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Key Facts: EHPLE Public Health Exam

200 MCQs

Total Questions

MoH HHrIPR-LEO Blueprint

Two blocks of 100

Examination Time

MoH Implementation Guideline (blocks of <=120 questions, >=30-minute break)

Modified Angoff

Standard Setting

National HPLE Guidelines

Not published

Official Registration Fee

MoH registration portal (hple.moh.gov.et)

Free 100-question practice test for the Ethiopian Health Professionals Licensing Examination (EHPLE) Public Health (Health Officer) discipline. Covers epidemiology, health service management, national disease control, RMNCH, WASH, and primary clinical care.

Sample EHPLE Public Health Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the EHPLE Public Health exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1An epidemiologist investigating a measles outbreak in a rural woreda calculates the proportion of susceptible household contacts who develop measles within one incubation period following exposure to a primary case. Which epidemiological measure is being calculated?
A.Incidence density
B.Point prevalence
C.Secondary attack rate
D.Case fatality rate
Explanation: The secondary attack rate measures the spread of an infectious disease among susceptible individuals within a closed setting, such as a household or classroom, following exposure to an index or primary case. It serves as a key indicator of communicability and infectiousness in close contact environments.
2In an epidemiological study assessing nutritional stunting among school-aged children across ten kebeles at a single point in calendar time, both exposure and outcome data are gathered simultaneously. Which study design is being utilized?
A.Cross-sectional study
B.Prospective cohort study
C.Case-control study
D.Community randomized trial
Explanation: A cross-sectional study assesses exposure and outcome simultaneously in a defined population at a specific point in time. It provides prevalence estimates and helps formulate etiologic hypotheses, though it cannot establish definitive temporal sequence.
3A woreda health officer reviews vital events and notes 40 infant deaths occurring within the first 28 completed days of life among 1,000 live births in the calendar year. Which health indicator does this statistic represent?
A.Perinatal mortality rate
B.Post-neonatal mortality rate
C.Infant mortality rate
D.Neonatal mortality rate
Explanation: Neonatal mortality rate is defined as the number of deaths among live-born infants during the first 28 completed days of life per 1,000 live births in a specified time interval. It reflects the quality of antenatal, intrapartum, and immediate newborn care.
4Which measure of central tendency is least affected by extreme outliers when analyzing skewed distributions of household medical expenditures?
A.Arithmetic mean
B.Median
C.Geometric mean
D.Mid-range
Explanation: The median represents the 50th percentile and depends solely on ordinal position rather than magnitude, making it highly robust against extreme outliers and skewed distributions. In contrast, the arithmetic mean is pulled strongly in the direction of skewness.
5In a research project evaluating knowledge of cervical cancer screening among women, the investigator divides the woreda into kebeles, randomly selects 10 kebeles, and interviews every eligible woman residing in those selected kebeles. Which sampling technique is applied?
A.Simple random sampling
B.Stratified random sampling
C.Cluster sampling
D.Systematic random sampling
Explanation: Cluster sampling divides the target population into naturally occurring geographic or administrative groups (clusters), randomly samples entire clusters, and assesses all or sampled units within chosen clusters. It is cost-effective when individual sampling frames across large rural populations are unavailable.
6What is the primary objective of establishing a clear, standardized case definition during the early phase of an outbreak investigation?
A.To uniformly identify and count all true cases while excluding non-cases
B.To immediately confirm the biological mechanism and route of infection
C.To provide definitive legal documentation for closing public gathering sites
D.To administer antimicrobial treatment without diagnostic confirmation
Explanation: A standardized case definition establishes uniform objective clinical and epidemiological criteria (time, place, and person) to ensure consistent case identification, case counting, and exclusion of unrelated illnesses during surveillance and outbreak response.
7Under the Ethiopian Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) guidelines, which of the following diseases requires immediate notification within 30 minutes to 24 hours of suspected case detection?
A.Typhoid fever
B.Meningococcal meningitis
C.Schistosomiasis
D.Trachoma
Explanation: Meningococcal meningitis is an epidemic-prone infection classified as an immediately reportable disease under Ethiopian IDSR guidelines. Detection of even a suspected case mandates immediate verbal or electronic reporting within 24 hours to initiate prompt investigation and contact chemoprophylaxis if indicated.
8In a diagnostic test evaluation for pulmonary tuberculosis, 90 out of 100 true culture-positive patients test positive on a new screening modality. What performance metric is directly represented by this 90% result?
A.Negative predictive value
B.Specificity
C.Positive predictive value
D.Sensitivity
Explanation: Sensitivity is the probability that a diagnostic test correctly identifies individuals who genuinely have the target condition (true positives divided by total diseased). Here, 90 out of 100 individuals with confirmed tuberculosis tested positive, yielding a sensitivity of 90%.
9In a cohort study following 2,000 factory workers over 5 years, 80 workers develop chronic occupational bronchitis among 1,000 exposed to chemical dust, while 20 develop bronchitis among 1,000 unexposed workers. What is the relative risk (risk ratio) of developing bronchitis among the exposed compared to the unexposed?
A.4.0
B.0.25
C.2.5
D.6.0
Explanation: Cumulative incidence in the exposed group is 80 / 1,000 = 0.08 (8%). Cumulative incidence in the unexposed group is 20 / 1,000 = 0.02 (2%). The relative risk is calculated as the incidence in exposed divided by incidence in unexposed: 0.08 / 0.02 = 4.0, indicating exposed workers are four times more likely to develop chronic bronchitis.
10A case-control study investigating esophageal cancer in relation to traditional alcohol consumption enrolls 150 cases and 300 hospital controls. Among cases, 100 consumed traditional spirits, compared to 100 among controls. What is the odds ratio (OR) of esophageal cancer associated with spirit consumption?
A.1.5
B.2.0
C.4.0
D.0.5
Explanation: The 2x2 contingency table shows: Exposed cases (a) = 100, Unexposed cases (c) = 50; Exposed controls (b) = 100, Unexposed controls (d) = 200. The odds ratio is calculated as (a * d) / (b * c) = (100 * 200) / (100 * 50) = 20,000 / 5,000 = 4.0. Spirit drinkers have four times the odds of esophageal cancer.

