Que.1. What are the events covered under vital statistics?

Ans. 1. The events covered under vital statistics are – 

1)    Birth

2)    Death

3)    Adoption

4)    Marriage & 

5)    Divorce

Que. 2. Which socioeconomic scale is used both in rural & urban areas?

Ans. 2. Modified BG (Brahm Govind) Prasad socioeconomic scale.

Que. 3. Mention the criteria on which modified BG Prasad Socioeconomic scale is based.

Ans. 3. Per capita monthly income.

Que. 4. Which are the criteria on which modified Kupu Swamy scale based?

Ans. 4. Criteria are – 

1)    Income – Family

2)    Occupation – Head of family (HOF)

3)    Education – Head of family (HOF)

Que. 5. What is the implication of modified Kupu Swamy socioeconomic scale?

Ans. 5. Used for calculation of socioeconomic scale both for family or individual living in an urban area.

Que. 6. What is the maximum allotted score of Kupu Swamy socioeconomic scale?

Ans. 6. 29.

Que. 7. How will you classify socioeconomic class based on Kupu Swamy scale?

Ans. 7. 

Que. 8. In which area, we can use Uday-Pareek’s socioeconomic scale?

Ans. 8. In rural areas.

Que. 9. Name the characteristics on the basis of which Uday-Pareek’s scale work?

Ans. 9. There are 9 characteristics which are as follows – 

1)    Caste

2)    Occupation of family head

3)    Education of family head

4)    Level of social participation of family head

5)    Land holding

6)    Housing

7)    Farm power

8)    Material possessions

9)    Type of family  

Que. 10. Name other socioeconomic scales.

Ans. 10. Other socioeconomic scales are as follows – 

1)    Tiwari Scale (2005) – For both urban & rural areas

2)    Bhardwaj Scale (2001)

3)    Srivastava Scale (1978) – for urban areas

4)    Kulshrestha Scale (1972) – for urban area

5)    Jalota Scale (1970) – for urban areas

6)    Shirpurkar Scale (1967) – for farm families

7)    Rahudkar Scale (1960) – for farm families.

Que. 11. How will you define COMMUNITY?

Ans. 11. It refers a group of individuals or families who share certain common characteristics such as language, culture, moral, norms, values, geographical area etc.

Que. 12. Define family.

Ans. 12. Family refers to a group of persons either blood related or legally related, sharing same kitchen and living under one roof.

Que. 13. What are the types of family in relation to extension of families?

Ans. 13. Three types – 

1)    Nuclear Family

2)    Joint Family

3)    3-genereation Family.

Que. 14. What do you mean by NUCLEAR FAMILY?

Ans. 14. It consists of one married couple with their dependent children. It is also called PRIMARY or ELEMENTARY FAMILY.

Que. 15. What do you mean by term NEW FAMILY?

Ans. 15. It refers to those families which are under 10 years duration and consists of parents and children.

Que. 16. Write one advantage of nuclear family.

Ans. 16. Husband wife relationship is more intimate & intense.

Que. 17. Write one disadvantage of nuclear family.

Ans. 17. Face hurdles in bringing up of children.

Que. 18. What do you mean by joint family?

Ans. 18. It is the lateral extension of the nuclear family. In this type of family, children along with their parents also have grandparents and uncle and his family and unmarried/widowed/divorce bua.

All the men are blood related and the women are wives, daughter or sister.

Que. 19. What do you mean by 3- generation family?

Ans. 19. In this type of family, children have parents & grandparents but no uncle & his family or bua. It is a linear extension of nuclear family. In this type of family, there are representatives of 3 generation.

Que. 20. What do you mean by FAMILY OF ORIENTATION?

Ans. 20. This is the family in which an individual is born.

Que. 21. What do you mean by FAMILY OF PROCREATION?

Ans. 21. This is the family which an individual establishes or adopts after marriage. In this he, his wife & their children live.

Que. 22. What do you mean by BROKEN FAMILY?

Ans. 22. It is a family in which the father or mother is absent due to death, separation or imprisonment.

