The health status of the family as a unit including the impact of the health of one member of the family on the family as a unit and on individual family members; also, the impact of family organization or disorganization on the health status of its members.

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

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

The provision of care involving the nursing process, to families and family members in health and illness situations. From Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. 6th ed.

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

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.

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)

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

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

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 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.

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

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

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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.

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

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

The circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics (http://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/).

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)

Acquiring information from a patient on past medical conditions and treatments.

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

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

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).

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

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

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)

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

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

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.

Personnel who provide nursing service to patients in an organized facility, institution, or agency.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

A province of Canada lying between the provinces of Manitoba and Quebec. Its capital is Toronto. It takes its name from Lake Ontario which is said to represent the Iroquois oniatariio, beautiful lake. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p892 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p391)

The status of health in urban populations.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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

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

Longitudinal patient-maintained records of individual health history and tools that allow individual control of access.

An ethical system which emphasizes human values and the personal worth of each individual, as well as concern for the dignity and freedom of humankind.

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 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.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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

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

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.

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

A voluntary contract between two or more doctors who may or may not share responsibility for the care of patients, with proportional sharing of profits and losses.

Professional medical personnel who provide care to patients in an organized facility, institution or agency.

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

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

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

Organized services to provide mental health care.

Administration of nursing services for one or more clinical units.

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.

An infant during the first month after birth.

The status of health in rural populations.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Programs and activities sponsored or administered by local, state, or national governments.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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.

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)

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 charge levied on the consumer for drugs or therapy prescribed under written order of a physician or other health professional.

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.

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)

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

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.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

Number of deaths of children between one year of age to 12 years of age in a given population.

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

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

Visits to the patient's home by professional personnel for the purpose of diagnosis and/or treatment.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

Health care programs or services designed to assist individuals in the planning of family size. Various methods of CONTRACEPTION can be used to control the number and timing of childbirths.

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.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

Use for general articles concerning nursing education.

The amount that a health care institution or organization pays for its drugs. It is one component of the final price that is charged to the consumer (FEES, PHARMACEUTICAL or PRESCRIPTION FEES).

Size and composition of the family.

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

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.

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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

Computer-based systems for input, storage, display, retrieval, and printing of information contained in a patient's medical record.

The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby individuals are joined together.

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.

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 physical condition of human reproductive systems.

Postnatal deaths from BIRTH to 365 days after birth in a given population. Postneonatal mortality represents deaths between 28 days and 365 days after birth (as defined by National Center for Health Statistics). Neonatal mortality represents deaths from birth to 27 days after birth.

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.

Theoretical representations and constructs that describe or explain the structure and hierarchy of relationships and interactions within or between formal organizational entities or informal social groups.

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.

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

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.

Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

Those physicians who have completed the education requirements specified by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

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 reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.

Female parents, human or animal.

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the aged and the maintenance of health in the elderly.

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

The practice of sending a patient to another program or practitioner for services or advice which the referring source is not prepared to provide.

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

The organization and administration of health services dedicated to the delivery of health care.

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.

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.

State plans prepared by the State Health Planning and Development Agencies which are made up from plans submitted by the Health Systems Agencies and subject to review and revision by the Statewide Health Coordinating Council.

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.

Persons trained to assist professional health personnel in communicating with residents in the community concerning needs and availability of health services.

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

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

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.

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.

Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determining the quality of health care.

A geographic area defined and served by a health program or institution.

Health care services related to human REPRODUCTION and diseases of the reproductive system. Services are provided to both sexes and usually by physicians in the medical or the surgical specialties such as REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; ANDROLOGY; GYNECOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; and PERINATOLOGY.

Organized services to provide health care to women. It excludes maternal care services for which MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES is available.

Voluntary groups of people representing diverse interests in the community such as hospitals, businesses, physicians, and insurers, with the principal objective to improve health care cost effectiveness.

An imbalanced nutritional status resulted from insufficient intake of nutrients to meet normal physiological requirement.

Health care provided to specific cultural or tribal peoples which incorporates local customs, beliefs, and taboos.

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of men.

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.

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

Care provided the pregnant woman in order to prevent complications, and decrease the incidence of maternal and prenatal mortality.

Evaluation procedures that focus on both the outcome or status (OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT) of the patient at the end of an episode of care - presence of symptoms, level of activity, and mortality; and the process (ASSESSMENT, PROCESS) - what is done for the patient diagnostically and therapeutically.

Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

Financial resources provided for activities related to health planning and development.

Organized services to provide health care to adolescents, ages ranging from 13 through 18 years.

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

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

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.

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 ratio of two odds. The exposure-odds ratio for case control data is the ratio of the odds in favor of exposure among cases to the odds in favor of exposure among noncases. The disease-odds ratio for a cohort or cross section is the ratio of the odds in favor of disease among the exposed to the odds in favor of disease among the unexposed. The prevalence-odds ratio refers to an odds ratio derived cross-sectionally from studies of prevalent cases.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

Providing for the full range of personal health services for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation of patients.

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.

Community health education events focused on prevention of disease and promotion of health through audiovisual exhibits.

A non-medical term defined by the lay public as a food that has little or no preservatives, which has not undergone major processing, enrichment or refinement and which may be grown without pesticides. (from Segen, The Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

The transfer of information from experts in the medical and public health fields to patients and the public. The study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health.

Application of marketing principles and techniques to maximize the use of health care resources.

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

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

Services designed to promote, maintain, or restore dental health.

Generally refers to the amount of protection available and the kind of loss which would be paid for under an insurance contract with an insurer. (Slee & Slee, Health Care Terms, 2d ed)

Contracts between an insurer and a subscriber or a group of subscribers whereby a specified set of health benefits is provided in return for a periodic premium.

That distinct portion of the institutional, industrial, or economic structure of a country that is controlled or owned by non-governmental, private interests.

Organized groups serving in advisory capacities related to health planning activities.

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

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

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

Demographic and epidemiologic changes that have occurred in the last five decades in many developing countries and that are characterized by major growth in the number and proportion of middle-aged and elderly persons and in the frequency of the diseases that occur in these age groups. The health transition is the result of efforts to improve maternal and child health via primary care and outreach services and such efforts have been responsible for a decrease in the birth rate; reduced maternal mortality; improved preventive services; reduced infant mortality, and the increased life expectancy that defines the transition. (From Ann Intern Med 1992 Mar 15;116(6):499-504)

The practice of nursing in the work environment.

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.

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)

Research techniques that focus on study designs and data gathering methods in human and animal populations.

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.

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

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

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

Payment by a third-party payer in a sum equal to the amount expended by a health care provider or facility for health services rendered to an insured or program beneficiary. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

Health insurance coverage for all persons in a state or country, rather than for some subset of the population. It may extend to the unemployed as well as to the employed; to aliens as well as to citizens; for pre-existing conditions as well as for current illnesses; for mental as well as for physical conditions.

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

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

Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to mothers and children.

Health as viewed from the perspective that humans and other organisms function as complete, integrated units rather than as aggregates of separate parts.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

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.