Revealing of information, by oral or written communication.

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).

A willingness to reveal information about oneself to others.

A situation in which an individual might benefit personally from official or professional actions. It includes a conflict between a person's private interests and official responsibilities in a position of trust. The term is not restricted to government officials. The concept refers both to actual conflict of interest and the appearance or perception of conflict.

The guidelines and policy statements set forth by the editor(s) or editorial board of a publication.

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

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

The profession of writing. Also the identity of the writer as the creator of a literary production.

Development of neutralizing antibodies in individuals who have been exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/HTLV-III/LAV).

Married or single individuals who share sexual relations.

Errors or mistakes committed by health professionals which result in harm to the patient. They include errors in diagnosis (DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS), errors in the administration of drugs and other medications (MEDICATION ERRORS), errors in the performance of surgical procedures, in the use of other types of therapy, in the use of equipment, and in the interpretation of laboratory findings. Medical errors are differentiated from MALPRACTICE in that the former are regarded as honest mistakes or accidents while the latter is the result of negligence, reprehensible ignorance, or criminal intent.

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.)

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

The act or practice of literary composition, the occupation of writer, or producing or engaging in literary work as a profession.

Human artificial insemination in which the semen used is that of a man other than the woman's husband.

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.

Accountability and responsibility to another, enforceable by civil or criminal sanctions.

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

An emotional attitude excited by realization of a shortcoming or impropriety.

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

The interactions between physician and patient.

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

Financial support of research activities.

The state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one's private life or affairs. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, 1993)

Persons whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

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.

Sexual attraction or relationship between males.

Payment, or other means of making amends, for a wrong or injury.

The act, process, or an instance of narrating, i.e., telling a story. In the context of MEDICINE or ETHICS, narration includes relating the particular and the personal in the life story of an individual.

The sexual attraction or relationship between members of both the same and the opposite SEX.

Transfer of preovulatory oocytes from donor to a suitable host. Oocytes are collected, fertilized in vitro, and transferred to a host that can be human or animal.

That segment of commercial enterprise devoted to the design, development, and manufacture of chemical products for use in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, disability, or other dysfunction, or to improve function.

The moral obligations governing the conduct of research. Used for discussions of research ethics as a general topic.

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.

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.

A health professional's obligation to breach patient CONFIDENTIALITY to warn third parties of the danger of their being assaulted or of contracting a serious infection.

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.

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)

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

Protective measures against unauthorized access to or interference with computer operating systems, telecommunications, or data structures, especially the modification, deletion, destruction, or release of data in computers. It includes methods of forestalling interference by computer viruses or so-called computer hackers aiming to compromise stored data.

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.

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

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 reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

Married persons, i.e., husbands and wives, or partners. Domestic partners, or spousal equivalents, are two adults who have chosen to share their lives in an intimate and committed relationship, reside together, and share a mutual obligation of support for the basic necessities of life.

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

A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.

Detailed account or statement or formal record of data resulting from empirical inquiry.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

Failure of a professional person, a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Excusing or pardoning for an offense or release of anger or resentment.

Confidence in or reliance on a person or thing.

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.

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

The science of language, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and historical linguistics. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Research into the cause, transmission, amelioration, elimination, or enhancement of inherited disorders and traits.

Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties.

Medical tests taken by couples planning to be married in order to determine presence of genetic and contagious diseases.

The fundamental dispositions and traits of humans. (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

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.

Immunologic tests for identification of HIV (HTLV-III/LAV) antibodies. They include assays for HIV SEROPOSITIVITY and HIV SERONEGATIVITY that have been developed for screening persons carrying the viral antibody from patients with overt symptoms of AIDS or AIDS-RELATED COMPLEX.

The identification, analysis, and resolution of moral problems that arise in the care of patients. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

The science or philosophy of law. Also, the application of the principles of law and justice to health and medicine.

Interference with the FREEDOM or PERSONAL AUTONOMY of another person, with justifications referring to the promotion of the person's good or the prevention of harm to the person. (from Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995); more generally, not allowing a person to make decisions on his or her own behalf.

Copies of a work or document distributed to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending. (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983, p181)

A process by which an individual unconsciously endeavors to pattern himself after another. This process is also important in the development of the personality, particularly the superego or conscience, which is modeled largely on the behavior of adult significant others.

The act of deceiving or the fact of being deceived.

Sexual activities of humans.

A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

The circulation or wide dispersal of information.

Sexual attraction or relationship between females.

Frequency and quality of negative emotions, e.g., anger or hostility, expressed by family members or significant others, that often lead to a high relapse rate, especially in schizophrenic patients. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 7th ed)

The practice of prescribing or using a drug outside the scope of the drug's official approved label as designated by a regulatory agency concerning the treatment of a particular disease or condition.

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.

Persons who are enrolled in research studies or who are otherwise the subjects of research.

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

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

The interactions between parent and child.

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.

Sexual behaviors which are high-risk for contracting SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES or for producing PREGNANCY.

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.

Intentional falsification of scientific data by presentation of fraudulent or incomplete or uncorroborated findings as scientific fact.

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

Those individuals engaged in research.

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.

Nonexpendable items used in the performance of orthopedic surgery and related therapy. They are differentiated from ORTHOTIC DEVICES, apparatus used to prevent or correct deformities in patients.

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

Drugs or chemical agents whose manufacture, possession, or use are regulated by government. This may include narcotics and prescription medications.

Interaction between a mother and child.

