Public Health Nursing Practice Exam

What type of power allows the government to enforce health regulations?

1. Executive power.

2. Judicial power.

3. Legislative power.

4. Police power.

The correct answer is: Police power.

The type of power that allows the government to enforce health regulations is police power. Police power refers to the inherent authority of state and local governments to enact regulations to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the public. This includes a wide range of activities, such as regulating hospitals, controlling communicable diseases, and implementing quarantine measures during public health emergencies. The primary goal of police power is to protect citizens and maintain order within the community. While executive power involves the enforcement of laws and can include health regulations, it is not the foundational authority for creating public health laws. Judicial power pertains to the interpretation of laws and the administration of justice, which does not directly involve the enforcement of health regulations. Legislative power is about the creation of laws, and while it plays a role in public health by establishing legal frameworks, it is police power that is explicitly utilized to enforce those regulations at the local or state level. Thus, police power is the correct answer in the context of regulating public health.