UGC NTA NET/JRF Exam, Social Medicine & Community Health, January-2025

General ethical principles relevant to social science research for health in India are outlined by the ICMR National Ethical Guidelines (2017). These principles guide research to ensure integrity, justice, and respect for participants.

A. Essentiality - Research must be necessary, socially valuable, and scientifically justified before being undertaken.

C. Non-exploitation - Participants should not be exploited for personal, institutional, or commercial gain; their welfare and dignity must be safeguarded.

Beneficence (B) and Non-maleficence (D) are core principles of biomedical ethics but are not listed as general principles specific to social science research in the ICMR guidelines.

Small-scale water purification methods are used at the household or community level to ensure water safety before drinking.

A. Boiling: Heating water to a rolling boil for at least one minute kills most bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. It is the simplest and most effective household method.

B. Use of Bleaching Powder (Chlorination): Bleaching powder (CaOCL,) releases chlorine in water, which acts as a powerful disinfectant against pathogens. It is widely used for disinfecting wells and small water sources.

C. Filtration: Passing water through porous materials such as cloth, ceramic filters, or activated charcoal removes suspended solids and some microorganisms. Often used before disinfection to clarify water.

D. Displacement: This term refers to physical or chemical reactions (like displacement of one substance by another) and is not a method of water purification.

Under the Employees' State Insurance Act (ESI Act), 1948, insured workers are entitled to several benefits:

A. Maternity benefit - For insured women during confinement and related conditions.

B. Funeral expenses - A lump-sum payment to dependents.

D. Rehabilitation allowance - Support during recovery or after disability. Travel allowance (C) is not covered under ESI.

Social control mechanisms regulate individual behavior to maintain order and conformity in society.

B. Formal rules - Laws, reguiations, and institutional codes enforced by authority.

D. Norms of society - Informal expectations of behavior upheld by social approval or disapproval.
Compensation (A) and Projection (C) are not mechanisms of social control.

Fluorosis is caused by excessive fluoride in drinking water, common in arid and semi-arid regions of India. Endemic states include:

A. Kerala - Some localized cases.

C. Punjab - High fluoride concentration in groundwater in several districts.

D. Haryana - Endemic fluorosis in multiple regions due to groundwater contamination. West Bengal is not a major endemic state.

Case-Control studies are observational and retrospective in nature.

A. They proceed from effect to cause, as the study starts with diseased (cases) and nondiseased (controls) groups and looks back to find exposure.

C. They are suitable for studying rare diseases because the researcher starts with affected individuals. They are not suitable for rare exposures.

The Epidemiological Transition Ratio (ETR) represents the ratio of DALYs from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries to those from communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases.

It helps measure the shift in disease burden as countries move through different stages of health transition.

C. All Indian states had ratios <1 in 2016 - Correct. A ratio below 1 means NCDs and injuries have overtaken communicable diseases in total burden.

D. Proportion and DALYs caused by NCDs and injuries have increased heavily since 1990 - Correct. This reflects the growing dominance of lifestyle-related diseases.

E. India's health system faces a dual challenge of CDs and NCDs - Correct. India faces both infectious and chronic disease burdens simultaneously.

Incorrect statements:

A. Incorrect - The ETR varies widely across states.

B. Incorrect - The ETR is the ratio of NCDs and injuries to communicable diseases, not the reverse.

Health targets under SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by 2030 include:

B. Reduce neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1,000 live births.

C. Reduce under-five mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births.

A is incorrect (the target is <70 per 100,000 live births, not per 1,000).

D is incorrect (target is reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third, not 75%).

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) includes evaluation of safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and ethical/legal issues. Statements Cand D are not typically part of the HTA process itself.

C. Pre-testing of technology
• Reason: This belongs to the research and development / clinical trial stage, not to HTA.

• HTA agencies evaluate evidence after pretesting is completed-they do not perform pre-testing themselves.

D. Assessment of ethical and legal issues (when interpreted as a stand-alone operational task)

• While HTA frameworks consider ethics conceptually, the "assessment" itself is not a separate procedural step; it is integrated into broader evaluation domains.

Hence, when listed as a distinct "activity," it is not counted among the standard technical steps of HTA. Why the other statements are part of HTА

A. Cost-effectiveness analysis - Core component of HTA, used to determine value for money.
B. Data collection and analysis - Integral for evidence generation.
C. Literature review and evidence synthesis - Central to every HTA process; systematic review of all available data.

А. Сorrect - A sanitary well should be sited at least ~ 50 ft (≈15 m) away from possible contamination sources (latrine, drain, cattle shed, etc.).

B. Correct - The well should be properly lined with brick/stone in cement so that water enters from the bottom, preventing side-seepage of contaminated water (standard sanitary construction feature).

C. Incorrect - Limiting users' carrying distance (e.g., ≤100 m) is a service/access criterion, not a sanitary construction requirement.

D. Incorrect - The platform should slope outwards to drain spilled water away, not inwards.