Environmental health: practice question

A PSM question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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PSM · Environmental health

Sample item

Which intervention most directly reduces household exposure to faecal-oral pathogens?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

D. Safe water, sanitation, and hand hygiene

Safe drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene interrupt faecal-oral transmission and reduce enteric infections at the household and community level.

Option by option

  • A. Routine chest radiography

    Chest radiography does not prevent enteric transmission.

  • B. Increasing dietary salt intake

    Salt intake does not make water microbiologically safe.

  • C. Using antibiotics for every loose stool

    Indiscriminate antibiotics promote resistance and may be harmful.

  • D. Safe water, sanitation, and hand hygiene (correct)

    Correct: these measures block contamination and ingestion pathways.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

More PSM questions

Questions about this PSM question

What is the answer to this PSM question?

The best answer is D, Safe water, sanitation, and hand hygiene. Safe drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene interrupt faecal-oral transmission and reduce enteric infections at the household and community level.

Why is "Routine chest radiography" not the answer?

Chest radiography does not prevent enteric transmission.

Why is "Increasing dietary salt intake" not the answer?

Salt intake does not make water microbiologically safe.

Why is "Using antibiotics for every loose stool" not the answer?

Indiscriminate antibiotics promote resistance and may be harmful.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Environmental health in PSM. The correct option holds because: Correct: these measures block contamination and ingestion pathways.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Environmental health?

Practise biostatistics with small calculations until sensitivity, predictive values and risk measures are automatic. Then use the flashcards and the other PSM questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.