Que. 23. What do you mean by PROBLEM FAMILY?

Ans. 23. It is a family that lags behind the rest of the community. In these families, the standard of life is generally low and parents are unable to meet the physical & emotional needs of their children.

Que. 24. When will you consider a person literate?

Ans. 24. If a person, more than 7 years, can read, write & understand in any language.

Que. 25. What is the literacy rate in India?

Ans. 24. 74.04% (Census 2011).

Que. 26. How much is geriatric population in India?

Ans. 26. 8.3% (SRS 2014).

Que. 27. How much is adolescent (10-19 years) population in India?

Ans. 27. 21% (SRS 2014).

Que. 28. How much is the children (0-14 years) population in India?

Ans. 28. 27.6% (SRS 2014).

Que. 29. How much is the under-five population in India?

Ans. 29. 10% (SRS 2014).

Que. 30. What is the current maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in India?

Ans. 30. 97 / 1 lakh live births (SRS 2018-20).

Que. 31. What is the current Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in India?

Ans. 31. 28 /1000 live births (SRS 2020).

Que. 32. What is the birth rate of our country?

Ans. 32. 19.5 per thousand population (SRS 2020).

Que. 33. What is the current death rate in our country?

Ans. 33. 6 per thousand population (SRS 2020).

Que. 34. What are the hazards of overcrowding?

Ans. 34. The hazards of overcrowding are as follows – 

1)    Physical Hazards – Infectious diseases like ARI, TB, Scabies etc.

2)    Psychological Hazards – Irritability, frustration, lack of sleep & anxiety.

3)    Social Hazards – Violence & mental disorders

4)    Public health hazards – High mortality & morbidity.

Que. 35. What are the types of ventilation?

Ans. 35. Two types – 

1)    Natural – wind, diffusion, inequality of temperature.

2)    Mechanical – Exhaust, Plenum, Balanced & Air conditioning.

Que. 36. What are the standards of air change in a room?

Ans. 36. In living room – 2-3 air changes per hour

In Working room /Assembly – 4-6 air changes per hour.

Not recommended – more than 6 air changes per hour.

Que. 37. What are the disadvantages of poor ventilation?

Ans. 37. The disadvantages of poor ventilation are – 

1)    Respiratory disease, asthma

2)    Facilitate spread of disease

3)    Headache, suffocation, bad odour

4)    Increase in humidity & dampness

Que. 38. What are the hazards of Indoor air pollution?

Ans. 38. Pneumonia, COPD, Lung Cancer, TB, Stroke, LBW, Cataract, Nasopharyngeal & laryngeal cancers.

Que. 39. When will you say that lighting in the room is adequate?

Ans. 39. Person should be able to read the suitable text from suitable distance in the darkest corner of the given room without the aid of artificial light.

Que. 40. What is the importance of the adequate light?

Ans. 40. The importance of the adequate light – 

1)    Minimizes accident

2)    Decreases humidity in the room

3)    Avoids eye strain

4)    Helps in vitamin D synthesis

5)    Eliminates the lodgement & multiplication of disease producing vectors & micro-organisms.

Que. 41. Which are the essential light factors for efficient vision?

Ans. 41. The essential light factors are – 

1)    Must be sufficient

2)    Evenly distributed

3)    Without glare

4)    Without sharp shadows

5)    Should be steady 

Que. 42. What do you mean by Day Light Factor (DF)?

Ans. 42. It is the ratio of light level inside the house to the light level outside the house.

Que. 43. What should be the daylight factor in kitchen & living room?

Ans. 43. 10% & 8% respectively.

Que. 44. What are the hazards of inadequate lighting?

Ans. 44. The hazards of inadequate lighting are as follows – 

1)    Dull light – Easy fatigue, Headache, Miner’s nystagmus, Eye strain

2)    Excessive light – Glare/ Welder’s flash, photophobia, reduced vision etc

Que. 45. What are the criteria of safe & wholesome water?

Ans. 45. Following are the criteria of safe & wholesome water – 

1)    Free from Pathogenic agents

2)    Free from harmful chemical substances

3)    Pleasant to taste

4)    Free from colour, odour & turbidity

5)    Usable for domestic purposes.

