Short Answer

A policymaker wants to use the National Comorbidity Survey data to design a public health campaign. How can they apply the survey's findings regarding major depressive disorder (16.9%16.9\% lifetime prevalence) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (2.3%2.3\% lifetime prevalence) to justify prioritizing resources for one program over the other?

Question: A policymaker wants to use the National Comorbidity Survey data to design a public health campaign. How can they apply the survey's findings regarding major depressive disorder (16.9%16.9\% lifetime prevalence) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (2.3%2.3\% lifetime prevalence) to justify prioritizing resources for one program over the other?

Sample answer: The policymaker can compare the lifetime prevalence rates of major depressive disorder (16.9%16.9\%) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (2.3%2.3\%) to apply resource allocation where the population footprint is larger. Because depression has a substantially higher prevalence, they can justify dedicating more initial funding or outreach resources to depression programs to address a larger share of the population's lifetime mental health burden.

Key points:

  • Prevalence rates are applied to make decisions about resource allocation in public health.
  • Comparing 16.9%16.9\% (major depressive disorder) to 2.3%2.3\% (obsessive-compulsive disorder) indicates a higher population burden for depression.
  • Higher prevalence rates justify prioritizing resources to address the more common disorder in the population.

Rubric: The answer must demonstrate how the policymaker applies the specific prevalence rates (16.9%16.9\% vs. 2.3%2.3\%) to make a resource allocation decision, justifying the prioritization of major depressive disorder based on its higher prevalence rate in the population.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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