Secondary 5 Health Management And Social Care Practice Paper: Health Concepts And Indicators, Nutrition And Energy Needs, Physical Activity And Exercise Prescription, Mental Health And Stress Management, Community Health And Epidemiology, Social Welfare Policy And Service Resources (100 Marks)

Secondary 5 Health Management and Social Care Practice Paper: Health Concepts and Indicators, Nutrition and Energy Needs, Physical Activity and Exercise Prescription, Mental Health and Stress Management, Community Health and Epidemiology, Social Welfare Policy and Service Resources (100 marks)

2026-11-14

Health Management and Social Care – S5

S5 Health Management and Social Care practice paper: 24 parts, 100 marks in 60 minutes, with worked answers on health indicators, nutrition, exercise and welfare services.

Paper details　S5 Health Management and Social Care practice paper with 24 parts, 100 marks, full answers and worked calculations for DSE preparation.

Section A: Health Concepts and Indicators

Four questions, 17 marks in total.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	A Secondary 5 student weighs 64.0 kg and is 1.6 m tall. Calculate the body mass index (BMI, 1 decimal place) and classify it using the WHO Asian adult cut-offs (23 to 24.9 overweight, 25 or above obese).	Answer: BMI = weight / height squared = 64.0 / 2.56 = 25.0. Since 25.0 reaches 25 or above the student falls in the obese class I band, not merely overweight.
2	A district records 300 newly diagnosed cases in one year with a mid-year population of 120,000. Calculate the incidence rate per 100,000 population (1 decimal place).	Answer: incidence = new cases / population x 100,000 = 300 / 120,000 x 100,000 = 250.0, i.e. 250.0 cases per 100,000 population.
3	At the end of that year the district has 1,800 existing patients among 150,000 residents. Find the prevalence as a percentage and per 100,000 population.	Answer: prevalence = 1,800 / 150,000 x 100% = 1.2%, which equals 1200.0 per 100,000 population.
4	Three people die from a disease at ages 50, 62 and 70 while life expectancy at birth is 85 years. Find the total years of potential life lost (YPLL) and the mean (1 decimal place).	Answer: the three deaths lose 35, 23 and 15 years respectively, a total of 73 years; mean = 73 / 3 = 24.3 years.

Section B: Nutrition and Energy Needs

Four questions, 17 marks in total.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	A lunch contains 60 g carbohydrate, 25 g protein and 20 g fat. Find the total energy and the percentage of energy from fat (1 decimal place), and state whether it exceeds the 30% upper limit of the daily fat recommendation.	Answer: carbohydrate 60 x 4 = 240 kcal, protein 25 x 4 = 100 kcal, fat 20 x 9 = 180 kcal, total 520 kcal. Fat supplies 180 / 520 x 100% = 34.6%, above the 30% limit.
6	A 30-year-old man weighs 70 kg and is 175 cm tall. His basal metabolic rate follows the Harris-Benedict equation (66.5 + 13.75W + 5.003H – 6.775A). With an activity factor of 1.55 and a daily deficit of 500 kcal, find his recommended daily intake.	Answer: BMR = 66.5 + 13.75 x 70 + 5.003 x 175 – 6.775 x 30 = 1701.3 kcal; total expenditure = 1701.3 x 1.55 = 2637.0 kcal; recommended intake = 2637.0 – 500 = 2137.0 kcal.
7	About 5 g of table salt contains 2000 mg sodium. If a person takes 3200 mg sodium a day, express the salt equivalent in grams, the percentage of the WHO 2,000 mg limit (1 decimal place) and the excess.	Answer: 3200 mg sodium equals 3200 / 400 = 8.0 g salt; that is 3200 / 2000 x 100% = 160.0% of the limit; the excess is 3200 – 2000 = 1200 mg sodium, about 3.0 g salt.
8	An adult weighing 62 kg needs 0.8 g protein per kg body weight daily. If the intake is 70 g, find the requirement, the excess and the actual intake per kg (1 decimal place).	Answer: requirement = 62 x 0.8 = 49.6 g; excess = 70 – 49.6 = 20.4 g; actual intake per kg = 70 / 62 = 1.1 g, above the recommended 0.8 g.

