Community Health II: Main Exam, 20 July 2026
Mount Kenya University · Department of Environmental Health and Health System Management · Diploma in Community Oral Health · DPH2103
Community Health II past paper from Mount Kenya University 2025-2026 with model answers for all questions.
Instructions: ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS
Section A (30 marks)
1. Define the following terms;
- a) Culture. (2 marks)Model answer
- Culture: The shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours and material objects that characterize a group or society.
- b) Immunity. (2 marks)Model answer
- Immunity: The ability of an individual to resist or fight off infection or disease, either naturally or through vaccination.
- c) Morbidity. (2 marks)Model answer
- Morbidity: The state of being ill or the incidence/prevalence of disease within a population.
- d) Epidemic. (2 marks)Model answer
- Epidemic: A sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in a specific area.
- e) Quarantine. (2 marks)Model answer
- Quarantine: The restriction of movement of persons who may have been exposed to a contagious disease to prevent its spread.
2. State five causes of Infant Mortality. (5 marks)
Model answer
- Poor maternal health and nutrition
- Inadequate neonatal care (e.g., lack of skilled birth attendance)
- Low birth weight and preterm birth
- Infectious diseases (e.g., pneumonia, diarrhoea)
- Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies
3. Explain five activities of an epidemiologist. (5 marks)
Model answer
- Surveillance – systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health data to detect outbreaks and monitor disease trends.
- Outbreak investigation – identify source, mode of transmission and implement control measures during an epidemic.
- Study design and data analysis – plan and conduct descriptive and analytic epidemiologic studies (cohort, case‑control, cross‑sectional) and interpret statistical results.
- Risk assessment – estimate the magnitude of risk factors in populations and calculate measures such as relative risk and odds ratio.
- Health education and policy advice – translate findings into recommendations for public health interventions, guidelines and legislation.
4. Differentiate between morbidity rates and mortality rates. (4 marks)
Model answer
- Morbidity rates measure the frequency of disease or health conditions in a population (e.g., incidence or prevalence of malaria).
- Mortality rates measure the frequency of death in a population (e.g., crude death rate, cause‑specific death rate).
- Morbidity reflects illness, disability or injury; mortality reflects death.
- Morbidity rates are used to assess disease burden and need for treatment, whereas mortality rates are used to assess fatality and overall health status of a community.
5. Differentiate between prevalence rate and incidence rate. Providing a practical example for each. (6 marks)
Model answer
- Prevalence rate – proportion of a population that has a disease at a specific point or period of time.
- *Example:* In a village of 1,000 people, 150 are living with hypertension on 1 January; point prevalence = 150/1,000 = 15%.
- Incidence rate – number of new cases of a disease that develop in a population at risk during a defined time period.
- *Example:* Over one year, 30 new cases of tuberculosis occur among 800 susceptible individuals; incidence = 30/800 = 3.75% per year.
- Key difference – prevalence includes both old and new cases; incidence counts only new cases.
- Interpretation – prevalence reflects disease burden; incidence reflects risk of developing the disease.
- Mathematical relation – prevalence ≈ incidence × average duration of disease (for steady‑state conditions).
- More answers: other examples (e.g., prevalence of dental caries vs. incidence of new caries lesions), use of period prevalence, cumulative incidence.