Community and Public Health Nutrition
What to know
This domain addresses population-level nutrition: needs assessment, program planning, policy, and health promotion. Understand the social determinants of health, food security and insecurity, and the difference between hunger and food insecurity. Know the levels of prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary) and the ecological model (individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, policy). Be familiar with national food assistance and fortification programs conceptually, dietary guidelines, and the role of surveillance data and indicators (e.g., stunting, wasting, BMI distributions). Understand program evaluation types (process, impact, outcome).
Traps
Questions often test the level of prevention or the level of the ecological model rather than the intervention itself. Watch for confusion between food insecurity (limited access to adequate food) and hunger (a physiological sensation). Another trap is mixing process evaluation (was it delivered as planned?) with outcome evaluation (did health improve?).
Rule of thumb
For any public health stem, ask: at what level (individual vs policy) and at what prevention stage (before, during, after disease) does this intervention act? Then match the evaluation type to the question being asked.
Worked example
A school fruit-and-vegetable program that measures whether lessons were delivered on schedule is process evaluation; measuring students' intake change is impact/outcome evaluation. The stem asks "was it implemented as planned?"-answer: process.