Section C: Physical Activity and Exercise Prescription

Four questions, 17 marks in total.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	A 16-year-old student estimates maximum heart rate as 220 minus age and trains at 60% to 80% of it. Find the maximum heart rate and both ends of the training zone (1 decimal place).	Answer: maximum heart rate = 220 – 16 = 204 bpm; lower limit = 204 x 0.6 = 122.4; upper limit = 204 x 0.8 = 163.2 bpm.
10	A person walks 5 days a week for 30 minutes (3.3 METs) and runs 3 days for 25 minutes (8.0 METs). Find the weekly MET-minutes and state whether the 600 MET-minute guideline is met.	Answer: walking 3.3 x 30 x 5 = 495.0; running 8.0 x 25 x 3 = 600.0; total 1095.0 MET-minutes, above 600, so the guideline is met.
11	An athlete has a resting heart rate of 64 bpm and a maximum of 196 bpm. The coach sets 70% intensity using the heart rate reserve method. Find the reserve and the target heart rate (1 decimal place).	Answer: reserve = 196 – 64 = 132; target = 64 + 132 x 0.7 = 64 + 92.4 = 156.4 bpm.
12	A person weighing 70 kg exercises at 8.0 METs for 40 minutes. Estimate the energy cost using kcal = MET x 3.5 x weight / 200 x minutes.	Answer: kcal = 8.0 x 3.5 x 70 / 200 x 40 = 1960.0 / 200 x 40 = 392.0 kcal.

Section D: Mental Health and Stress Management

Four questions, 16 marks in total.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	A student keeps the same bedtime but sleeps only 6.0 hours for 5 consecutive nights against a need of 7.5 hours. Find the accumulated sleep debt and the average nightly shortfall.	Answer: nightly shortfall = 7.5 – 6.0 = 1.5 hours; debt = 1.5 x 5 = 7.5 hours.
14	A stress questionnaire has 20 items scored 0 to 4. A respondent scores 46. Find the maximum score and the percentage obtained (1 decimal place).	Answer: maximum = 20 x 4 = 80; percentage = 46 / 80 x 100% = 57.5%.
15	Under anxiety a person breathes 12 times a minute instead of 18. Find the increase per minute and the percentage rise.	Answer: increase = 18 – 12 = 6 breaths per minute; rise = 6 / 12 x 100% = 50.0%.
16	A student attends 8 counselling sessions of 45 minutes each, one per week. Find the total hours and the number of weeks to complete the programme.	Answer: total minutes = 8 x 45 = 360, i.e. 6.0 hours; at one session a week the programme takes 8 weeks.

Section E: Community Health and Epidemiology

Four questions, 16 marks in total.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	At a banquet 300 of 45 attendees become ill. Find the attack rate.	Answer: attack rate = 45 / 300 x 100% = 15.0%.
18	A study compares 300 smokers and 300 non-smokers; 45 smokers and 15 non-smokers become ill. Find both attack rates, the relative risk and the attributable risk in percentage points.	Answer: smokers 45 / 300 x 100% = 15.0%; non-smokers 15 / 300 x 100% = 5.0%; relative risk = 15.0 / 5.0 = 3.0; attributable risk = 15.0 – 5.0 = 10.0 percentage points.
19	A disease has a basic reproduction number of 4.0. Find the herd immunity threshold (1 decimal place) and, at 80% vaccine coverage, the effective reproduction number; state whether transmission is controlled.	Answer: threshold = (1 – 1 / 4.0) x 100% = 75.0%; effective number = 4.0 x (1 – 0.8) = 0.8, below 1, so transmission is controlled.
20	A screening test is positive for 90 of 100 patients and negative for 1800 of 1900 non-patients. Find the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (1 decimal place each).	Answer: sensitivity = 90 / 100 x 100% = 90.0%; specificity = 1800 / 1900 x 100% = 94.7%; positive predictive value = 90 / (90 + 100) x 100% = 47.4%.

Section F: Social Welfare Policy and Service Resources

Four questions, 17 marks in total.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	A place has 800,000 children aged 0 to 14, 1,300,000 people aged 65 or above and 5,400,000 people aged 15 to 64. Find the total dependency ratio (1 decimal place).	Answer: dependent population = 800,000 + 1,300,000 = 2,100,000; ratio = 2,100,000 / 5,400,000 x 100% = 38.9%.
22	A residential care service for older people receives 3,000 applications for 2,400 places. Find the placement rate (1 decimal place) and the shortfall.	Answer: placement rate = 2,400 / 3,000 x 100% = 80.0%; shortfall = 3,000 – 2,400 = 600 places.
23	A district has 4,000 households, of which 1,000 fall below the poverty line; after a policy intervention the figure falls to 880. Find both poverty rates and the fall in percentage points (1 decimal place each).	Answer: before = 1,000 / 4,000 x 100% = 25.0%; after = 880 / 4,000 x 100% = 22.0%; a fall of 3.0 percentage points.
24	An outreach team has 5 social workers handling 120 cases. Find the average caseload and, if the cap is 20 cases each, the number of workers required.	Answer: average caseload = 120 / 5 = 24 cases; with a cap of 20 the team needs 120 / 20 = 6.0, i.e. 6 social workers.

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