UPSC CMSE Preventive and Social Medicine Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Preventive and Social Medicine deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What is the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?

   Descriptive statistics summarize and describe a data set (mean, SD, frequencies, charts). Inferential statistics use sample data to draw conclusions/generalize about a larger population (estimation and hypothesis testing).

2. What does a 95% confidence interval mean?

   It is a range of values that, on repeated sampling, would contain the true population parameter 95% of the time. A narrower interval indicates greater precision.

3. State the addition and multiplication rules of probability.

   Addition rule (mutually exclusive events): P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B). Multiplication rule (independent events): P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B).

4. State Bayes' theorem in words.

   The posterior probability of an event given new evidence equals the prior probability times the likelihood of the evidence under that event, divided by the overall probability of the evidence: P(A|B) = [P(B|A)·P(A)] / P(B).

5. Define the null hypothesis (H0) and the alternative hypothesis (H1).

   H0 states there is no difference/association (the effect = 0). H1 states there is a true difference/association. Testing aims to reject or fail to reject H0.

6. Define Type I and Type II errors and their associated probabilities.

   Type I error (α): rejecting a true null hypothesis (false positive). Type II error (β): failing to reject a false null hypothesis (false negative). Conventionally α = 0.05.

7. What is statistical power and how is it calculated?

   Power = the probability of correctly detecting a true effect (rejecting a false null) = 1 − β. It increases with larger sample size, larger effect size, and higher α; usually set at 80% or more.

8. What does a p-value represent, and what does p < 0.05 conventionally mean?

   The probability of obtaining results as extreme as observed if the null hypothesis were true. p < 0.05 means the result is statistically significant (less than 5% chance of being due to chance alone).

9. Which statistical test compares means between two independent groups, and which compares more than two groups?

   Student's t-test (unpaired) compares means of two independent groups; ANOVA (analysis of variance) compares means of three or more groups.

10. When is the chi-square test used?

    To test for association/difference between categorical (qualitative) variables using observed versus expected frequencies in a contingency table.

11. What does the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) measure and what is its range?

    It measures the strength and direction of a LINEAR relationship between two continuous variables. r ranges from −1 (perfect negative) to +1 (perfect positive), with 0 meaning no linear correlation.

12. Differentiate simple linear regression from multiple linear regression.

    Simple linear regression models one continuous outcome from one predictor (Y = a + bX). Multiple linear regression models a continuous outcome from two or more predictors simultaneously, allowing adjustment for confounders.

13. When is logistic regression used and what measure of association does it produce?

    Used when the outcome is binary/dichotomous (e.g., disease yes/no). It produces odds ratios as the measure of association.

14. What is the Kaplan-Meier method used for in survival analysis?

    It estimates and plots the survival function (probability of surviving over time) from time-to-event data, handling censored observations; survival curves are compared with the log-rank test.

15. What does the Cox proportional hazards model estimate?

    It is a regression model for time-to-event data that estimates the hazard ratio for predictors while adjusting for covariates, assuming hazards are proportional over time.

16. What is censoring in survival analysis?

    When the outcome event is not observed for a subject during follow-up (e.g., lost to follow-up, study ends, or death from another cause). Such subjects contribute partial information up to their last known time.

17. When was the National Health Mission (NHM) launched and what two sub-missions does it comprise?

    NHM was launched in 2013, subsuming the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM, 2005) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM, 2013).

18. Who is an ASHA and what is her role under the NHM?

    ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) is a trained female community health volunteer in NRHM who acts as a link between the community and the health system, promoting health, mobilizing for services, and facilitating institutional deliveries.

19. List the vaccines and the schedule given at birth under India's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).

    At birth: BCG, OPV-0 (zero dose), and Hepatitis B birth dose (within 24 hours).

20. Which diseases does India's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) protect against?

    Tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, hepatitis B, measles-rubella, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and (in select areas) rotavirus, pneumococcal disease, and Japanese encephalitis.

21. What is Mission Indradhanush?

    A Government of India drive launched in 2014 to achieve full immunization coverage of all children and pregnant women left out/partially immunized under UIP, targeting >90% coverage.

22. What does the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) provide?

    A conditional cash transfer scheme under NHM that promotes institutional delivery among poor pregnant women by providing cash assistance to mothers (and ASHAs) to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.

23. Under the RNTCP/NTEP, what are the components of DOTS for tuberculosis control?

    DOTS components: political/administrative commitment, diagnosis by quality-assured sputum/microscopy (now also CBNAAT), uninterrupted drug supply, directly observed short-course treatment, and systematic recording and reporting.

24. State one key target difference between a Non-Communicable Disease control program and a communicable disease program, citing NPCDCS.

    NPCDCS (National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke) emphasizes population-based screening, risk-factor reduction, and lifelong management of chronic conditions, whereas communicable disease programs focus on interrupting transmission, case finding, and cure/eradication.

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Preventive and Social Medicine flashcards FAQ