Enumerations of populations usually recording identities of all persons in every place of residence with age or date of birth, sex, occupation, national origin, language, marital status, income, relation to head of household, information on the dwelling place, education, literacy, health-related data (e.g., permanent disability), etc. The census or "numbering of the people" is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Among the Romans, censuses were intimately connected with the enumeration of troops before and after battle and probably a military necessity. (From Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 3d ed; Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p66, p119)

Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services.

A method of analyzing the variation in utilization of health care in small geographic or demographic areas. It often studies, for example, the usage rates for a given service or procedure in several small areas, documenting the variation among the areas. By comparing high- and low-use areas, the analysis attempts to determine whether there is a pattern to such use and to identify variables that are associated with and contribute to the variation.

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

City, urban, rural, or suburban areas which are characterized by severe economic deprivation and by accompanying physical and social decay.

Computer systems capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations.

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

All deaths reported in a given population.

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

Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.

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.

Living facilities for humans.

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

The science dealing with the earth and its life, especially the description of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including humanity and human industries with reference to the mutual relations of these elements. (From Webster, 3d ed)

The status of health in urban populations.

Number of individuals in a population relative to space.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

The absence of certain expected and acceptable cultural phenomena in the environment which results in the failure of the individual to communicate and respond in the most appropriate manner within the context of society. Language acquisition and language use are commonly used in assessing this concept.

Groups of individuals whose putative ancestry is from native continental populations based on similarities in physical appearance.

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 group of people with a common cultural heritage that sets them apart from others in a variety of social relationships.

The frequency of different ages or age groups in a given population. The distribution may refer to either how many or what proportion of the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

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.

Used for general articles concerning statistics of births, deaths, marriages, etc.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Creating a representation of areas of the earth or other celestial bodies, for the purpose of visualizing spatial distributions of various information.

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.

The state of not being engaged in a gainful occupation.

Representations, normally to scale and on a flat medium, of a selection of material or abstract features on the surface of the earth, the heavens, or celestial bodies.

Based on known statistical data, the number of years which any person of a given age may reasonably expected to live.

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

Crafts, trades, professions, or other means of earning a living.

A statistically significant excess of cases of a disease, occurring within a limited space-time continuum.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continent of Europe.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Standards or regulations for construction which are designed to ensure safety against electrical hazards, fires, etc.

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

The number of males and females in a given population. The distribution may refer to how many men or women or what proportion of either in the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

A distribution function used to describe the occurrence of rare events or to describe the sampling distribution of isolated counts in a continuum of time or space.

An arrangement of wires distributing electricity.

Persons living in the United States of Mexican (MEXICAN AMERICANS), Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin. The concept does not include Brazilian Americans or Portuguese Americans.

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

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.

Factors which produce cessation of all vital bodily functions. They can be analyzed from an epidemiologic viewpoint.

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 process of leaving one's country to establish residence in a foreign country.

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

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.

Techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties.

The creation and maintenance of medical and vital records in multiple institutions in a manner that will facilitate the combined use of the records of identified individuals.

The pattern of any process, or the interrelationship of phenomena, which affects growth or change within a population.

The number of births in a given population per year or other unit of time.

The absence of appropriate stimuli in the physical or social environment which are necessary for the emotional, social, and intellectual development of the individual.

Size and composition of the family.

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

The systematic surveying, mapping, charting, and description of specific geographical sites, with reference to the physical features that were presumed to influence health and disease. Medical topography should be differentiated from EPIDEMIOLOGY in that the former emphasizes geography whereas the latter emphasizes disease outbreaks.

Research techniques that focus on study designs and data gathering methods in human and animal populations.

The structuring of the environment to permit or promote specific patterns of behavior.

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.

A measure of inpatient health facility use based upon the average number or proportion of beds occupied for a given period of time.

A center in the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE which is primarily concerned with the collection, analysis, and dissemination of health statistics on vital events and health activities to reflect the health status of people, health needs, and health resources.

Groups of persons whose range of options is severely limited, who are frequently subjected to COERCION in their DECISION MAKING, or who may be compromised in their ability to give INFORMED CONSENT.

Official records of individual deaths including the cause of death certified by a physician, and any other required identifying information.

The measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.

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.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

A large or important municipality of a country, usually a major metropolitan center.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continent of Africa.

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.

An excessive number of individuals, human or animal, in relation to available space.

Skills in the use of language which lead to proficiency in written or spoken communication.

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

A set of statistical methods used to group variables or observations into strongly inter-related subgroups. In epidemiology, it may be used to analyze a closely grouped series of events or cases of disease or other health-related phenomenon with well-defined distribution patterns in relation to time or place or both.

The commitment in writing, as authentic evidence, of something having legal importance. The concept includes certificates of birth, death, etc., as well as hospital, medical, and other institutional records.

The reduction or regulation of the population of noxious, destructive, or dangerous rodents through chemical, biological, or other means.

The status of health in rural populations.

The total number of individuals inhabiting a particular region or area.

The inhabitants of peripheral or adjacent areas of a city or town.

People who leave their place of residence in one country and settle in a different country.

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

Substances used to destroy or inhibit the action of rats, mice, or other rodents.

Increase, over a specific period of time, in the number of individuals living in a country or region.

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.

Damage inflicted on the body as the direct or indirect result of an external force, with or without disruption of structural continuity.

New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

Differential treatment or unequal access to opportunities, based on group membership such as origin or ethnicity.

Any deviation of results or inferences from the truth, or processes leading to such deviation. Bias can result from several sources: one-sided or systematic variations in measurement from the true value (systematic error); flaws in study design; deviation of inferences, interpretations, or analyses based on flawed data or data collection; etc. There is no sense of prejudice or subjectivity implied in the assessment of bias under these conditions.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby individuals are joined together.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

The statistical manipulation of hierarchically and non-hierarchically nested data. It includes clustered data, such as a sample of subjects within a group of schools. Prevalent in the social, behavioral sciences, and biomedical sciences, both linear and nonlinear regression models are applied.

The killing of one person by another.

The production and movement of food items from point of origin to use or consumption.

The legal relation between an entity (individual, group, corporation, or-profit, secular, government) and an object. The object may be corporeal, such as equipment, or completely a creature of law, such as a patent; it may be movable, such as an animal, or immovable, such as a building.

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)

Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.

The geographic area of the southeastern region of the United States in general or when the specific state or states are not included. The states usually included in this region are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia.

A violation of the criminal law, i.e., a breach of the conduct code specifically sanctioned by the state, which through its administrative agencies prosecutes offenders and imposes and administers punishments. The concept includes unacceptable actions whether prosecuted or going unpunished.

The confinement of a patient in a hospital.

Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.

A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.

Application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed or assumed facts from a particular study.

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

A subgroup having special characteristics within a larger group, often bound together by special ties which distinguish it from the larger group.

Statistical models in which the value of a parameter for a given value of a factor is assumed to be equal to a + bx, where a and b are constants. The models predict a linear regression.

Methods for controlling genetic SEX of offspring.