Que. 46. When will you say water to be polluted or contaminated?

Ans. 46. When it does not adhere to criteria of safe and wholesome water.

Que. 47. What is normal water requirement per day?

Ans. 47. 150-liter per capita in urban areas & 40-liter water per capita in rural areas.

Que. 48. Which are the systems of piped water distribution in a community?

Ans. 48. Two systems of public water distribution systems exist – 

1)    Intermittent Supply System

2)    Continuous Supply System

Que. 49. What are the disadvantages of the intermittent supply system?

Ans. 49. Followings are the disadvantages – 

1)    Pipes may be empty during the time of emergency.

2)    When the pipes are empty, there is a negative pressure and by back-siphoning, bacteria, other micro-organisms & foul gases may be sucked in through leaky joints that are with nearby passing sewage pipe lines.

3)    People need to store water in containers which may not be clean always and storage of water may be the source of mosquito breeding.

Que. 50. What is the optimum fluoride level in drinking water?

Ans. 50. 0.5-0.8 ppm.

Que. 51. Which type of disinfection in the chlorination of water?

Ans. 51. Pre-current or prophylactic disinfection.

Que. 52. Which is responsible for disinfecting action of chlorine?

Ans. 52. Main role is by Hypochlorous acid (HOCl).

Que. 53. What do you mean by chlorine demand?

Ans. 53. It is the difference between the amount of chlorine added and the amount of total available chlorine (free & combined) remaining at the end of contact period.

Que. 54. What are the phases of chlorination?

Ans. 54. The phases of chlorination are as follows – 

1)    Formation of chloramines

2)    Destruction of chloramines

3)    Appearance of break point

4)    Accumulation of free residual chlorine

Que. 55. What does Orthotolidine (OT) test measure?

Ans. 55. Free (residual) chlorine & Free and combined chlorine.

Que. 56. What does Orthotolidine-arsenite (OTA) test measure?

Ans. 56. Free & combined chlorine separately.

Que. 57. What is the use of Horrock’s apparatus?

Ans. 57. Estimation of chlorine demand.

Que. 58. What is the use of chlorinator?

Ans. 58. Mixing or regulating dose of chlorine.

Que. 59. How can one measure residual level of chlorine?

Ans. 59. Residual level of chlorine can be measured by – 

1)    Chloroscope (pool test kit)

2)    Colour wheel test kit

3)    Digital chlorometers.

Que. 60. What is the desired level of chlorination in the distribution system & at houseful level?

Ans. 60. A residual chlorine level of 0.5 mg/L & 0.2 mg/L respectively.

Que. 61. What is the desired level of chlorination during disasters?

Ans. 61. A residual chlorine level of 1 mg/L.

Que. 62. What are the side effects of excess chlorine in water?

Ans. 62. Mouth ulcers, gall stone & cancers.

Que. 63. What is the desired level of chlorination in swimming pool?

Ans. 63. A residual chlorine level of 0.7 mg/L.

Que. 64. What is the brand name of chlorine tablets?

Ans. 64. Halogen tablets.

Que. 65. How much water is disinfected by a single chlorine tablet of 0.5 grams?

Ans. 65. 20 litres of water.

Que. 66. How will you classify hardness of water?

Ans. 66. 

Que. 67. What do you mean by water related diseases?

Ans. 67. These are infections transmitted by insects that depend on water for their breeding e.g. Malaria, Filaria, Dengue, yellow fever etc.

Que. 68. What do you mean by water washed diseases?

Ans. 68. These refer infections of outer body surface which occur due to inadequate use of water or improper hygiene e.g. trachoma, scabies etc.

Que. 69. What do you mean by water-based diseases?

Ans. 69. These refer to infections transmitted through an aquatic invertebrate host e.g. Guinea worm disease and schistosomiasis etc.

Que. 70. What do you mean by Gomez Classification of malnutrition?

Ans. 70. This classifies protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) with reference to the weight for age as percentage of the expected weight (Harvard Standard).

