Investigating Clusters of Non-Communicable Disease
Guidelines for Public Health Services
Date of publication: June 1997
The investigation of an apparent cluster of non-communicable disease, such as a cancer cluster or a cluster of birth defects, can be a complex and resource intensive task, and one that requires thorough planning and careful evaluation.
These guidelines are intended to assist public health services and in particular medical officers of health, to carry out efficient cluster investigations, address public concerns, and provide sensible advice.
A four stage investigation protocol is detailed, and a standard cluster investigation instrument is included. As each stage of the investigation is completed, a decision must be made whether to proceed to the next stage, with the final stage sometimes involving a formal epidemiological study. Criteria are suggested to assist in this decision making process.
Managing the concerns of the public and the media is an important part of cluster investigation. The affected community may feel outrage at the occurrence of an alleged cluster of disease, possibly attributed to exposure to a preventable hazard, and may demand action from the medical officer of health. The guidelines include suggestions for communicating risk, managing risk perceptions and feelings of outrage, and meeting the needs of the public and the media for information.
Document availability
This publication is not available in hard copy. It is only available on this website in PDF format below.
Investigating Clusters of Non-Communicable Disease - Guidelines for Public Health Services (PDF, 182 kB)
This publication has been converted to Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). Here is a link to information on downloading and viewing PDFs. |