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

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports basic and applied research to reduce the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental causes by, defining how environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and age interact to affect an individual's health. It was established in 1969.

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.

Medical specialty concerned with environmental factors that may impinge upon human disease, and development of methods for the detection, prevention, and control of environmentally related disease.

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

Contamination of the air, bodies of water, or land with substances that are harmful to human health and the environment.

Substances or energies, for example heat or light, which when introduced into the air, water, or land threaten life or health of individuals or ECOSYSTEMS.

Waste products which threaten life, health, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Elements, compounds, mixtures, or solutions that are considered severely harmful to human health and the environment. They include substances that are toxic, corrosive, flammable, or explosive.

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

An agency in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. It was created as an independent regulatory agency responsible for the implementation of federal laws designed to protect the environment. Its mission is to protect human health and the ENVIRONMENT.

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

Occasions to commemorate an event or occasions designated for a specific purpose.

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

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

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the child.

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

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

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

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.

The development and establishment of environmental conditions favorable to the health of the public.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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.

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 enactment of laws and ordinances and their regulation by official organs of a nation, state, or other legislative organization. It refers also to health-related laws and regulations in general or for which there is no specific heading.

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

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

The study of ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION and the toxic effects of ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS on the ECOSYSTEM. The term was coined by Truhaut in 1969.

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

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

Contamination of bodies of water (such as LAKES; RIVERS; SEAS; and GROUNDWATER.)

Disposal, processing, controlling, recycling, and reusing the solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes of plants, animals, humans, and other organisms. It includes control within a closed ecological system to maintain a habitable environment.

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

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

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

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.

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

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)

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

A branch of internal medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

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)

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 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 status of health in urban populations.

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

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

The state of society as it exists or in flux. While it usually refers to society as a whole in a specified geographical or political region, it is applicable also to restricted strata of a society.

Chemicals used to destroy pests of any sort. The concept includes fungicides (FUNGICIDES, INDUSTRIAL); INSECTICIDES; RODENTICIDES; etc.

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

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

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

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 study of existing genetic knowledge, and the generation of new genetic data, to understand and thus avoid DRUG TOXICITY and adverse effects from toxic substances from the environment.

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)

The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population.

Medical specialty concerned with the promotion and maintenance of the physical and mental health of employees in occupational settings.

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

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 status of health in rural populations.

A cabinet department in the Executive Branch of the United States Government concerned with administering those agencies and offices having programs pertaining to health and human services.

The practice of nursing in the work environment.

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.

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

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 representatives of institutions, agencies, or organizations.

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.

Combination of procedures, methods, and tools by which a policy, program, or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population.

Financial support of research activities.

The contamination of indoor air.

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

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

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Spread and adoption of inventions and techniques from one geographic area to another, from one discipline to another, or from one sector of the economy to another. For example, improvements in medical equipment may be transferred from industrial countries to developing countries, advances arising from aerospace engineering may be applied to equipment for persons with disabilities, and innovations in science arising from government research are made available to private enterprise.

The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents, before, during, or after processing or storage.

A medical specialty primarily concerned with prevention of disease (PRIMARY PREVENTION) and the promotion and preservation of health in the individual.

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.

Any substance in the air which could, if present in high enough concentration, harm humans, animals, vegetation or material. Substances include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; and volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS.

Means or process of supplying water (as for a community) usually including reservoirs, tunnels, and pipelines and often the watershed from which the water is ultimately drawn. (Webster, 3d ed)

Collection, analysis, and interpretation of data about the frequency, distribution, and consequences of disease or health conditions, for use in the planning, implementing, and evaluating public health programs.

Collaborative process of research involving researchers and community representatives.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

The reduction or regulation of the population of noxious, destructive, or dangerous plants, insects, or other animals. This includes control of plants that serve as habitats or food sources for animal pests.

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

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

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

The process of minimizing risk to an organization by developing systems to identify and analyze potential hazards to prevent accidents, injuries, and other adverse occurrences, and by attempting to handle events and incidents which do occur in such a manner that their effect and cost are minimized. Effective risk management has its greatest benefits in application to insurance in order to avert or minimize financial liability. (From Slee & Slee: Health care terms, 2d ed)

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

Living facilities for humans.

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

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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

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)

Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water.

Recommendations for directing health planning functions and policies. These may be mandated by PL93-641 and issued by the Department of Health and Human Services for use by state and local planning agencies.

The science concerned with the detection, chemical composition, and biological action of toxic substances or poisons and the treatment and prevention of toxic manifestations.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

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

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

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.

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.

The presence of contaminants or pollutant substances in the air (AIR POLLUTANTS) that interfere with human health or welfare, or produce other harmful environmental effects. The substances may include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; or volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS.

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

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

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 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.

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

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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

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.

An acquired disorder characterized by recurrent symptoms, referable to multiple organ systems, occurring in response to demonstrable exposure to many chemically unrelated compounds at doses below those established in the general population to cause harmful effects. (Cullen MR. The worker with multiple chemical sensitivities: an overview. Occup Med 1987;2(4):655-61)

Conferences, conventions or formal meetings usually attended by delegates representing a special field of interest.

