Education and training in PUBLIC HEALTH for the practice of the profession.

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

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

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

Field of medicine concerned with the determination of causes, incidence, and characteristic behavior of disease outbreaks affecting human populations. It includes the interrelationships of host, agent, and environment as related to the distribution and control of disease.

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

Physicians or other qualified individuals responsible for implementing and overseeing the policies and procedures followed by a health care facility to reduce the risk of infection to patients and staff.

Educational programs designed to inform individuals of recent advances in their particular field of interest. They do not lead to any formal advanced standing.

Studies beyond the bachelor's degree at an institution having graduate programs for the purpose of preparing for entrance into a specific field, and obtaining a higher degree.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

Educational programs designed to ensure that students attain prespecified levels of competence in a given field or training activity. Emphasis is on achievement or specified objectives.

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)

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

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

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

An agency of the UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE that conducts and supports programs for the prevention and control of disease and provides consultation and assistance to health departments and other countries.

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)

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

Programs of surveillance designed to prevent the transmission of disease by any means from person to person or from animal to man.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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 teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

Formal education and training in preparation for the practice of a profession.

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

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

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

Use for general articles concerning medical education.

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 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.

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)

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.

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

Acquisition of knowledge as a result of instruction in a formal course of study.

Use for general articles concerning nursing education.

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

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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)

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

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

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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.

Use for articles concerning dental education in general.

A constituent organization of the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES concerned with protecting and improving the health of the nation.

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

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 seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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.

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

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)

Education via communication media (correspondence, radio, television, computer networks) with little or no in-person face-to-face contact between students and teachers. (ERIC Thesaurus, 1997)

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

Diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive 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.

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

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

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

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

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.

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

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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

The status of health in rural populations.

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)

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

The reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.

Educational programs designed to inform nurses of recent advances in their fields.

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

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.

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

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.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

Educational programs for medical graduates entering a specialty. They include formal specialty training as well as academic work in the clinical and basic medical sciences, and may lead to board certification or an advanced medical degree.

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

The status of health in urban populations.

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

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.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

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

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

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

The 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.

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

Theoretical models which propose methods of learning or teaching as a basis or adjunct to changes in attitude or behavior. These educational interventions are usually applied in the fields of health and patient education but are not restricted to patient care.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

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

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.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

The educational process of instructing.

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).

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

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.

Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.

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

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.

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

The interactions between physician and patient.

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

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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

Organized services to provide information on any questions an individual might have using databases and other sources. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The circulation or wide dispersal of information.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

A dental specialty concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of oral health through promoting organized dental health programs at a community, state, or federal level.

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

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

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

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.

Dedication or commitment shown by employees to organizations or institutions where they work.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

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

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

An infant during the first month after birth.

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

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.

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

The expected function of a member of the medical profession.

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.

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

Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.

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

The quality or state of being independent and self-directing, especially in making decisions, enabling professionals to exercise judgment as they see fit during the performance of their jobs.

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

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.

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

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of medical data through the application of computers to various aspects of health care and medicine.

Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS.

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

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

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

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

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

The rights of the individual to cultural, social, economic, and educational opportunities as provided by society, e.g., right to work, right to education, and right to social security.

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

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

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.

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 systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

Educational programs designed to inform graduate pharmacists of recent advances in their particular field.

A system of medical care regulated, controlled and financed by the government, in which the government assumes responsibility for the health needs of the population.

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

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

Communication, in the sense of cross-fertilization of ideas, involving two or more academic disciplines (such as the disciplines that comprise the cross-disciplinary field of bioethics, including the health and biological sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences and law). Also includes problems in communication stemming from differences in patterns of language usage in different academic or medical disciplines.

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 level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.

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

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

The process by which the employer promotes staff performance and efficiency consistent with management goals and objectives.

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

Educational programs designed to inform dentists of recent advances in their fields.

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

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.

Education of the individual who markedly deviates intellectually, physically, socially, or emotionally from those considered to be normal, thus requiring special instruction.

Schools which offer training in the area of health.

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

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

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.

A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.

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

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

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

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

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

The use of biological agents in TERRORISM. This includes the malevolent use of BACTERIA; VIRUSES; or other BIOLOGICAL TOXINS against people, ANIMALS; or PLANTS.