Set of expectations that exempt persons from responsibility for their illness and exempt them from usual responsibilities.

A course or method of action selected to guide and determine present and future decisions.

Promotion and protection of the rights of children; frequently through a legal process.

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

Unanticipated information discovered in the course of testing or medical care. Used in discussions of information that may have social or psychological consequences, such as when it is learned that a child's biological father is someone other than the putative father, or that a person tested for one disease or disorder has, or is at risk for, something else.

The science dealing with the study of mental processes and behavior in man and animals.

The cognitive and affective processes which constitute an internalized moral governor over an individual's moral conduct.

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).

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.

Sexual maltreatment of the child or minor.

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.

Public Law 104-91 enacted in 1996, was designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system, protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families, and to protect individual personal health information.

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

A person who has not attained the age at which full civil rights are accorded.

The geographic area of the midwestern region of the United States in general or when the specific state or states are not indicated. The states usually included in this region are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

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.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

Individuals supplying living tissue, organs, cells, blood or blood components for transfer or transplantation to histocompatible recipients.

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.

Organizations which provide an environment encouraging social interactions through group activities or individual relationships especially for the purpose of rehabilitating or supporting patients, individuals with common health problems, or the elderly. They include therapeutic social clubs.

A quantitative measure of the frequency on average with which articles in a journal have been cited in a given period of time.

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

Hospital or other institutional committees established to protect the welfare of research subjects. Federal regulations (the "Common Rule" (45 CFR 46)) mandate the use of these committees to monitor federally-funded biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects.

The process of bargaining in order to arrive at an agreement or compromise on a matter of importance to the parties involved. It also applies to the hearing and determination of a case by a third party chosen by the parties in controversy, as well as the interposing of a third party to reconcile the parties in controversy.

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.

A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of neoplasms.

Societies whose membership is limited to physicians.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

The state or quality of being kind, charitable, or beneficial. (from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed). The ethical principle of BENEFICENCE requires producing net benefit over harm. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

Documents describing a medical treatment or research project, including proposed procedures, risks, and alternatives, that are to be signed by an individual, or the individual's proxy, to indicate his/her understanding of the document and a willingness to undergo the treatment or to participate in the research.

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

Behavioral, psychological, and social relations among various members of the nuclear family and the extended family.

Compensatory plans designed to motivate physicians in relation to patient referral, physician recruitment, and efficient use of the health facility.

The promotion and support of consumers' rights and interests.

The sexual attraction or relationship between members of the opposite SEX.

Compositions written by hand, as one written before the invention or adoption of printing. A manuscript may also refer to a handwritten copy of an ancient author. A manuscript may be handwritten or typewritten as distinguished from a printed copy, especially the copy of a writer's work from which printed copies are made. (Webster, 3d ed)

The evaluation by experts of the quality and pertinence of research or research proposals of other experts in the same field. Peer review is used by editors in deciding which submissions warrant publication, by granting agencies to determine which proposals should be funded, and by academic institutions in tenure decisions.

A class of traumatic stress disorders with symptoms that last more than one month. There are various forms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depending on the time of onset and the duration of these stress symptoms. In the acute form, the duration of the symptoms is between 1 to 3 months. In the chronic form, symptoms last more than 3 months. With delayed onset, symptoms develop more than 6 months after the traumatic event.

Female parents, human or animal.

The interactions between the professional person and the family.

A method of examining and setting levels of payments.

The sexual functions, activities, attitudes, and orientations of an individual. Sexuality, male or female, becomes evident at PUBERTY under the influence of gonadal steroids (TESTOSTERONE or ESTRADIOL), and social effects.

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.

A person's view of himself.

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

Duties that are based in ETHICS, rather than in law.

Deliberate, often repetitive physical, verbal, and/or other types of abuse by one or more members against others of a household.

Sexual behavior that prevents or reduces the spread of SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES or PREGNANCY.

Any violation of established legal or moral codes in respect to sexual behavior.

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

Tissue, organ, or gamete donation intended for a designated recipient.

The transmission of infectious disease or pathogens from one generation to another. It includes transmission in utero or intrapartum by exposure to blood and secretions, and postpartum exposure via breastfeeding.

Persons who provide care to those who need supervision or assistance in illness or disability. They may provide the care in the home, in a hospital, or in an institution. Although caregivers include trained medical, nursing, and other health personnel, the concept also refers to parents, spouses, or other family members, friends, members of the clergy, teachers, social workers, fellow patients.

The moral and ethical obligations or responsibilities of institutions.

Women who are physically and mentally abused over an extended period, usually by a husband or other dominant male figure. Characteristics of the battered woman syndrome are helplessness, constant fear, and a perceived inability to escape. (From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3d ed)

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in taking drugs or medicine as prescribed. This includes timing, dosage, and frequency.

A tumor suppressor gene (GENES, TUMOR SUPPRESSOR) located on human chromosome 13 at locus 13q12.3. Mutations in this gene predispose humans to breast and ovarian cancer. It encodes a large, nuclear protein that is an essential component of DNA repair pathways, suppressing the formation of gross chromosomal rearrangements. (from Genes Dev 2000;14(11):1400-6)

Human females who are pregnant, as cultural, psychological, or sociological entities.

Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with major depression present in neurotic and psychotic 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.

Cells derived from the BLASTOCYST INNER CELL MASS which forms before implantation in the uterine wall. They retain the ability to divide, proliferate and provide progenitor cells that can differentiate into specialized cells.

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

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.