A course of action or principle adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual that concerns human interactions with nature and natural resources.

Presentation of pertinent data by one with special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.

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.

Efforts and designs to reduce the incidence of unexpected undesirable events in various environments and situations.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

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).

Procedures, strategies, and theories of planning.

A medical specialty concerned with maintaining health and providing medical care to children from birth to adolescence.

A genus of soft-shell clams in the family Myidae, class BIVALVIA.

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 discarding or destroying of garbage, sewage, or other waste matter or its transformation into something useful or innocuous.

Units that convert some other form of energy into electrical energy.

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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

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.

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.

An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

Calamities producing great damage, loss of life, and distress. They include results of natural phenomena and man-made phenomena. Normal conditions of existence are disrupted and the level of impact exceeds the capacity of the hazard-affected community.

Carcinogenic substances that are found in the environment.

Management, removal, and elimination of biologic, infectious, pathologic, and dental waste. The concept includes blood, mucus, tissue removed at surgery or autopsy, soiled surgical dressings, and other materials requiring special control and handling. Disposal may take place where the waste is generated or elsewhere.

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

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.

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

A soft, grayish metal with poisonous salts; atomic number 82, atomic weight 207.19, symbol Pb. (Dorland, 28th)

The prevention of growth and or spread of unwanted plants.

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

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

Use for general articles concerning nursing education.

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

Examination of foods to assure wholesome and clean products free from unsafe microbes or chemical contamination, natural or added deleterious substances, and decomposition during production, processing, packaging, etc.

The collective designation of three organizations with common membership: the European Economic Community (Common Market), the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It was known as the European Community until 1994. It is primarily an economic union with the principal objectives of free movement of goods, capital, and labor. Professional services, social, medical and paramedical, are subsumed under labor. The constituent countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997, p842)

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.

Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment.

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.

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

The use or threatened use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of criminal laws for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom, in support of political or social objectives.

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

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.

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, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

Stipends or grants-in-aid granted by foundations or institutions to individuals for study.

Chemical substances that are foreign to the biological system. They include naturally occurring compounds, drugs, environmental agents, carcinogens, insecticides, etc.

The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment.

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

Studies designed to examine associations, commonly, hypothesized causal relations. They are usually concerned with identifying or measuring the effects of risk factors or exposures. The common types of analytic study are CASE-CONTROL STUDIES; COHORT STUDIES; and CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES.

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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.

Architecture, exterior and interior design, and construction of facilities other than hospitals, e.g., dental schools, medical schools, ambulatory care clinics, and specified units of health care facilities. The concept also includes architecture, design, and construction of specialized contained, controlled, or closed research environments including those of space labs and stations.

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

The body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time, the cumulated sum of information, its volume and nature, in any civilization, period, or country.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Any enterprise centered on the processing, assembly, production, or marketing of a line of products, services, commodities, or merchandise, in a particular field often named after its principal product. Examples include the automobile, fishing, music, publishing, insurance, and textile industries.

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

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.

A shiny gray element with atomic symbol As, atomic number 33, and atomic weight 75. It occurs throughout the universe, mostly in the form of metallic arsenides. Most forms are toxic. According to the Fourth Annual Report on Carcinogens (NTP 85-002, 1985), arsenic and certain arsenic compounds have been listed as known carcinogens. (From Merck Index, 11th ed)

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 physical condition of human reproductive systems.

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.

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

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 general name for NORTH AMERICA; CENTRAL AMERICA; and SOUTH AMERICA unspecified or combined.

Metals with high specific gravity, typically larger than 5. They have complex spectra, form colored salts and double salts, have a low electrode potential, are mainly amphoteric, yield weak bases and weak acids, and are oxidizing or reducing agents (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

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

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

An island in the Greater Antilles in the West Indies, south of Florida. With the adjacent islands it forms the Republic of Cuba. Its capital is Havana. It was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492 and conquered by Spain in 1511. It has a varied history under Spain, Great Britain, and the United States but has been independent since 1902. The name Cuba is said to be an Indian name of unknown origin but the language that gave the name is extinct, so the etymology is a conjecture. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p302 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p132)

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

Exogenous agents, synthetic and naturally occurring, which are capable of disrupting the functions of the ENDOCRINE SYSTEM including the maintenance of HOMEOSTASIS and the regulation of developmental processes. Endocrine disruptors are compounds that can mimic HORMONES, or enhance or block the binding of hormones to their receptors, or otherwise lead to activating or inhibiting the endocrine signaling pathways and hormone metabolism.

Organic compounds in which mercury is attached to a methyl group.

Substances which pollute the soil. Use for soil pollutants in general or for which there is no specific heading.

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

Freedom from exposure to danger and protection from the occurrence or risk of injury or loss. It suggests optimal precautions in the workplace, on the street, in the home, etc., and includes personal safety as well as the safety of property.

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.