATION BIAS?

A

The tendency of authors to report positive findings over negative findings or those with no significant results.

131
Q

Define TERTIARY PREVENTION.

A

Measures to reduce disability from existing illness and prevent it from worsening.

132
Q

What is a TIME SERIES in research design?

A

A design where measurements are made at several different times to detect trends.

133
Q

What is VACCINATION?

A

The administration of antigenic material to bring about an active immunological response.

134
Q

Define VACCINE EFFICACY.

A

The degree to which a vaccine protects the vaccinated individual from developing the disease.

135
Q

What does VALIDITY refer to in measurements?

A

The degree to which a test measures what it purports to measure.

136
Q

List the types of VALIDITY.

A
  • Criterion
  • Concurrent
  • Predictive
  • Content
  • Construct
  • Face
137
Q

What is a VERBAL AUTOPSY?

A

A method to ascertain the cause(s) of death from close associates about symptoms and circumstances prior to death.

138
Q

What type of data does a CANCER REGISTER collect?

A

Information about people diagnosed with cancer, collected directly from hospitals and healthcare professionals.

CC DFPH (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions