Persons trained to assist professional health personnel in communicating with residents in the community concerning needs and availability of health services.

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Organizations and individuals cooperating together toward a common goal at the local or grassroots level.

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.

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)

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

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.

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

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

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).

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.

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 interactions between members of a community and representatives of the institutions within that community.

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.

A branch of medicine concerned with the total health of the individual within the home environment and in the community, and with the application of comprehensive care to the prevention and treatment of illness in the entire community.

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

Persons who donate their services.

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

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

General and comprehensive nursing practice directed to individuals, families, or groups as it relates to and contributes to the health of a population or community. This is not an official program of a Public Health Department.

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)

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

The status of health in rural populations.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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

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.

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

Institutions with permanent facilities and organized medical staff which provide the full range of hospital services primarily to a neighborhood area.

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

Collaborative process of research involving researchers and community representatives.

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

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

The status of health in urban populations.

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.

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)

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

The interactions between representatives of institutions, agencies, or organizations.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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).

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

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.

Community health education events focused on prevention of disease and promotion of health through audiovisual exhibits.

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 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)

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

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.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

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

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

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

A geographic location which has insufficient health resources (manpower and/or facilities) to meet the medical needs of the resident population.

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

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

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

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

The variety of all native living organisms and their various forms and interrelationships.

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)

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

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.

The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.

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

One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.

The spectrum of different living organisms inhabiting a particular region, habitat, or biotope.

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.

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.

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

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

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

An infant during the first month after birth.

Providing for the full range of personal health services for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation of patients.

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

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.

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.

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

Theoretical representations and constructs that describe or explain the structure and hierarchy of relationships and interactions within or between formal organizational entities or informal social groups.

The function of directing or controlling the actions or attitudes of an individual or group with more or less willing acquiescence of the followers.

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

Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.

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.

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)

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.

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

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the islands of the central and South Pacific, including Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and traditionally Australasia.

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

Individuals or groups with no or inadequate health insurance coverage. Those falling into this category usually comprise three primary groups: the medically indigent (MEDICAL INDIGENCY); those whose clinical condition makes them medically uninsurable; and the working uninsured.

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.

Facilities which administer the delivery of psychologic and psychiatric services to people living in a neighborhood or community.

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

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.

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.

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.

Organizational development including enhancement of management structures, processes and procedures, within organizations and among different organizations and sectors to meet present and future needs.

Total pharmaceutical services provided to the public through community pharmacies.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

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

A republic in southern Africa, the southernmost part of Africa. It has three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). Officially the Republic of South Africa since 1960, it was called the Union of South Africa 1910-1960.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

All organized methods of funding.

Constituent of 30S subunit prokaryotic ribosomes containing 1600 nucleotides and 21 proteins. 16S rRNA is involved in initiation of polypeptide synthesis.

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

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.

Organized groups serving in advisory capacities related to health planning activities.

Social process whereby the values, attitudes, or institutions of society, such as education, family, religion, and industry become modified. It includes both the natural process and action programs initiated by members of the community.

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.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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

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

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

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.

A heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by HYPERGLYCEMIA and GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE.

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

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

Individual members of North American ethnic groups with ancient historic ancestral origins in Asia.

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 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.

The interaction of persons or groups of persons representing various nations in the pursuit of a common goal or interest.

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)

Application of marketing principles and techniques to maximize the use of health care resources.

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

Size and composition of the family.

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

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

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

Organizations which are not operated for a profit and may be supported by endowments or private contributions.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the soil. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

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.

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.

The planned upgrading of a deteriorating urban area, involving rebuilding, renovation, or restoration. It frequently refers to programs of major demolition and rebuilding of blighted areas.

Health care provided to individuals.

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

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

Performance of activities or tasks traditionally performed by professional health care providers. The concept includes care of oneself or one's family and friends.

Organizations established by endowments with provision for future maintenance.

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.

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 circulation or wide dispersal of information.

Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

Smallest political subdivisions within a country at which general governmental functions are carried-out.

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.

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

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

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

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

The provision of monetary resources including money or capital and credit; obtaining or furnishing money or capital for a purchase or enterprise and the funds so obtained. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed.)

A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. Cost effectiveness compares alternative ways to achieve a specific set of results.

Community health and NURSING SERVICES providing coordinated multiple services to the patient at the patient's homes. These home-care services are provided by a visiting nurse, home health agencies, HOSPITALS, or organized community groups using professional staff for care delivery. It differs from HOME NURSING which is provided by non-professionals.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of SUDAN and west of KENYA. Its capital is Kampala.