Community Medicine MCQs (Q1–Q20) with Correct Options Q1. Theory of Web of Causation was given by: (A) McMahon and Pugh ✅ (B) Pettenkofer (C) John Snow (D) Louis Pasteur Q2. World Health Day is celebrated on: (A) 1st December (B) 7th April ✅ (C) 31st May (D) 8th May Q3. Definition of health given by WHO does not include which of the following dimensions: (A) Social (B) Physical (C) Nutritional ✅ (D) Economic Q4. Standard of Living (WHO) includes all except: (A) Income (B) Sanitation and Nutrition (C) Level of Provision of Health (D) Human Rights ✅ Q5. Living standard of people is best assessed by: (A) Infant Mortality Rate (B) Maternal Mortality (C) Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) ✅ (D) Death Rate Q6. Human living standards can be compared in different countries by: (A) HDI ✅ (B) PQLI (C) HPI (D) DALY Q7. In "Tip of Iceberg Phenomenon", submerged portion does not consist of: (A) Latent Period (B) Carriers (C) Undiagnosed Cases (D) Healthy Population ✅ Q8. Web of causation of disease, which statement is most appropriate? (A) Mostly applicable for common diseases ✅ (B) Requires complete understanding of all associated factors (C) Epidemiological Ratio (D) Helps to suggest ways to interrupt the risk of transmission Q9. Epidemiological triad are all except: (A) Host (B) Environmental Factors (C) Agent (D) Investigator ✅ Q10. Which of the following can be diagnosed by Widal test? (A) Typhoid ✅ (B) AIDS (C) Cancer (D) TB Q11. Who is known as the Father of Medicine? (A) Aristotle (B) Hippocrates ✅ (C) Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (D) Antoine Lavoisier Q12. Which of the following is not a pathogenic biological agent? (A) Fungi (B) Radiations ✅ (C) Virus (D) Mycoplasma Q13. Health is not defined by which of the following? (A) Physical Well-being (B) Genetic Disorders ✅ (C) Mental Well-being (D) Social Well-being Q14. The time period between entry of pathogen into the body and appearance of symptoms is called: (A) Adoption Period (B) Reserve Period (C) Incubation Period ✅ (D) Inoculation Period Q15. Prevention of emergence of risk factors is: (A) Primordial Prevention ✅ (B) Primary Prevention (C) Secondary Prevention (D) Tertiary Prevention Q16. Iodine salt supplementation is: (A) Specific Protection ✅ (B) Primordial Prevention (C) Decrease the Deformity (D) Secondary Prevention Q17. Decrease in the incidence of a disease to a level where it ceases to be a public health problem is: (A) Control ✅ (B) Elimination (C) Eradication (D) Surveillance Q18. Disease elimination is helped by: (A) Herd Immunity ✅ (B) Isolation (C) Quarantine (D) None Q19. Disease control implies all except: (A) Effects of infection including its complications (B) Financial burden to community (C) Duration of disease and risk of transmission (D) Virulence ✅ Q20. In India, which disease is near elimination? (A) Chickenpox (B) Rabies (C) Polio ✅ (D) Mumps... Correct the wrong ones
Community Medicine MCQ web of causation McMahon Pugh WHO health definition standard of living
Community Medicine MCQs - Review & Corrections
Questions That Are CORRECT ✅
| Q | Answer Given | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | McMahon and Pugh | ✅ Correct. Park's confirms: "This model of disease causation was suggested by MacMahon and Pugh in their book: Epidemiologic Principles and Methods." |
| Q2 | 7th April | ✅ Correct. WHO was founded on 7 April 1948. |
| Q5 | PQLI | ✅ Correct. PQLI (Physical Quality of Life Index) is used to assess living standards of people within a country. |
| Q6 | HDI | ✅ Correct. HDI (Human Development Index) is the standard tool for comparing living standards across countries. |
| Q9 | Investigator | ✅ Correct. The epidemiological triad = Host, Agent, Environment. |
| Q10 | Typhoid | ✅ Correct. Widal test detects antibodies against Salmonella typhi. |
| Q11 | Hippocrates | ✅ Correct. |
| Q12 | Radiations | ✅ Correct. Radiations are a physical agent, not a biological/pathogenic agent. Fungi, viruses, and mycoplasma are all biological pathogens. |
| Q14 | Incubation Period | ✅ Correct. |
| Q15 | Primordial Prevention | ✅ Correct. Primordial prevention = preventing the emergence of risk factors before they arise. |
| Q17 | Control | ✅ Correct. Control = reducing disease to a level where it is no longer a public health problem. |
| Q18 | Herd Immunity | ✅ Correct. |
| Q20 | Polio | ✅ Correct. India was certified polio-free in 2014 and remains so. |
Questions That Need CORRECTION ⚠️
- Given answer: (C) Nutritional - This is acceptable as a popular MCQ answer, but it is incomplete/misleading.
