Which surveillance method provides the most useful information?

• A. Targeted Surveillance Alone
• B. Whole-House Surveillance Alone
• C. Passive Reporting From Facilities
• D. A Combined Whole-House and Targeted Surveillance Approach

Answer: (D)

The most useful surveillance results come from combining a broad view with a focused focus. Whole-house surveillance gives you the complete picture across the entire facility—baseline rates, overall trends, and unexpected spikes that might indicate a problem. Targeted surveillance concentrates efforts on high-risk areas, units, or pathogens, increasing sensitivity where it matters most and allowing for rapid, actionable findings in those critical spots.

When you combine both approaches, you get the strengths of each: the comprehensive data from the whole facility and the detailed, nimble signals from targeted areas. This synergy improves early detection, enables meaningful trend analysis and benchmarking, and helps allocate resources efficiently to where they’re most needed. Relying on targeted surveillance alone can miss signals outside the targets; relying on whole-house surveillance alone can be resource-intensive and less responsive to specific risks. Passive reporting depends on facilities to report, which can be incomplete or delayed. Therefore, the integrated whole-house and targeted approach provides the most useful information.