Okuzeka
Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Surveillance and Reporting

Sentinel surveillance

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In public health & epidemiology, sentinel surveillance means: Surveillance based on a selected group of reporting sites, such as certain clinics or laboratories, that collect high-quality data to follow trends rather than count every case.

In Turkish: sentinel sürveyans, nöbetçi sürveyans

How it is used

Widely used for influenza and other respiratory viruses, where selected family practices take swabs from a sample of patients. The chosen locations are called sentinel sites. It is cheaper than covering the whole population but may not represent every group.

Example sentences

  1. Sentinel surveillance showed that RSV activity started earlier this autumn.

  2. Twenty family practices take part in our sentinel surveillance network.

Common collocations

  • sentinel site
  • sentinel surveillance network
  • sentinel practices
  • influenza sentinel surveillance
  • surveillanceThe continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health data, shared in good time so that action can be taken to prevent and control disease.
  • syndromic surveillanceSurveillance that tracks groups of symptoms or other health-related signals, such as fever and cough, before a lab diagnosis is made, in order to detect unusual activity early.
  • case definitionA standard set of criteria, such as symptoms, lab results, time and place, used to decide whether a person should be counted as a case of a particular disease.
  • notifiable diseaseA disease that doctors and laboratories are required by law to report to public health authorities whenever they diagnose or suspect it.

More terms: Surveillance and Reporting

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.