The Sanitary Engineering Board Exam includes a critical focus on Public Health Engineering, particularly in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. This subject ensures that aspiring sanitary engineers understand disease patterns, health risks, and statistical methods essential for public health management. The review covers three key areas:
1. Basics of Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of disease occurrence, distribution, and control. This section covers disease transmission, including direct and indirect modes, vectors, and reservoirs. Key concepts such as incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality rates are essential for identifying health risks. Understanding epidemiologic methods, including outbreak investigation and surveillance, helps sanitary engineers design effective sanitation programs to prevent the spread of diseases.
2. Application of Biostatistics in Public Health
Biostatistics plays a crucial role in analyzing health-related data. This section focuses on statistical measures such as mean, median, mode, variance, and standard deviation, which help in summarizing and interpreting public health data. Probability distributions, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis are also covered to support decision-making in environmental health and sanitation projects.
3. Analysis and Interpretation of Public Health Data
Sanitary engineers must be proficient in evaluating public health data to assess the impact of sanitation systems. This involves data collection, trend analysis, and correlation of health indicators with environmental factors. Techniques such as epidemiologic study designs (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional) and risk assessments are essential for policy development and sanitation planning.
SANITARY ENGINEER REVIEWER
Welcome to our Sanitary Engineer Reviewer. In this session, you'll have the opportunity to test your understanding of key concepts in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The quiz consists of multiple-choice questions covering various topics. Pay close attention to each question and select the best answer. After completing the exam, check the video or the answer key and explanations at the last part.
Basics of Epidemiology, Disease Transmission, and Control
1. What is epidemiology primarily concerned with?
A. Studying the economic impact of diseases
B. Investigating the distribution and determinants of health-related events
C. Treating individual patients with infectious diseases
D. Manufacturing vaccines for public use
2. Which of the following is NOT a mode of disease transmission?
A. Direct contact
B. Vector-borne
C. Cloud formation
D. Airborne
3. What is the incubation period of a disease?
A. The period when symptoms appear and peak
B. The time between exposure to an infectious agent and the appearance of symptoms
C. The period when the disease is most contagious
D. The duration of disease recovery
4. Which term refers to the constant presence of a disease in a population?
A. Epidemic
B. Endemic
C. Pandemic
D. Sporadic
5. Which of the following is an example of a vector-borne disease?
A. Tuberculosis
B. COVID-19
C. Dengue fever
D. Food poisoning
6. What does herd immunity refer to?
A. A group of people who avoid vaccines
B. Immunity gained from multiple infections
C. When a significant portion of a population is immune, reducing disease spread
D. The ability of a virus to mutate rapidly
7. What is the main goal of disease surveillance?
A. To monitor and predict disease outbreaks
B. To identify new antibiotics
C. To test vaccines
D. To count the number of hospitals in an area
8. Which of the following is an example of primary prevention in public health?
A. Early disease detection through screening
B. Surgery to remove a tumor
C. Vaccination against polio
D. Physical therapy after an injury
9. Which epidemiological study design is used to investigate the cause of an outbreak?
A. Cross-sectional study
B. Case-control study
C. Cohort study
D. Experimental study
10. Which global organization is responsible for monitoring disease outbreaks?
A. UNICEF
B. Red Cross
C. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
D. World Health Organization (WHO)
Application of Biostatistics in Public Health Studies
11. What is the primary role of biostatistics in public health?
A. To study the financial impact of diseases
B. To analyze and interpret health data for decision-making
C. To treat patients with infectious diseases
D. To manufacture vaccines
12. Which of the following measures is used to describe the central tendency of a dataset?
A. Range
B. Standard deviation
C. Mean
D. Variance
13. Which biostatistical tool is most appropriate for analyzing the effectiveness of a new vaccine?
A. T-test
B. Chi-square test
C. Regression analysis
D. ANOVA
14. What does a p-value of less than 0.05 indicate in a statistical test?
A. The result is not significant
B. There is strong evidence against the null hypothesis
C. The study was poorly designed
D. The data is incorrect
15. Which statistical method is used to predict disease outbreaks?
A. Regression analysis
B. Standard deviation
C. Median calculation
D. Mean calculation
16. Which graph is most commonly used to display the frequency distribution of disease cases?
A. Pie chart
B. Histogram
C. Line graph
D. Scatter plot
17. Which of the following is a measure of disease frequency?
A. Standard deviation
B. Incidence rate
C. Median
D. Mode
18. What type of variable is "number of hospital visits in a year"?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Discrete
D. Continuous
19. Which biostatistical test is best suited for analyzing categorical data?
A. T-test
B. Chi-square test
C. ANOVA
D. Regression analysis
20. What does an odds ratio (OR) greater than 1 indicate?
A. No association
B. Increased likelihood of disease
C. Decreased likelihood of disease
D. Invalid result
Analysis and Interpretation of Public Health Data
21. What is the first step in analyzing public health data?
A. Collecting raw data
B. Interpreting results
C. Applying statistical tests
D. Identifying trends
22. Which type of study is most effective in determining the cause of an outbreak?
A. Cross-sectional study
B. Case-control study
C. Descriptive study
D. Randomized controlled trial
23. What does a high prevalence rate of a disease indicate?
A. A rapid increase in new cases
B. A low mortality rate
C. A recent outbreak
D. A large number of existing cases in a population
24. What does a confidence interval (CI) represent in public health studies?
A. The margin of error in a study
B. The range within which the true population parameter is likely to fall
C. The time frame for data collection
D. The total number of cases in a study
25. Which statistical test is most commonly used to compare the means of two independent groups in public health research?
A. Chi-square test
B. T-test
C. ANOVA
D. Regression analysis
26. Which measure is best for identifying disease trends over time?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Incidence rate
D. Prevalence rate
27. What does a p-value of 0.01 in a statistical test suggest?
A. The study results are not statistically significant
B. There is a 1% chance the results occurred by random chance
C. The results are invalid
D. The hypothesis must be rejected
28. Which visualization is best for showing disease trends over multiple years?
A. Pie chart
B. Histogram
C. Line graph
D. Bar graph
29. If a study finds a relative risk (RR) of 2.0 for a disease, what does this mean?
A. The disease is twice as likely to occur in the exposed group
B. The disease will occur in everyone
C. There is no association between exposure and disease
D. The exposure prevents the disease
30. Which factor should be considered when interpreting public health data?
A. Sample size
B. Data source reliability
C. Statistical significance
D. All of the above
ANSWER KEY HERE