Health care workers specially trained and licensed to assist and support the work of health professionals. Often used synonymously with paramedical personnel, the term generally refers to all health care workers who perform tasks which must otherwise be performed by a physician or other health professional.

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)

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

Occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians, and are qualified by special training and, frequently, by licensure to work in supporting roles in the health care field. These occupations include, but are not limited to, medical technology, physical therapy, physician assistant, etc.

The availability of HEALTH PERSONNEL. It includes the demand and recruitment of both professional and allied health personnel, their present and future supply and distribution, and their assignment and utilization.

Individuals responsible for various duties pertaining to the medical office routine.

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.

Individual's rights to obtain and use information collected or generated by others.

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

The practice of assisting women in childbirth.

Development of a library collection, including the determination and coordination of selection policy, assessment of needs of users and potential users, collection use studies, collection evaluation, identification of collection needs, selection of materials, planning for resource sharing, collection maintenance and weeding, and budgeting.

Persons including soldiers involved with the armed forces.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures.

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions.

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.

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

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

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

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.

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.

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

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

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

The individuals employed by the hospital.

Innovation and improvement of the health care system by reappraisal, amendment of services, and removal of faults and abuses in providing and distributing health services to patients. It includes a re-alignment of health services and health insurance to maximum demographic elements (the unemployed, indigent, uninsured, elderly, inner cities, rural areas) with reference to coverage, hospitalization, pricing and cost containment, insurers' and employers' costs, pre-existing medical conditions, prescribed drugs, equipment, and services.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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

The state of the organism when it functions optimally without evidence of disease.

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.

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

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

Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.

The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of disease and the maintenance of health.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.

Insurance providing coverage of medical, surgical, or hospital care in general or for which there is no specific heading.

The optimal state of the mouth and normal functioning of the organs of the mouth without evidence of disease.

The concept pertaining to the health status of inhabitants of the world.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

The promotion and maintenance of physical and mental health in the work environment.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

The amounts spent by individuals, groups, nations, or private or public organizations for total health care and/or its various components. These amounts may or may not be equivalent to the actual costs (HEALTH CARE COSTS) and may or may not be shared among the patient, insurers, and/or employers.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

The science of controlling or modifying those conditions, influences, or forces surrounding man which relate to promoting, establishing, and maintaining health.

Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.

The activities and endeavors of the public health services in a community on any level.

Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by socioeconomic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.

A health care system which combines physicians, hospitals, and other medical services with a health plan to provide the complete spectrum of medical care for its customers. In a fully integrated system, the three key elements - physicians, hospital, and health plan membership - are in balance in terms of matching medical resources with the needs of purchasers and patients. (Coddington et al., Integrated Health Care: Reorganizing the Physician, Hospital and Health Plan Relationship, 1994, p7)

Preferentially rated health-related activities or functions to be used in establishing health planning goals. This may refer specifically to PL93-641.

The status of health in rural populations.

Planning for the equitable allocation, apportionment, or distribution of available health resources.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

Diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive health services provided for individuals in the community.

Planning, organizing, and administering all activities related to personnel.

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

The status of health in urban populations.

Economic sector concerned with the provision, distribution, and consumption of health care services and related products.

Degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

Health services, public or private, in rural areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

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.

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

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

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

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.

Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.

The practice of medicine as applied to special circumstances associated with military operations.

Professions or other business activities directed to the cure and prevention of disease. For occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians but who are working in the fields of medical technology, physical therapy, etc., ALLIED HEALTH OCCUPATIONS is available.

Planning that has the goals of improving health, improving accessibility to health services, and promoting efficiency in the provision of services and resources on a comprehensive basis for a whole community. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p299)

Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to people living in a community or neighborhood.

Available manpower, facilities, revenue, equipment, and supplies to produce requisite health care and services.

Planning for health resources at a regional or multi-state level.

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)

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.

Health care professionals, technicians, and assistants staffing LABORATORIES in research or health care facilities.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.

The selection, appointing, and scheduling of personnel.

Paramedical personnel trained to provide basic emergency care and life support under the supervision of physicians and/or nurses. These services may be carried out at the site of the emergency, in the ambulance, or in a health care institution.