1st degree malnutrition – weight between 90% and 75% of the expected.

2nd degree malnutrition – weight between 75% and 60% of the expected.

3rd degree malnutrition – weight below 60% of the expected.

Que. 71. As per Wellcome Classification, how will you classify malnutrition?

Ans. 71. 1) Weight between 80% & 60% of expected weight –

With Oedema – Kwashiorkor

Without oedema – Under nutrition

2)Weight below 60% of expected – 

With oedema – Marasmic kwashiorkor

Without oedema – Nutritional Marasmus.

Que. 72. What do you mean by Water low’s classification of malnutrition?

Ans. 72. 

Que. 73. How will you classify malnutrition as per Indian academy of paediatrics (IAP)?

Ans. 73. 

1st degree – weight between 80% & 70% of expected weight

2nd degree – weight between 70% & 60% of expected weight

3rd degree – weight between 60% & 50% of expected weight

4th degree – weight below 50% of expected weight.

Que. 74. Which is the most important criteria to decide head of family?

Ans. 74. Decision maker.

Que. 75. Write down the criteria of defining urban area.

Ans. 75. Criteria of defining urban area are – 

1)    More than 5000 population.

2)    Population density of area being >390 per square km.

3)    About 75% of adult male working in non-agricultural establishments.

Que. 77. How much population does live in urban area in our country?

Ans. 77. 31.80% (Census 2011).

Que. 78. Write down the criteria of defining rural area.

Ans. 78. Criteria of defining rural area are – 

1)    Area with population density up to 400 per square km.

2)    Minimum of 75% males working population engaged in agriculture and allied activities.

3)    Villages with clear boundary but no municipal board.

4)    Population should not be more than 15000.

5)    At the village level, Panchayat takes all the decisions.

Que. 79. How much population does live in rural areas in our country?

Ans. 79. 68.2% (Census 2011).

Que. 80. What do you mean by SLUM?

Ans. 80. Heavily populated urban informal settlements characterized by substandard housing, lack of safe water supply, drainage problem, basic sanitation & electricity facilities.

Que. 81. Which are the types of different slums?

Ans. 81. Three types – 

1)    Notified slums – notified in slum act.

2)    Recognized slums – Not notified but recognized by government officials.

3)    Identified slums – Nether notified nor recognized slum areas.

Que. 82. How will you define tribal area?

Ans. 82. Areas with provision of sixth schedule of article 342 application is known as tribal area.

Que. 83. How much population of India does belong to schedule tribe category?

Ans. 83. 8.6% (Census 2011).

Que. 84. How many types of ration cards are given for public distribution system (PDS)?

Ans. 84. Types of ration cards given for PDS are – 

1)    Green Colour card – Extreme poverty level (Antodaya).

2)    Blue colour card – Below poverty line.

3)    Orange colour card – Above poverty line.

Que. 85. What is the recent definition of below poverty line (BPL) family?

Ans. 85. If person is earning money that is not enough to manage 2400 kcal per day per person in in rural area & 2100 Kcal per day per person in urban area then he is considered below poverty line. i.e. Rs. 1059.42 per capita per month in rural areas & Rs. 1286 per capita per month in urban area.

Que. 86. How much population of India is below poverty line?

Ans. 86. 20% (2017 figure).

Que. 87. What is the definition of extremely poor or Antodaya family?

Ans. 87. Families earning less than Rs. 250/- per capita per month are known as extremely poor or Antodaya family.

Que. 88. Under which ministry public distribution system does come?

Ans. 88. Ministry of Consumer affairs, food & public distribution.

Que. 89. What are the norms of grain distribution under PDS?

Ans. 89. BPL family – 35 kg food grains per month.

APL family – 15 kg food grains per month.

Que. 90. Write down different methods of nutritional assessment?

Ans. 90. A – Anthropometry

B – Biochemical Analysis (Hb, RBCs, urine & stool)

C – Clinical Assessment

D – Dietary Survey

E – Ecological factors (SES, education, occupation etc.)

