Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.

A system for the collection and/or processing of data from various sources, and using the information for policy making and management of health services. It could be paper-based or electronic. (From http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTHEALTHNUTRITIONANDPOPULATION/EXTHSD/0,,contentMDK:22239824~menuPK:376799~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:376793,00.html. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/en/)

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of data through the application of computers.

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

Placement of a balloon-tipped catheter into the pulmonary artery through the antecubital, subclavian, and sometimes the femoral vein. It is used to measure pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary artery wedge pressure which reflects left atrial pressure and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. The catheter is threaded into the right atrium, the balloon is inflated and the catheter follows the blood flow through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle and out into the pulmonary artery.

Drugs that bind to and block the activation of MINERALOCORTICOID RECEPTORS by MINERALOCORTICOIDS such as ALDOSTERONE.

A potassium sparing diuretic that acts by antagonism of aldosterone in the distal renal tubules. It is used mainly in the treatment of refractory edema in patients with congestive heart failure, nephrotic syndrome, or hepatic cirrhosis. Its effects on the endocrine system are utilized in the treatments of hirsutism and acne but they can lead to adverse effects. (From Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p827)

Institutional health care of patients during the day. The patients return home at night.

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.

Integrated set of files, procedures, and equipment for the storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information.

Method of measuring and mapping the scope of vision, from central to peripheral of each eye.

Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.

Mathematical or statistical procedures used as aids in making a decision. They are frequently used in medical decision-making.

Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

A heterogeneous condition in which the heart is unable to pump out sufficient blood to meet the metabolic need of the body. Heart failure can be caused by structural defects, functional abnormalities (VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION), or a sudden overload beyond its capacity. Chronic heart failure is more common than acute heart failure which results from sudden insult to cardiac function, such as MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

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.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

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.

Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

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

A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.

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

In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

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

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

Books used in the study of a subject that contain a systematic presentation of the principles and vocabulary of a subject.

Activities performed to identify concepts and aspects of published information and research reports.

Published materials which provide an examination of recent or current literature. Review articles can cover a wide range of subject matter at various levels of completeness and comprehensiveness based on analyses of literature that may include research findings. The review may reflect the state of the art. It also includes reviews as a literary form.

The terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

Instruction in which learners progress at their own rate using workbooks, textbooks, or electromechanical devices that provide information in discrete steps, test learning at each step, and provide immediate feedback about achievement. (ERIC, Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1996).

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)

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.

Works about books, articles or other publications on herbs or plants describing their medicinal value.

Labels pasted in books to mark their ownership and sometimes to indicate their location in a library. Private bookplates are often ornate or artistic: simpler and smaller ones bearing merely the owner's name are called "book labels." They are usually pasted on the front endpaper of books. (From Harrod, The Librarians' Glossary and Reference Book, 4th rev ed & Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Published pieces of paper or other material, usually printed on one side and intended to be read unfolded and usually intended to be posted, publicly distributed, or sold. (From Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing, 2d ed)

Directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.

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

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

Transmission of live or pre-recorded audio or video content via connection or download from the INTERNET.

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)

A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc., with application chiefly in the areas of research and medicine.

Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries.

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)

Publications, usually annual, containing a calendar for the coming year, the times of such events and phenomena as anniversaries, sunrises, sunsets, phases of the moon, tides, meteorological, and other statistical information and related topics. Almanacs are also annual reference books of useful and interesting facts relating to countries of the world, sports, entertainment, population groups, etc. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The educational process of instructing.

Financial support of research activities.

Books printed before 1501.