Question

Which problems would necessitate a root-cause analysis? Select all that apply.

patient error

material or equipment failure

human error

managerial error

nature error

organization or system error

Answer 1

Select all that apply: material or equipment failure; human error; managerial error; organization or system error.

Rationale: RCA is used to investigate adverse events or failures to find underlying causes (often system‑level) and prevent recurrence. It is appropriate for equipment/material failures, human errors (to identify latent/system contributors rather than blame individuals), managerial errors, and organization/system errors. Patient errors and purely natural/“acts of nature” events are generally not amenable to RCA unless system factors contributed to them.