Core One Multiple Choice
2001 HSC
1 Which of the following has most influenced the life expectancy of Australians?
(A) High morbidity rates
(B) High infant mortality rates
(C) Low morbidity rates
(D) Low infant mortality rates
2 Which of the following is a non-modifiable risk factor for the early onset of
cardiovascular disease in Australian women?
(A) Early onset of menstruation
(B) Family history
(C) Physical activity pattern
(D) Tobacco smoking
3 Which of the following is the primary reason for government agencies to collect
epidemiological data?
(A) To determine the health care needs of a population
(B) To determine the cost of health care in Australia
(C) To determine the reasons for inequalities in health status
(D) To determine the health status of an individual
4 Which of the following are risk factors for breast cancer?
(A) High-fat diet, obesity and early onset of menstruation
(B) Early onset of menopause, obesity and early onset of menstruation
(C) Early onset of menopause, tobacco smoking and late onset of menstruation
(D) High-fat diet, tobacco smoking and late onset of menstruation
5 Which element of public health action does the health warning on cigarette packets
represent?
(A) Health education campaigns
(B) Promotion of smoke-free environments
(C) Regulation of tobacco products
(D) Revenue raising through taxation
6 Why has health promotion in Australia shifted from a ‘lifestyle approach’ to a ‘new
public health approach’?
(A) The lifestyle approach empowers people to improve their health status.
(B) The lifestyle approach ignores the social determinants of health.
(C) The new public health approach emphasises individual behaviour change.
(D) The new public health approach focuses on treatment strategies.
7 Which of the following actions would best promote social justice?
(A) Conducting health promotion campaigns and initiatives on the issue of drink
driving
(B) Increasing the number of individuals who undertake regular physical activity
(C) Improving access to health services for people who live in remote areas
(D) Maintaining the budget expenditure on cancer treatment programs
8 Which of the following is an example of building healthy public policy?
(A) Counselling diabetic patients in their use of insulin
(B) Providing needle and syringe exchange programs
(C) Legislating to ban smoking in the workplace
(D) Publishing National Heart Foundation cookbooks
2002 HSC
1 In Australia, which of the following major causes of illness and death are showing an
upward trend in incidence?
(A) Cancer and cardiovascular disease
(B) Cancer and respiratory disease
(C) Injuries and cardiovascular disease
(D) Injuries and respiratory disease
2 What is the main reason for the growth in the use of alternative medicine in the past ten
years in Australia?
(A) Alternative medicine guarantees success.
(B) Alternative medicine is covered by Medicare.
(C) Alternative medicine produces no apparent side effects.
(D) Alternative medicine provides a holistic view of health.
3 The graph shows the trend in the Australian mortality rate.
Which health promotion initiative has contributed most to this trend?
(A) The anti-smoking campaign
(B) Blood-sugar level testing
(C) The melanoma awareness program
(D) Workplace safety legislation
4 Which statement is true of the Jakarta Declaration?
(A) It encourages individuals to solve their own health problems.
(B) It highlights the lifestyle approach to health promotion.
(C) It identifies poverty as the greatest threat to health.
(D) It replaces the strategies of the Ottawa Charter.
5 A policy such as ‘no hat, no play’ in primary schools is an example of what action area
of the Ottawa Charter?
(A) Creating supportive environments
(B) Developing personal skills
(C) Reorienting health services
(D) Strengthening community action
6 This graph shows age-specific morbidity rates for males and females for a lifestyle
disease.
What lifestyle disease is represented by this graph?
(A) Diabetes
(B) Heart disease
(C) Lung cancer
(D) Osteoporosis
7 Which of the following government initiatives best represents social justice principles in
action?
(A) Bulk billing
(B) Pharmaceutical benefits scheme
(C) Private health insurance rebate
(D) Private health insurance lifetime cover
8 How can the incidence of lifestyle-related morbidity be reduced in Australia?
(A) By increasing individual responsibility and reducing government action
(B) By increasing research and improving education
(C) By modifying the environment and changing behaviour
(D) By raising awareness and implementing medical advances
9 Which statement correctly compares the health behaviour of young people from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds?
(A) Young people from high socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to use illicit drugs.
(B) Young people from high socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to have casual, unprotected sex.
(C) Young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to smoke tobacco.
(D) Young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to drink at harmful levels.
10 Which of the following sets of population groups is most at risk of developing a mental
illness?
(A) Smokers, females aged 18–24 years, and people working in physically-demanding occupations
(B) Smokers, indigenous males, and people who have experienced significant trauma
(C) Women, indigenous males, and people with a family history of mental illness
(D) Cannabis users, women who have not given birth, and males aged 18–24 years
2003 HSC
1 Which of the following is the leading cause of mortality for males in the 15–24 age group in Australia?
(A) Drownings
(B) Motor-vehicle accidents
(C) Poisonings
(D) Suicides
2 How does regular vigorous exercise help prevent people developing Type 2 diabetes?
(A) It increases blood cholesterol levels.
(B) It increases blood glycogen levels.
(C) It decreases blood glucose levels.