F – Functional assessment (Vitamin & minerals deficiency features)

G – General Examination

H – Health statistics (Mortality & morbidity data)

Que. 91. How will you do nutritional history?

Ans. 91. Followings can be done for nutritional history – 

1)    Diet survey (Diet history)

2)    Calculate the consumption unit (CU) of the family.

3)    Calculate percentage of deficit or surplus of the raw material consumed per CU.

4)    Calculate calorie, carbohydrate, protein & fat per CU on the basis of raw materials.

5)    Calculate calorie, carbohydrate, protein & fat per CU on the basis of cooked foods.

Que. 92. What is the consumption unit (CU) of adults?

Ans. 92. 

Que. 93. What is the consumption unit (CU) below 21 years aged male & female?

Ans. 93. 

Que. 94. Mention the methods of dietary survey.

Ans. 94. Followings are the methods of dietary surveys – 

1)    24 – hour recall method

2)    Weighment method

3)    Log book method

4)    Expenditure method

5)    Duplicate samples

6)    Food inventory method

7)    Food frequency questionnaire method

8)    Food balance sheet method.

Que. 95. What do you mean by 24-hour recall method?

Ans. 95. The respondent in family (Housewife, Individual) is asked about which food and what amount is consumed in last 24 hour. It is the most popular, easy to conduct and less costly method.

Que. 96. What do you mean by weighment method?

Ans. 96. Weighing of raw or cooked food items, generally conducted for one week.

Que. 97. What do you mean by food frequency questionnaire method?

Ans. 97. This is for assessing how frequently an item is consumed during a fixed time period e.g. in a week. It is more suitable for studying the diet patterns & dietary habits of a population.

Que. 98. What do you mean by food balance sheet method?

Ans. 98. This is an indirect method for calculating food consumption and food availability per capita at large level like state or country.

Que. 99. What do you mean by duplicate samples?

Ans. 99. Whatever is consumed by the family, same amount of each food item is kept separately per day as duplicate samples. It is then assessed in terms of calories, protein, fat & carbohydrate. It is more accurate method but a costly method.

Que. 100. How much energy is provided by 1 gm macronutrients?

Ans. 100. 1 gm of carbohydrate – 4 Kcal

                  1 gm of protein – 4 Kcal

                  1 gm of fat – 9 Kcal

Que. 101. How much energy is provided by 1 gm dietary fibre?

Ans. 101. 1 gm of dietary fibre = 2 kcal.

Que. 102. How much energy is provided by 1 gm alcohol?

Ans. 102. 1 gm of alcohol = 7 kcal.

Que. 103. How will you define underweight?

Ans. 103. Child has a weight for age Z score that is at least 2 standard deviation (-2SD) below the median in the WHO child growth standards. It implies both Acute & Chronic Malnutrition.

Que. 104. What do you mean by Stunting?

Ans. 104. A stunted child has a height for age Z score that is at least 2 standard deviations (-2SD) below the median for the WHO child growth standards. It denotes chronic malnutrition.

Que. 105. What do you mean by Wasting?

Ans. 105. A wasted child has a weight for height Z score that is at least 2 standard deviation (-2SD) below the median for the WHO Child growth standards. Wasting means failure to gain weight or acute weight loss. It denotes Acute Malnutrition.

Que. 106. What do you mean by Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)?

Ans. 106. It is defined as very low weight for height/length (Z score below -3SD of the median WHO Child growth standards) or, a mid-upper arm circumference < 11.5 cm, or by the presence of nutritional oedema.

Que. 107. What do you mean by Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM)?

Ans. 107. It is defined as low weight for height (Z score of > -3SD to < -2SD) or a mid-upper arm circumference of 11.5 to 12.5 cm & no oedema.

Que. 108. What is pedigree?

Ans. 108. A pedigree is a chart of genetic history of family over several generation.

Que. 109. What is the use of pedigree?

Ans. 109. It is used to analyse the pattern of inheritance of a particular trait throughout a family.

Que. 110. What are the goals of pedigree analysis?

Ans. 110. The goals of pedigree analysis are – 

1)    To determine the mode of inheritance

2)    To determine the probability of having an affected offspring.

