Which statement about the high-risk approach is true?

• A. Applies to the whole population with lifestyle changes
• B. Requires universal vaccination
• C. Is clinically based and often expensive or invasive (e.g., colonoscopy)
• D. Is primarily concerned with environmental exposures

Answer: (C)

The high-risk approach targets individuals who are at elevated risk and uses clinical risk assessment and targeted screening or treatment for that group, rather than trying to change the whole population at once. This is why the statement about being clinically based and often expensive or invasive fits: the approach relies on health care settings to identify high-risk individuals and then apply more intensive, resource-heavy actions, such as procedures like colonoscopy, which are costly and invasive but can detect disease early in those most likely to have it.

In contrast, strategies that apply to the entire population with lifestyle changes are population-wide prevention efforts, universal vaccination reflects broad coverage to prevent spread across the whole population, and a focus on environmental exposures emphasizes upstream determinants rather than the individual high-risk screening pathway.