An enduring, learned predisposition to behave in a consistent way toward a given class of objects, or a persistent mental and/or neural state of readiness to react to a certain class of objects, not as they are but as they are conceived to be.

Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc.

Public attitudes toward health, disease, and the medical care system.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Conceptual response of the person to the various aspects of death, which are based on individual psychosocial and cultural experience.

The attitude and behavior associated with an individual using the computer.

The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a measurable amount of factual evidence, and involving some degree of reflection, analysis, and reasoning.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Individuals enrolled in a school of medicine or a formal educational program in medicine.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

An oversimplified perception or conception especially of persons, social groups, etc.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.

Those physicians who have completed the education requirements specified by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols. Culture includes customs, traditions, and language.

A method of data collection and a QUALITATIVE RESEARCH tool in which a small group of individuals are brought together and allowed to interact in a discussion of their opinions about topics, issues, or questions.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

The interactions between physician and patient.

The capability to perform acceptably those duties directly related to patient care.

The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)

Education that increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of health on a personal or community basis.

Conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews.

What a person has in mind to do or bring about.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Patterns of practice related to diagnosis and treatment as especially influenced by cost of the service requested and provided.

Professionals qualified by graduation from an accredited school of nursing and by passage of a national licensing examination to practice nursing. They provide services to patients requiring assistance in recovering or maintaining their physical or mental health.

Men and women working in the provision of health services, whether as individual practitioners or employees of health institutions and programs, whether or not professionally trained, and whether or not subject to public regulation. (From A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

Statistical measures of utilization and other aspects of the provision of health care services including hospitalization and ambulatory care.

Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of parenthood as well as preparation for becoming a parent.

Abstract standards or empirical variables in social life which are believed to be important and/or desirable.

Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997)

A perceived attribute that is deeply discrediting and is considered to be a violation of social norms.

Individuals enrolled a school of dentistry or a formal educational program in leading to a degree in dentistry.

The period of medical education in a medical school. In the United States it follows the baccalaureate degree and precedes the granting of the M.D.

The bestowing of tangible or intangible benefits, voluntarily and usually without expectation of anything in return. However, gift giving may be motivated by feelings of ALTRUISM or gratitude, by a sense of obligation, or by the hope of receiving something in return.

Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees.

Professional medical personnel approved to provide care to patients in a hospital.

The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.

Individuals participating in the health care system for the purpose of receiving therapeutic, diagnostic, or preventive procedures.

The degree of closeness or acceptance an individual or group feels toward another individual or group.

A medical specialty concerned with the provision of continuing, comprehensive primary health care for the entire family.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

The medical science that deals with the origin, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders.

The act of "taking account" of an object or state of affairs. It does not imply assessment of, nor attention to the qualities or nature of the object.

Use for general articles concerning medical education.

The expected function of a member of the medical profession.

Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli.

The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

Those aspects or characteristics which identify a culture.

Sexual activities of humans.

A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.)

The body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time, the cumulated sum of information, its volume and nature, in any civilization, period, or country.

The process by which the nature and meaning of sensory stimuli are recognized and interpreted.

Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.

The interrelationship of medicine and religion.

Programs of training in medicine and medical specialties offered by hospitals for graduates of medicine to meet the requirements established by accrediting authorities.

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.

The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of one's associates or social groups.

A parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch in southeast Asia, consisting of 11 states (West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula and two states (East Malaysia) on the island of BORNEO. It is also called the Federation of Malaysia. Its capital is Kuala Lumpur. Before 1963 it was the Union of Malaya. It reorganized in 1948 as the Federation of Malaya, becoming independent from British Malaya in 1957 and becoming Malaysia in 1963 as a federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore (which seceded in 1965). The form Malay- probably derives from the Tamil malay, mountain, with reference to its geography. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p715 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p329)

The teaching staff and members of the administrative staff having academic rank in an educational institution.

The educational process of instructing.

Provision (by a physician or other health professional, or by a family member or friend) of support and/or means that gives a patient the power to terminate his or her own life. (from APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed).

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with the physiology and disorders primarily of the female genital tract, as well as female endocrinology and reproductive physiology.

Individuals enrolled in a school of pharmacy or a formal educational program leading to a degree in pharmacy.

Any observable response or action of an adolescent.

Beliefs and values shared by all members of the organization. These shared values, which are subject to change, are reflected in the day to day management of the organization.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

Therapeutic practices which are not currently considered an integral part of conventional allopathic medical practice. They may lack biomedical explanations but as they become better researched some (PHYSICAL THERAPY MODALITIES; DIET; ACUPUNCTURE) become widely accepted whereas others (humors, radium therapy) quietly fade away, yet are important historical footnotes. Therapies are termed as Complementary when used in addition to conventional treatments and as Alternative when used instead of conventional treatment.

The exchange or transmission of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs between individuals or groups.

The giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.

The teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

Education which increases the knowledge of the functional, structural, and behavioral aspects of human reproduction.

A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER between BENIN and CAMEROON. Its capital is Abuja.

Use for articles concerning dental education in general.

Cognitive mechanism based on expectations or beliefs about one's ability to perform actions necessary to produce a given effect. It is also a theoretical component of behavior change in various therapeutic treatments. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)

The reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.

Consideration and concern for others, as opposed to self-love or egoism, which can be a motivating influence.

Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.

Confidence in or reliance on a person or thing.

The degree to which the individual regards the health care service or product or the manner in which it is delivered by the provider as useful, effective, or beneficial.

Group composed of associates of same species, approximately the same age, and usually of similar rank or social status.

Physicians whose practice is not restricted to a specific field of MEDICINE.

A group of disorders characterized by physiological and psychological disturbances in appetite or food intake.

Created 7 April 1992 as a result of the division of Yugoslavia.

A person's view of himself.

Truthful revelation of information, specifically when the information disclosed is likely to be psychologically painful ("bad news") to the recipient (e.g., revelation to a patient or a patient's family of the patient's DIAGNOSIS or PROGNOSIS) or embarrassing to the teller (e.g., revelation of medical errors).

The use of one's knowledge in a particular profession. It includes, in the case of the field of biomedicine, professional activities related to health care and the actual performance of the duties related to the provision of health care.

Educational institutions.

Human males as cultural, psychological, sociological, political, and economic entities.

Self-directing freedom and especially moral independence. An ethical principle holds that the autonomy of persons ought to be respected. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

A medical specialty concerned with maintaining health and providing medical care to children from birth to adolescence.

Those persons legally qualified by education and training to engage in the practice of pharmacy.

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

Human females as cultural, psychological, sociological, political, and economic entities.

A medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the internal organ systems of adults.

Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192)

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.

Undertaking a task involving a challenge for achievement or a desirable goal in which there is a lack of certainty or a fear of failure. It may also include the exhibiting of certain behaviors whose outcomes may present a risk to the individual or to those associated with him or her.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

The administrative procedures involved with acquiring TISSUES or organs for TRANSPLANTATION through various programs, systems, or organizations. These procedures include obtaining consent from TISSUE DONORS and arranging for transportation of donated tissues and organs, after TISSUE HARVESTING, to HOSPITALS for processing and transplantation.

Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the black groups of Africa.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

The capability to perform the duties of one's profession generally, or to perform a particular professional task, with skill of an acceptable quality.

Behavior patterns of those practicing CONTRACEPTION.

Educational programs designed to inform physicians of recent advances in their field.

Field of psychology concerned with the normal and abnormal behavior of adolescents. It includes mental processes as well as observable responses.

Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of medicine.

A set of statistical methods for analyzing the correlations among several variables in order to estimate the number of fundamental dimensions that underlie the observed data and to describe and measure those dimensions. It is used frequently in the development of scoring systems for rating scales and questionnaires.

Patient involvement in the decision-making process in matters pertaining to health.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

Education which increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of dental health on a personal or community basis.

The interactions between parent and child.

Individuals' concept of their own bodies.

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

The branch of medicine concerned with the physiological and pathological aspects of the aged, including the clinical problems of senescence and senility.

Revealing of information, by oral or written communication.

The assessing of academic or educational achievement. It includes all aspects of testing and test construction.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium.

An educational process that provides information and advice to individuals or families about a genetic condition that may affect them. The purpose is to help individuals make informed decisions about marriage, reproduction, and other health management issues based on information about the genetic disease, the available diagnostic tests, and management programs. Psychosocial support is usually offered.

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

Fundamental claims of patients, as expressed in statutes, declarations, or generally accepted moral principles. (Bioethics Thesaurus) The term is used for discussions of patient rights as a group of many rights, as in a hospital's posting of a list of patient rights.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

An acquired defect of cellular immunity associated with infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a CD4-positive T-lymphocyte count under 200 cells/microliter or less than 14% of total lymphocytes, and increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and malignant neoplasms. Clinical manifestations also include emaciation (wasting) and dementia. These elements reflect criteria for AIDS as defined by the CDC in 1993.

Voluntary authorization, by a patient or research subject, with full comprehension of the risks involved, for diagnostic or investigative procedures, and for medical and surgical treatment.

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

Persons ordained for religious duties, who serve as leaders and perform religious services.

Selection of a type of occupation or profession.

Personal satisfaction relative to the work situation.

Comparison of various psychological, sociological, or cultural factors in order to assess the similarities or diversities occurring in two or more different cultures or societies.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

Discontinuation of the habit of smoking, the inhaling and exhaling of tobacco smoke.

Health care programs or services designed to assist individuals in the planning of family size. Various methods of CONTRACEPTION can be used to control the number and timing of childbirths.