(D) It decreases blood oxygen levels.
3 What approach to health promotion does the new public health model advocate?
(A) Bulk billing for all Australians to improve the health of individuals
(B) Cooperation of government and community in the promotion of better health
(C) Health promotion initiatives aimed at encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles
(D) Location of specialist health services in large population centres
4 Why is the prevalence of mental health problems in Australia often underestimated?
(A) Mental health problems can be easily treated.
(B) People quickly recover from mental health problems.
(C) The majority of people with mental health problems do not seek treatment.
(D) The morbidity rate associated with mental health problems is low.
5 What are TWO reasons for the difference in the life expectancy of females and males in Australia today?
(A) Fewer females practise unsafe behaviours and fewer females are obese.
(B) Fewer males practise unsafe behaviours and fewer males are obese.
(C) More females engage in less stressful occupations and more females participate in regular exercise.
(D) More males engage in less stressful occupations and more males participate in regular exercise.
6 What was the main outcome intended by the Federal Government when introducing the
Lifetime Health Insurance Incentive and the 30% rebate on private health insurance?
(A) To allow more people to choose their own doctor
(B) To decrease the financial burden on the public health system
(C) To redistribute health costs from the private sector to the public sector
(D) To reward those who have private health insurance
7 What provision to reduce health inequalities in Australia is an example of action for
social justice?
(A) Educating people about the impact of environmental factors on health status
(B) Ensuring an average level of health-care services that is appropriate for all Australians
(C) Examining socioeconomic factors to reduce the gap between income levels
(D) Increasing access to health-care services for all Australians, regardless of income
8 How does the 1997 Jakarta Declaration reflect the new public health model?
(A) It promotes social responsibility in order to help improve the health status of all people.
(B) It redirects the responsibility for health promotion from governments to the private sector.
(C) It requires developing countries to seek greater funding for health care from developed countries.
(D) It promotes the reduction of community capacity, in order to empower the individual.
9 Which statement best describes why health promotion initiatives in Australia have been more effective in reducing the incidence of people infected with HIV than with hepatitis C?
(A) Hepatitis C has been viewed by health authorities in Australia as a less serious risk to public health than HIV.
(B) In Australia more effective techniques for screening of blood have been available for HIV than for hepatitis C.
(C) People infected with HIV have lobbied more effectively than people infected with hepatitis C.
(D) People at risk of becoming infected with hepatitis C have been more likely to practise unsafe behaviour than people at risk of becoming infected with HIV.
10 The graph shows the trend in the prevalence of a major cause of illness and death in children aged 5 to 14 in Australia.
What major cause of illness and death is represented?
(A) Asthma
(B) Type 2 diabetes
(C) Cancer
(D) Obesity
HSC 2004
1 Which of the following is a list of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease?
(A) Gender, smoking and obesity
(B) Age, hypertension and smoking
(C) Activity level, heredity and stress
(D) Activity level, hypertension and obesity
2 Which of the following criteria is used to identify priority areas for Australia’s health?
(A) Potential for change
(B) Nature of the condition
(C) Healthy lifestyle principles
(D) Submissions to government agencies
3 Which of the following combinations best describes the impact of mental illness in
Australia?
4 Which of the following are indicators of the health status of Australians?
(A) Morbidity rates, life expectancy, infant mortality
(B) Social determinants of health, education, stable ecosystems
(C) Hospital admissions, doctor visits, private health insurance
(D) Population fitness levels, alcohol consumption, cigarette sales
5 Which of the following has the greatest impact on state government health expenditure?
(A) Public hospitals
(B) Medical services
(C) Pharmaceutical services
(D) Private hospitals
6 The graph represents the risk factors that contributed to road-traffic fatalities in NSW
in 2001.
Which risk factor is represented by P?
(A) Alcohol
(B) Speed
(C) Fatigue
(D) Non-use of occupant restraint
7 Which of the following is an example of informed decision making, in the use of
alternative medicine or health care?
(A) Consult family members and friends.
(B) Read advertisements in lifestyle magazines.
(C) Gather and read testimonials from former patients.
(D) Confirm the qualifications and claims of the practitioner.
8 What does ‘reorientating health services’ aim to increase?
(A) Health promotion
(B) Institutional care
(C) Health policy and administration
(D) Health expenditure on treatment
9 The graph shows the incidence and mortality rates for prostate cancer from 1983 to 1998. Which of the following is the most likely reason for the significant rise in the number of new cases of prostate cancer between 1988 and 1994? (Graph under copyright….but you don’t need it)
(A) The introduction of mobile prostate-cancer screening clinics
(B) An increase in the number of men attending general practitioners
(C) Increased detection due to more effective screening methods
(D) The redirection of health funding from the detection of breast cancer to the detection of prostate cancer
10 Which of the following is an example of empowerment of individuals, as part of the new public health approach to health promotion?
(A) Implementation of smoke-free zones in schools
(B) Development of assertiveness skills to respond to bullying
(C) Compulsory guidelines for safe participation in school sport
(D) Provision of school counselling services to deal with mental health issues