A nursing specialty concerned with promoting and protecting the health of populations, using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences to develop local, regional, state, and national health policy and research. It is population-focused and community-oriented, aimed at health promotion and disease prevention through educational, diagnostic, and preventive programs.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.

Health services for employees, usually provided by the employer at the place of work.

Media that facilitate transportability of pertinent information concerning patient's illness across varied providers and geographic locations. Some versions include direct linkages to online consumer health information that is relevant to the health conditions and treatments related to a specific patient.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Health insurance plans for employees, and generally including their dependents, usually on a cost-sharing basis with the employer paying a percentage of the premium.

Hostile conflict between organized groups of people.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Preventive health services provided for students. It excludes college or university students.

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.

The interactions between physician and patient.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

Those actions designed to carry out recommendations pertaining to health plans or programs.

The organization and administration of health services dedicated to the delivery of health care.

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

Health care services related to human REPRODUCTION and diseases of the reproductive system. Services are provided to both sexes and usually by physicians in the medical or the surgical specialties such as REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; ANDROLOGY; GYNECOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; and PERINATOLOGY.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the aged and the maintenance of health in the elderly.

An operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to health and medical research. Until 1995, it was an agency of the United States PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

The systematic application of information and computer sciences to public health practice, research, and learning.

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

Health services, public or private, in urban areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Organized services to provide health care to women. It excludes maternal care services for which MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES is available.

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.

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

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

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

Evaluation procedures that focus on both the outcome or status (OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT) of the patient at the end of an episode of care - presence of symptoms, level of activity, and mortality; and the process (ASSESSMENT, PROCESS) - what is done for the patient diagnostically and therapeutically.

Systematic identification of a population's needs or the assessment of individuals to determine the proper level of services needed.

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

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

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

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

Longitudinal patient-maintained records of individual health history and tools that allow individual control of access.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.

Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determining the quality of health care.

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

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.

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

Diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive mental health services provided for individuals in the community.

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.

The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)

An infant during the first month after birth.

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

A geographic area defined and served by a health program or institution.

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of men.

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

Organized services to provide health care to adolescents, ages ranging from 13 through 18 years.

Health care provided to specific cultural or tribal peoples which incorporates local customs, beliefs, and taboos.

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

Administrative units of government responsible for policy making and management of governmental activities.

State plans prepared by the State Health Planning and Development Agencies which are made up from plans submitted by the Health Systems Agencies and subject to review and revision by the Statewide Health Coordinating Council.

Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

Individuals responsible for the development of policy and supervision of the execution of plans and functional operations.

The health status of the family as a unit including the impact of the health of one member of the family on the family as a unit and on individual family members; also, the impact of family organization or disorganization on the health status of its members.

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

Voluntary groups of people representing diverse interests in the community such as hospitals, businesses, physicians, and insurers, with the principal objective to improve health care cost effectiveness.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

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

An armed intervention involving multi-national forces in the country of IRAQ.

A course or method of action selected, usually by an organization, institution, university, society, etc., from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions and positions on matters of public interest or social concern. It does not include internal policy relating to organization and administration within the corporate body, for which ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION is available.

Place or physical location of work or employment.

Differences in access to or availability of medical facilities and services.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

The decision process by which individuals, groups or institutions establish policies pertaining to plans, programs or procedures.

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

The practice of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the health of individuals associated with the marine environment.

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

Recommendations for directing health planning functions and policies. These may be mandated by PL93-641 and issued by the Department of Health and Human Services for use by state and local planning agencies.

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

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.

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of public health.

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.

That distinct portion of the institutional, industrial, or economic structure of a country that is controlled or owned by non-governmental, private interests.

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.

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

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)

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

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

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

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

Procedures outlined for the care of casualties and the maintenance of services in disasters.

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

Financial resources provided for activities related to health planning and development.

Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

The process of choosing employees for specific types of employment. The concept includes recruitment.

Statistical interpretation and description of a population with reference to distribution, composition, or structure.

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

Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.

Use for general articles concerning medical education.

The state of being engaged in an activity or service for wages or salary.

Those individuals engaged in research.