Question

Define the following as (a) cluster, (b) sentinel event, or (c) neither: A researcher suspicious of a health risk caused by a chemical leak in the area searches out newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer cases and finds a fairly strong correlation with exposure to the leak. cluster sentinel event neither

Answer 1

A researcher suspicious of a health risk caused by a chemical leak in the area searches out newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer cases and finds a fairly strong correlation with exposure to the leak.

(c) Neither.

Rationale:

Sentinel event is an unexpected health event and the cause is associated with the health factor. So this is not a sentinel event. Cluster event should confirm the causal relationship between the exposure of chemical leakage and the occurrence of pancreatic cancer. The researcher has a potential bias in the boundary level. The researcher should seek out the relationship by collecting a random sample in order to verify the exact cause and the effect. So it is also not a cluster event.