2 Chapter 8 Health and Illness _______________________________________________________________
Introduction to Medical-Surgical Nursing, 6th ed.
CHAPTER PRETEST
Have the students answer these questions prior to covering this chapter to understand where they stand
in relation to the content.
1) In 1946, the World Health Organization defined health as __________.
a) whatever a person says it is
b) the absence of disease
c) complete physical, mental, and social well-being; not just the absence of disease or infirmity
d) success experienced by an organism to respond adaptively to environmental challenges
2) A patient is newly diagnosed with high blood pressure. If she is to achieve homeostasis, she will do
which of the following?
a) Follow a diet low in sodium.
b) Exercise every 2 weeks.
c) Use anger as her primary coping mechanism.
d) Take her blood pressure medication on occasion.
3) Which of the following is one of the three factors that can influence how an illness affects a family?
a) The seriousness and duration of the disease
b) The patient’s gender
c) Whether the patient requires oxygen therapy
d) Whether the patient requires medication
4) An example of an external stressor might be __________.
a) boredom
b) loss of a relationship
c) sunshine
d) overexertion
5) A normal heart rate is associated with which stage of the general adaptation syndrome?
a) Exhaustion stage
b) Resistance stage
c) Alarm reaction
d) Death
6) A 40-year-old man whose wife has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer shares with the nurse that he
will not be in to see his wife tomorrow evening because he will be going to synagogue. Which of the
following coping mechanisms is he demonstrating?
a) Problem-solving
b) Accepting responsibility
c) Denial
d) Faith
7) An external response to stress is demonstrated when a person __________.
a) smokes a cigarette
b) cries
c) asks his family for assistance
d) set goals for a quit date
8) Which of the following problems is an acute illness?
a) Influenza
b) Type 2 diabetes
c) Coronary artery disease
d) Hypertension
9) A nurse helps her patient adapt his medication regimen to fit his busy lifestyle. The nurse is
performing which of the following nursing interventions?
a) Help satisfy a patient’s unmet basic human needs
b) Help family members deal with a patient’s illness
c) Assist terminally ill patients to a peaceful death
d) Foster independence