The geographic area of New England in general and when the specific state or states are not indicated. States usually included in this region are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

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.

Islands lying between southeastern North America and northern South America, enclosing the Caribbean Sea. They comprise the Greater Antilles (CUBA; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC; HAITI; JAMAICA; and PUERTO RICO), the Lesser Antilles (ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA and the other Leeward Islands, BARBADOS; MARTINIQUE and the other Windward Islands, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES; VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES, BRITISH VIRGINI ISLANDS, and the islands north of Venezuela which include TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO), and the BAHAMAS. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1330)

An infant during the first month after birth.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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 detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of medical care.

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

The act of killing oneself.

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.

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 accepting patients. The concept includes patients accepted for medical and nursing care in a hospital or other health care institution.

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

Control, direction and financing of the total dental care of the population by a national government.

All deaths reported in a given population.

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.

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

The confinement of a patient in a hospital.

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

Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Legal process required for the institutionalization of a patient with severe mental problems.

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.

Individuals referred to for expert or professional advice or services.

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

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

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

Time period from 1701 through 1800 of the common era.

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.

Hospitals controlled by various types of government, i.e., city, county, district, state or federal.

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

Group behavior toward others by virtue of their group membership.

Physicians appointed to investigate all cases of sudden or violent death.

Time period from 1601 through 1700 of the common era.

The period of history from the year 500 through 1450 of the common era.

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

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

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

A branch of medicine which deals with sexually transmitted disease.

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.

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)

Time period from 1501 through 1600 of the common era.

A narcotic analgesic structurally related to METHADONE. Only the dextro-isomer has an analgesic effect; the levo-isomer appears to exert an antitussive effect.

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

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.

Special hospitals which provide care to the mentally ill patient.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

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

The largest of the continents. It was known to the Romans more specifically as what we know today as Asia Minor. The name comes from at least two possible sources: from the Assyrian asu (to rise) or from the Sanskrit usa (dawn), both with reference to its being the land of the rising sun, i.e., eastern as opposed to Europe, to the west. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p82 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p34)

Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.

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.

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.