Chapter 9 : Health
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as:
a.
the absence of illness or disability that prevents one from engaging in normal functions.
b.
a condition of physical well-being, consistent with the standards of one’s national culture.
c.
a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.
d.
the absence of a serious need for medical attention.
2. The WHO defines health as a state of complete mental, physical, and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease. However, this construct or formula, in this end, is:
a.
obsolete.
b.
proving all former measurement of health as faulty.
c.
being discounted and rendered worthless by the World Bank.
d.
more difficult to measure.
3. Which of the following measures rates of disease or illness?
a.
mortality
c.
life expectancy
b.
morbidity
d.
none of the above
4. Health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) reduces life expectancy by years spent:
a.
in an unhappy marriage.
c.
working in high-risk occupations.
b.
remaining single.
d.
with disabilities.
5. In developing countries, major gains in life expectancy have been achieved primarily by reducing
mortality rates for which population group?
a.
the elderly
c.
the very young
b.
rural workers
d.
women of childbearing age
6. As societies age and health improves, the pattern of disease and causes of death also shift in a
generally predictable pattern; this shift in disease pattern is known as the:
a.
epidemiologic transition.
c.
diminishing returns to health.
b.
survival deficit.
d.
Hippocratic paradox.
7. With a few exceptions, famine no longer seems to be a threat in Asia; however, this country marks a
clear exception to that premise:
a.
China.
c.
North Korea.
b.
Vietnam.
d.
Laos.
8. Health has improved worldwide due to all the following major reasons EXCEPT:
a.
improved advances in food distribution.
b.
improvements in education.
c.
vaccine development for tropical diseases.
d.
public health discoveries.
9. Increased income allows people, particularly the poor, to buy more of the following EXCEPT:
a.
clothing and apparel.
c.
food.
b.
better housing.
d.
health care.
10. According to a famous study on the impact of rising incomes on health, a 10 percent increase in
income is associated with which percent decline in child mortality rates?
a.
2–4 percent
c.
15–20 percent
b.
8–10 percent
d.
100 percent
11. Higher life expectancy translates into greater economic growth later:
a.
at the same rate.
b.
first at the same rate but then later at a diminished rate.
c.
at no time because of the costs involved.
d.
only for developed countries.
12. Which of the following statements about the Panama Canal construction is NOT true?
a.
Yellow fever was eradicated.
b.
Malaria was eradicated.
c.
Both yellow fever and malaria were transmitted through mosquitos.
d.
Before the United States had the right to build the canal, many workers died from yellow
fever and malaria.
13. HIV/AIDS is different from other diseases because:
a.
it attacks primarily young adults, an economically active segment of the population.
b.
its therapy need not rely on political and economic initiatives.
c.
the international community was slow to respond to the growing crisis.
d.
it is a chronic disease.
14. Almost one-fifth of the deaths in children under five in Africa are from:
a.
malaria.
c.
tuberculosis.
b.
HIV/AIDS.
d.
none of the above.
15. This continent suffers from 91 percent of the world’s malaria deaths:
a.
Africa.
c.
Asia.
b.
South America.
d.
Europe.
16. Research by economists John Gallup and Jeffrey Sachs concluded that the presence of a high malaria
burden in a nation reduces its economic growth by:
a.
0.7 percent.
c.
5.8 percent.
b.
1.3 percent.
d.
15.7 percent.
17. Vaccines for illnesses that afflict the poor countries of the world are slow to be researched and
developed by the private sector because:
a.
there is a severe backlog in the research and development sector of pharmaceutical
companies.
b.
there is little financial incentive because the nations with these diseases are poor.
c.
the emphasis in disease prevention is undergoing a transition from vaccines to medical
patches and sprays.
d.
most scientists believe all diseases mutate, and cures will never be truly found.
18. Health statistics on morbidity refer to the:
a.
incidence of mental-health problems.
b.
incidence of disease and illness.
c.
fraction of deaths caused by preventable disease.
d.
incidence of unnatural death due to accidents, crime, and war.
19. Which of the following was NOT an important aspect of preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in
Thailand?
a.
The use of condoms was mandatory in brothels.
b.
Health officials provided free boxes of condoms.
c.
Local police held meetings with brothel owners and sex workers.
d.
A program encouraged teens and young adults to use condoms in noncommercial sex.
20. The last reported case of polio in the Americas occurred in 1991 in the nation of:
a.
Canada.
c.
Paraguay.
b.
Nicaragua.
d.
Peru.
21. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is a simple and inexpensive treatment that can prevent most deaths
from:
a.
drowning.
c.
malaria.
b.
diarrhea.
d.
roundworm parasites.
SHORT ANSWER
IDs and Paired-Concept Questions
These terms can be used individually as short-answer identification questions, or they can be used in
pairs. In the latter case, ask students to explain (1) the meaning and significance of each of the two
terms and (2) the relationship between them.
1. Morbidity, mortality
ANS:
Answer will vary
2. Life expectancy, double burden of disease
ANS:
Answer will vary
3. Health, income
ANS:
Answer will vary
4. Market failure, diseases
ANS:
Answer will vary
5. Productivity, health as investment
ANS:
Answer will vary
6. HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral drugs (ARVs)
ANS:
Answer will vary
7. Tuberculosis (TB), directly observed treatment short course (DOTS)
ANS:
Answer will vary
8. Diarrhea, oral rehydration therapy
ANS:
Answer will vary
9. Panama Canal, control efforts
ANS:
Answer will vary
10. Epidemiologic transition, developing countries
ANS:
Answer will vary