Show your working
Write the formula, substitute the numbers, then give the answer with units. Method marks are usually available even when an arithmetic slip creeps in.
Paper IIB · Data interpretation
DFPH Paper IIB: data interpretation
The data paper. Several sections built around tables, charts and statistical output, testing whether you can manipulate, interpret and present public health data.
Reviewed 23 October 2026Official format and timings
At a glance
How Paper IIB is organised
Format and timing are set by the Faculty of Public Health and can change. The notes here describe the shape of the paper so you can plan your preparation; confirm the specifics on the official page.
Several structured sections
Each section is built around a dataset or output. Tasks range from calculation and description through to interpretation, caveats and recommendations for presentation.
What it tests
What Paper IIB expects you to be able to do
Calculating and interpreting rates, ratios and proportions, with the right denominators and units
Direct and indirect standardisation, and when each is appropriate
Screening test performance: sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and how prevalence changes them
Reading tables and charts, describing trends and patterns, and choosing an appropriate presentation for a given message
Interpreting statistical output: confidence intervals, p-values and common models, with attention to small numbers and uncertainty
Commenting on data quality, completeness and the limits of routine data sources
How to approach it
Habits that earn marks
These are the working methods that tend to separate a comfortable pass from a near miss. None are secrets; the difference is practising them until they are automatic.
Describe, then interpret, then caveat
Say what the data show (the pattern), what it might mean (the interpretation) and what could explain it other than the obvious (artefact, chance, bias, confounding).
Watch the denominators
Per 1,000 or per 100,000, person-years or people, mid-year population or registered list: a surprising number of marks are lost to a mismatch between numerator and denominator.
Sanity-check magnitudes
If a death rate comes out at 50% or a prevalence at 400 per 100, something has gone wrong. A quick plausibility check costs seconds and saves marks.
Common pitfalls
Where marks are usually lost
- Describing a chart without interpreting it, or interpreting without first describing it
- Comparing crude rates between populations with different age structures
- Treating a confidence interval that just includes 1 as proof of no effect
- Forgetting that small numbers make rates unstable and conclusions fragile
Practise Paper IIB questions
The free set currently includes 3 original Paper IIB questions on standardisation, screening test performance, comparing populations, each with an explanation or model answer points. Every question is illustrative and original, not an official exam question.
Independent preparation resource. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Faculty of Public Health.
All questions on DFPHprep are original and written to resemble the style of the exam. They are not official questions and have no connection to past or future papers. For the official syllabus, regulations and dates, see the FPH exam pages.
Revision advice that respects your time
A practical guide to planning DFPH revision around all four parts of the exam, with timed written practice as the backbone.