Self-study
While the population of city X is approximately one-half that of city Y, the number of city X residents who are patients in hospitals is only one-fourth that of the number of city Y residents who are patients in hospitals.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why is the ratio of X residents who are patients in hospitals to Y residents who are patients in hospitals lower than the ratio of X’s population to Y’s population?
Objective
This is an EXCEPT question. The four wrong answers should suggest a potential difference between X’s residents and Y’s residents that could lead to X’s residents being less likely to go to the hospital. For example, maybe X’s residents are healthier than Y’s residents, or maybe X’s residents have worse access to hospitals than Y’s residents.
10.
Each of the following, if █████ ███████████ ██ ██ ███████████ ██ ███ ██████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ █████████ ███ ███ ████████ ██ █████████ ███████
a
Preventive health programs ███ ████ █████████ ██ ████ █ ████ ██ ████ ██
This is a potential causal mechanism that could explain why X’s residents are less likely to go to the hospital. Maybe they have fewer illnesses that require going to the hospital because of their more prevalent preventive health programs.
b
The hospitals in ████ █ ███ █████ ██ ███████ ██ █████████ ██████████ █████████ ████████ █████████
Outpatient treatment is treatment outside a hospital. This suggests X residents get more outside-the-hospital treatment than Y residents. That could be why comparatively fewer X residents are patients “in” hospitals.
c
The drinking water ██ ████ █ ███ ███████████ ████ ██████ ██ ███████████ ███████ ████ ██ ███ ███ ████ ███ ████ ██
This is a potential causal mechanism that could explain why X’s residents are less likely to go to the hospital. More dangerous water in Y could lead to more illness among Y residents, which might lead to more need for treatment in a hospital.
d
The hospitals in ████ █ ███ ██ ████ ████ ████████ ███ █████████ ██ ████ █ ███ █████ ████ █████ ███ ██████████
We’re not trying to explain why X’s hospitals have fewer patients. We’re trying to explain why fewer X residents are patients in a hospital (regardless of location). X residents who go to hospitals in Y are still counted as “X residents who are patients in hospitals.”
e
The lifestyle in ████ █ ██ █████████████ ████ █████████ ████ ███ █████████ ██ ████ ██
This is a potential causal mechanism that could explain why X’s residents are less likely to go to the hospital. Less stressful lifestyles could lead to better health and less need to go to the hospital. A potential connection between stress and health is reasonable.