Which activity is a core function of public health surveillance?

• A. Provide clinical care to patients
• B. Monitor health status
• C. Regulate private industry
• D. Conduct weather forecasting

Answer: (B)

Monitoring health status across a population is the central role of public health surveillance. It involves the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on disease patterns, health outcomes, and risk factors so authorities can detect problems, understand how they change over time, and respond effectively. This information directly informs actions to prevent illness, control outbreaks, and allocate resources.

Providing clinical care to patients focuses on individuals rather than population trends, so it isn’t surveillance. Regulating private industry is a regulatory function that may intersect with public health but isn’t the core activity of surveillance itself. Weather forecasting belongs to meteorology, not public health.