About the EHPLE Public Health Exam

Prepare for the Ethiopian Health Professionals Licensing Examination (EHPLE) for Public Health with our free 100-question practice test. Administered nationwide by the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH) through the Health and Health-related Institutions and Professionals Regulatory Lead Executive Office (HHrIPR-LEO), this comprehensive examination licenses BSc Public Health graduates to practice as Health Officers. The exam tests mastery across epidemiology, biostatistics, primary healthcare systems, disease prevention programs, maternal and child health, environmental sanitation, and primary outpatient care.

Exam sponsor: Federal Ministry of Health (MoH) — Health and Health-related Institutions and Professionals Regulatory Lead Executive Office (HHrIPR-LEO). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

The MoH Implementation Guideline allots roughly 1.25 minutes per question and caps a single block at 120 questions / 2 hours 30 minutes, followed by a break of at least 30 minutes before the second block. A 200-item sitting is therefore delivered as a morning and an afternoon block of 100 questions each.

Time Limit

Two 100-question blocks with a break of at least 30 minutes

Passing Score

Set each round by an expert panel using the Modified-Angoff method (no fixed percentage)

Exam / Certification Fees

Not published by MoH as a fixed public tariff. A registration fee is paid through the official portal (hple.moh.gov.et); candidates who miss a sitting without an accepted reason pay the registration fee plus a 50% penalty (MoH Exam Administration Manual). Confirm the current amount on the registration announcement.

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

53%

Patient Care

Internal medicine (12%), gynecology and obstetrics (10%), surgery (9%), pediatrics (9%), ear, nose and throat (3%), psychiatry and mental health (3%), dermatology (3%), ophthalmology (2%), and dentistry (2%).

20%

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Community diagnosis (10%) and community-based intervention (10%).

11%

Leadership and Management

Health system and facility leadership, planning, health information use, and resource stewardship.

9%

Scholar

Research literacy, evidence-based public health practice, and continuing professional development.