Que. 111. During palpation of the pregnant women’s abdomen, how many obstetric grips can be performed?

Ans. 111. 4 grips (Leopold’s Manoeuvre) are as follows – 

1)    First grip/ fundal grip 

2)    Second grip/umbilical grip/lateral grip

3)    Third grip – First pelvic grip.

4)    Fourth grip – Second pelvic grip.

Que. 112. What do you mean by excessive weight gain during pregnancy?

Ans. 112. 3 kg/month. Normal weight gain after 1st trimester is 2 kg/month.

Que. 113. What do you mean by term Lochia?

Ans. 113. It is a foul-smelling vaginal discharge after delivery. It consists of blood, decidua, membrane, mucus etc.

It can be of 3 types – 

1. a)   Lochia rubra – 2-5 days
2. b)   Lochia Serosa – 5-10 days
3. c)   Lochia alba – 10-12 days

Que. 114. What is the utility of Apgar score?

Ans. 114. Apgar Score is used to assess the oxygen status among neonates at birth. It is taken after birth at 1 minute & again at 5 minutes.

Que. 115. Which diseases are targeted under Neonatal Screening?

Ans. 115. Following diseases are targeted under neonatal screening – 

1)    Neonatal Hypothyroidism

2)    Thalassemia

3)    Sickle Cell Anaemia

4)    Phenylketonuria

5)    G6 PD deficiency

6)    Congenital dislocation of hip.

Que. 116. What is the duration of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)?

Ans. 116. Short – 4 hours daily

             Extended – 5-8 hours daily

                  Long – 9-12 hours daily

             Continuous – > 12 hours daily.

Que. 117. How will you say that breastfeeding is adequate?

Ans. 117. When 1) child gains weight 2) child urinates 6-8 times per day 3) being breastfed at least 8 times a day.

Que. 118. What do you mean by critical window period?

Ans. 118. The period from birth to 2 years of age. Important for promotion of optimal growth & development.

Que. 119. Which are the adolescent related legislations?

Ans. 119. Followings are the adolescent related legislations – 

1)    Right to education Act

2)    Child Marriage Registration Act

3)    Child labour Act

4)    Juvenile Justice Act

Que. 120. Which are the categories of Risk Behaviour of adolescents?

Ans. 120. Categories of risk behaviour of adolescents are – 

1)    Alcohol & drug abuse

2)    Tobacco use

3)    Inadequate physical activity

4)    Unhealthy dietary & hygiene behaviour

5)    Risky behaviours causing injuries

6)    Sexual behaviour resulting unintended pregnancy, STD & HIV.

Que. 121. What do you mean by DASH strategy?

Ans. 121. DASH – Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension

It is a diet plan that is rich in fruits, fibres, vegetables & minerals & low in saturated fats, trans fats & sodium.

Que. 122. Which are the vaccines recommended for geriatric population?

Ans. 122. The recommended vaccines are – 

1)    H. Influenzae Vaccine

2)    Pneumococcal Vaccine

3)    Zoster Vaccine

4)    Td or Tdap Vaccine.

Que. 123. Name the pension scheme for old age. Mention eligibility & entitlements.

Ans. 123. Indira Gandhi Old age pension Scheme (IGNOAPS).

Eligibility – Age equal to or more than 60 years (BPL).

Entitlements – For age 60-79 years – 200/month

–       For equal to or > 80 years – 500/month

Que. 124. What do you mean by Annapurna Scheme?

Ans. 124. Scheme was launched in April 2000 to provide food security to senior citizens who left uncovered under National Old Age Pension Scheme.

Eligibility – Male or female age 65 years or more, BPL category.

Benefits – 10 kg of grains free of cost per month.

Que. 125. How much milk an average lactating woman in India secrete daily?

Ans. 125. 450-600 ml of milk.

Suggested further readings –  

1)    Park k. Park’s textbook of Preventive & Social Medicine, 27th edn, 2023

2)    Patel P, Makadia K. Golden notes for Preventive & Social Medicine, 2nd edn, 2021.