- Better answer: (D) Economic - The WHO definition's three specific dimensions are Physical, Mental, and Social. Park's states: "The WHO definition envisages three specific dimensions - the physical, the mental and the social." Neither Nutritional nor Economic is part of the WHO definition, but in MCQ context, "Economic" is the standard textbook answer for what is NOT included - because "Nutritional" could be considered a subset of Physical well-being and is sometimes listed as a dimension of health in extended frameworks. However, "Spiritual" is also not in WHO's definition. If the option is Nutritional vs. Economic, Nutritional is the more defensible "not included" answer since it is not listed even in the extended dimensions. The given answer (C) Nutritional is acceptable and likely correct for this question format.
- Given answer: (D) Human Rights - INCORRECT
- Correct answer: (D) Human Rights is actually included in the UN "Level of Living" concept, not WHO's Standard of Living definition.
- Per Park's, the WHO definition of Standard of Living states: "Income and occupation, standards of housing, sanitation and nutrition, the level of provision of health, educational, recreational and other services..."
- The UN Level of Living (9 components) includes: health, food, education, occupation, housing, social security, clothing, recreation, and human rights.
- So Human Rights is part of UN Level of Living, NOT WHO Standard of Living - making (D) the correct "except" answer. The given answer (D) is actually CORRECT. ✅
- Given answer: (A) Mostly applicable for common diseases - INCORRECT
- Correct answer: (A) Mostly applicable for chronic diseases (not "common" diseases)
- Park's explicitly states: "This model is ideally suited in the study of chronic disease, where the disease agent is often not known."
- If option (A) says "common diseases," it is wrong. If the original option read "chronic diseases," then it is correct. The web of causation is specifically designed for chronic/multifactorial diseases (like myocardial infarction), not simply "common" diseases.
- Option (D) "Helps to suggest ways to interrupt the risk of transmission" is also a true statement per Park's: "the causal web provides a model which shows a variety of possible interventions that could be taken."
Correction: The best answer is (A) if it says "chronic diseases", or (D) if option A specifically says "common diseases." Most standard MCQ banks mark this as chronic diseases.
- Given answer: (B) Genetic Disorders - ✅ Correct. The WHO definition covers Physical, Mental, and Social well-being. Genetic disorders are a cause of ill-health, not a dimension of the health definition itself.
- Given answer: (A) Specific Protection - DEBATABLE / likely wrong in many MCQ banks
- Iodine supplementation (iodization of salt) is a form of Primordial Prevention in some references because it prevents the development of a risk factor (iodine deficiency) in the population before disease occurs. However, in other references it is classified as Specific Protection (a level-1 primary prevention measure targeting a specific deficiency).
- Per Park's classification: Specific Protection (e.g., immunization, use of specific nutrients, protection from carcinogens) falls under Primary Prevention. Iodized salt is a classic example of Specific Protection.
- The answer (A) Specific Protection is CORRECT per Park's. ✅
- Given answer: (D) Virulence - ✅ This is correct.
- Disease control aims to reduce: effects of infection (complications), financial burden, duration of disease, and risk of transmission. Virulence is a property of the pathogen - it is not something "implied" by disease control as a goal. Virulence is not one of the measurable outcomes that disease control programs target. The answer is correct.
Summary of Corrections
| Q | Given Answer | Correct Answer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q8 | (A) Mostly applicable for common diseases | (A) should read chronic diseases | Web of causation is for chronic/multifactorial diseases, not "common" diseases. If option says "common," it's wrong - the correct choice would be (D) Helps to suggest ways to interrupt the risk. |
- Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, pp. 45-46 (Web of Causation), p. 14 (Standard of Living), p. 46 (Iceberg phenomenon), p. 12 (Dimensions of Health)