7%

Professionalism

Professional ethics and medico-legal practice (3%), principles of professionalism (2%), and communication and collaboration (2%).

Preparing for the EHPLE Public Health Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Set each round by an expert panel using the Modified-Angoff method (no fixed percentage)
  • Assessment: The MoH Implementation Guideline allots roughly 1.25 minutes per question and caps a single block at 120 questions / 2 hours 30 minutes, followed by a break of at least 30 minutes before the second block. A 200-item sitting is therefore delivered as a morning and an afternoon block of 100 questions each.
  • Time limit: Two 100-question blocks with a break of at least 30 minutes
  • Exam / certification fees: Not published by MoH as a fixed public tariff. A registration fee is paid through the official portal (hple.moh.gov.et); candidates who miss a sitting without an accepted reason pay the registration fee plus a 50% penalty (MoH Exam Administration Manual). Confirm the current amount on the registration announcement. Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

EHPLE Public Health: Suggested Study Strategy

1Master epidemiological calculations thoroughly, including incidence density, cumulative incidence, attack rates, relative risk, odds ratios, and positive/negative predictive values.
2Review the Ethiopian Health Sector Transformation Plan (HSTP) and the structure of Primary Health Care Units (PHCU), Health Extension Program (HEP) packages, and HMIS/DHIS2 indicators.
3Memorize the national treatment guidelines for priority conditions: malaria regimens (artemether-lumefantrine and chloroquine/primaquine), TB directly observed therapy (2RHZE/4RH), first-line ART (TLD), and EPI vaccine schedules.
4Practice maternal and child health protocols: Partograph interpretation, active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL), neonatal resuscitation, and IMNCI triage and treatment matrices.
5Understand environmental health interventions and community mobilization strategies, including CLTSH triggering steps, chlorine stock solution calculations, and healthcare waste segregation color codes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the EHPLE Public Health examination?

The Ethiopian Health Professionals Licensing Examination (EHPLE) for Public Health is the mandatory national licensing exam administered by the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH) Health and Health-related Institutions and Professionals Regulatory Lead Executive Office (HHrIPR-LEO). It assesses the core competencies of BSc Public Health (Health Officer) graduates prior to issuing independent professional practice licenses.

What is the format and duration of the EHPLE Public Health exam?

The official exam comprises 200 multiple-choice questions administered in two separate 100-question blocks (100 questions per session) on the same day, totaling Two 100-question blocks of testing time. The exam is computer-based or paper-based depending on the university testing center assigned.

How is the passing score determined for the EHPLE?

The pass mark is established using the standard Modified Angoff method, where an expert panel of public health educators and clinicians evaluates each item's difficulty for a minimally competent candidate. While historically around 50%, the exact cut score is determined and announced per examination round.

What key disciplines and topics are tested on the exam?

The official MoH Public Health Information Booklet weights five key professional roles: Patient Care 53%, broken down into internal medicine (12%), gynecology and obstetrics (10%), surgery (9%), pediatrics (9%), ear, nose and throat (3%), psychiatry and mental health (3%), dermatology (3%), ophthalmology (2%) and dentistry (2%); followed by Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 20% (community diagnosis 10%, community-based intervention 10%), Leadership and Management 11%, Scholar 9%, and Professionalism 7%.

How often is the EHPLE administered and how can candidates register?

The Federal Ministry of Health typically conducts the national licensing examination twice a year (typically around February/March and August/September). Candidates register online via the official portal at https://hple.moh.gov.et/ by submitting their official academic credentials, university graduation clearance, and paying the nominal a registration fee announced by the Ministry of Health for each round examination fee.

Are these practice questions an official EHPLE paper?

No. The EHPLE is set and delivered only by the Federal Ministry of Health; these questions are an independent study aid written against the official Information Booklet blueprint and Ethiopian national clinical guidelines. The official examination is delivered in English as computer-based, four-option, single-best-answer MCQs, so the item format here matches the real assessment, but this bank is not an official past paper, a released item pool, or a simulation of the live testing environment. Always confirm registration dates, fees, and exam-day rules on moh.gov.et/ehple and hple.moh.gov.et.