Standards of conduct that distinguish right from wrong.

The individuals employed by the hospital.

The act or practice of killing for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person or animal from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)

Women who allow themselves to be impregnated with the understanding that the offspring are to be given over to the parents who have commissioned the surrogate.

Personnel who provide nursing service to patients in a hospital.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

Efforts to prevent and control the spread of infections within dental health facilities or those involving provision of dental care.

A person's concept of self as being male and masculine or female and feminine, or ambivalent, based in part on physical characteristics, parental responses, and psychological and social pressures. It is the internal experience of gender role.

Conformity in fulfilling or following official, recognized, or institutional requirements, guidelines, recommendations, protocols, pathways, or other standards.

Women licensed to practice medicine.

Actions which have a high risk of being harmful or injurious to oneself or others.

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

The practice of personal hygiene of the mouth. It includes the maintenance of oral cleanliness, tissue tone, and general preservation of oral health.

A general term encompassing three types of excision of the external female genitalia - Sunna, clitoridectomy, and infibulation. It is associated with severe health risks and has been declared illegal in many places, but continues to be widely practiced in a number of countries, particularly in Africa.

Declarations by patients, made in advance of a situation in which they may be incompetent to decide about their own care, stating their treatment preferences or authorizing a third party to make decisions for them. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

The principles of proper conduct concerning the rights and duties of the professional, relations with patients or consumers and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the professional and interpersonal relations with patient or consumer families. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

The psychological relations between the dentist and patient.

The practice of sending a patient to another program or practitioner for services or advice which the referring source is not prepared to provide.

Principles applied to the analysis and explanation of psychological or behavioral phenomena.

Place or physical location of work or employment.

Dental care for patients with chronic diseases. These diseases include chronic cardiovascular, endocrinologic, hematologic, immunologic, neoplastic, and renal diseases. The concept does not include dental care for the mentally or physically disabled which is DENTAL CARE FOR DISABLED.

Violation of laws, regulations, or professional standards.

Female parents, human or animal.

Detection of a MUTATION; GENOTYPE; KARYOTYPE; or specific ALLELES associated with genetic traits, heritable diseases, or predisposition to a disease, or that may lead to the disease in descendants. It includes prenatal genetic testing.

Instruments or technological means of communication that reach large numbers of people with a common message: press, radio, television, etc.

The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of nurses themselves, their patients, and their fellow practitioners, as well as their actions in the care of patients and in relations with their families.

Formal instruction, learning, or training in the preparation, dispensing, and proper utilization of drugs in the field of medicine.

An individual's objective and insightful awareness of the feelings and behavior of another person. It should be distinguished from sympathy, which is usually nonobjective and noncritical. It includes caring, which is the demonstration of an awareness of and a concern for the good of others. (From Bioethics Thesaurus, 1992)

On the job training programs for personnel carried out within an institution or agency. It includes orientation programs.

A province of Canada lying between the provinces of Manitoba and Quebec. Its capital is Toronto. It takes its name from Lake Ontario which is said to represent the Iroquois oniatariio, beautiful lake. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p892 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p391)

Providers of initial care for patients. These PHYSICIANS refer patients when appropriate for secondary or specialist care.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

A distribution in which a variable is distributed like the sum of the squares of any given independent random variable, each of which has a normal distribution with mean of zero and variance of one. The chi-square test is a statistical test based on comparison of a test statistic to a chi-square distribution. The oldest of these tests are used to detect whether two or more population distributions differ from one another.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

Promotion and protection of the rights of patients, frequently through a legal process.

Programs in which participation is not required.

Prudent standard preventive measures to be taken by professional and other health personnel in contact with persons afflicted with a communicable disease, to avoid contracting the disease by contagion or infection. Precautions are especially applicable in the diagnosis and care of AIDS patients.

Medical and nursing care of patients in the terminal stage of an illness.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.

Human behavior or decision related to REPRODUCTION.

The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program in the health occupations.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

Refusal of the health professional to initiate or continue treatment of a patient or group of patients. The refusal can be based on any reason. The concept is differentiated from PATIENT REFUSAL OF TREATMENT see TREATMENT REFUSAL which originates with the patient and not the health professional.

Diseases due to or propagated by sexual contact.

Prevention of CONCEPTION by blocking fertility temporarily, or permanently (STERILIZATION, REPRODUCTIVE). Common means of reversible contraception include NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING METHODS; CONTRACEPTIVE AGENTS; or CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES.

The rights of women to equal status pertaining to social, economic, and educational opportunities afforded by society.

The process by which an aspect of self image is developed based on in-group preference or ethnocentrism and a perception of belonging to a social or cultural group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.

A sheath that is worn over the penis during sexual behavior in order to prevent pregnancy or spread of sexually transmitted disease.

The art and science of studying, performing research on, preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease, as well as the maintenance of health.