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

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

Communications using an active or passive satellite to extend the range of radio, television, or other electronic transmission by returning signals to earth from an orbiting satellite.

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.

The systematic surveying, mapping, charting, and description of specific geographical sites, with reference to the physical features that were presumed to influence health and disease. Medical topography should be differentiated from EPIDEMIOLOGY in that the former emphasizes geography whereas the latter emphasizes disease outbreaks.

The science dealing with the earth and its life, especially the description of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including humanity and human industries with reference to the mutual relations of these elements. (From Webster, 3d ed)

Integrated, computer-assisted systems designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information concerned with the administrative and clinical aspects of providing medical services within the hospital.

Techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties.

Creating a representation of areas of the earth or other celestial bodies, for the purpose of visualizing spatial distributions of various information.

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

The structuring of the environment to permit or promote specific patterns of behavior.

Devices, manned and unmanned, which are designed to be placed into an orbit about the Earth or into a trajectory to another celestial body. (NASA Thesaurus, 1988)

The means of moving persons, animals, goods, or materials from one place to another.

A statistically significant excess of cases of a disease, occurring within a limited space-time continuum.

Systems designed to provide information primarily concerned with the administrative functions associated with the provision and utilization of services; also includes program planning, etc.

Number of individuals in a population relative to space.

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.

Enumerations of populations usually recording identities of all persons in every place of residence with age or date of birth, sex, occupation, national origin, language, marital status, income, relation to head of household, information on the dwelling place, education, literacy, health-related data (e.g., permanent disability), etc. The census or "numbering of the people" is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Among the Romans, censuses were intimately connected with the enumeration of troops before and after battle and probably a military necessity. (From Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 3d ed; Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p66, p119)

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.

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

Computer-based systems that enable management to interrogate the computer on an ad hoc basis for various kinds of information in the organization, which predict the effect of potential decisions.

A republic in central Africa, east of NIGER, west of SUDAN and south of LIBYA. Its capital is N'Djamena.

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

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.

The relocation of health care institutions or units thereof. The concept includes equipment relocation.

Statistical interpretation and description of a population with reference to distribution, composition, or structure.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of radiology services and facilities.

An area of recreation or hygiene for use by the public.

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

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

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.

Water particles that fall from the ATMOSPHERE.

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/)

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.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

Observation and acquisition of physical data from a distance by viewing and making measurements from a distance or receiving transmitted data from observations made at distant location.

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

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative and clinical activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical laboratory services.

Constructions built to access underground water.

Gases, fumes, vapors, and odors escaping from the cylinders of a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed & Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

A set of statistical methods used to group variables or observations into strongly inter-related subgroups. In epidemiology, it may be used to analyze a closely grouped series of events or cases of disease or other health-related phenomenon with well-defined distribution patterns in relation to time or place or both.

The longterm manifestations of WEATHER. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

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.

The status of health in urban populations.

Facilities having programs intended to promote and maintain a state of physical well-being for optimal performance and health.

Coordination of activities and programs among health care institutions within defined geographic areas for the purpose of improving delivery and quality of medical care to the patients. These programs are mandated under U.S. Public Law 89-239.

Insects that transmit infective organisms from one host to another or from an inanimate reservoir to an animate host.

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

Techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties and include the dimension of time in the analysis.

Herbicides that remove leaves from trees and growing plants. They may be either organic or inorganic. Several of the more persistent types have been used in military operations and many are toxic. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 11th ed)

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.

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

Living facilities for humans.

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

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)

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

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

Systems composed of a computer or computers, peripheral equipment, such as disks, printers, and terminals, and telecommunications capabilities.

Comprehensive planning for the physical development of the city.

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.

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 area of medicine concerned with the effects on health and disease due to geographic factors such as CLIMATE, environmental conditions, and geographic location.

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

The production and movement of food items from point of origin to use or consumption.

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.

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

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

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

The procedures involved in combining separately developed modules, components, or subsystems so that they work together as a complete system. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Smallest political subdivisions within a country at which general governmental functions are carried-out.

The constant presence of diseases or infectious agents within a given geographic area or population group. It may also refer to the usual prevalence of a given disease with such area or group. It includes holoendemic and hyperendemic diseases. A holoendemic disease is one for which a high prevalent level of infection begins early in life and affects most of the child population, leading to a state of equilibrium such that the adult population shows evidence of the disease much less commonly than do children (malaria in many communities is a holoendemic disease). A hyperendemic disease is one that is constantly present at a high incidence and/or prevalence rate and affects all groups equally. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 3d ed, p53, 78, 80)

Infection with flukes (trematodes) of the genus SCHISTOSOMA. Three species produce the most frequent clinical diseases: SCHISTOSOMA HAEMATOBIUM (endemic in Africa and the Middle East), SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI (in Egypt, northern and southern Africa, some West Indies islands, northern 2/3 of South America), and SCHISTOSOMA JAPONICUM (in Japan, China, the Philippines, Celebes, Thailand, Laos). S. mansoni is often seen in Puerto Ricans living in the United States.

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

Sequential operating programs and data which instruct the functioning of a digital computer.

AUTOMOBILES, trucks, buses, or similar engine-driven conveyances. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

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.

Conveying ill or injured individuals from one place to another.

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.

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

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of ambulatory care services and facilities.

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)

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

The industry concerned with processing, preparing, preserving, distributing, and serving of foods and beverages.

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.

A system containing any combination of computers, computer terminals, printers, audio or visual display devices, or telephones interconnected by telecommunications equipment or cables: used to transmit or receive information. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

An activity in which the body advances at a slow to moderate pace by moving the feet in a coordinated fashion. This includes recreational walking, walking for fitness, and competitive race-walking.

A protozoan disease caused in humans by four species of the PLASMODIUM genus: PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM; PLASMODIUM VIVAX; PLASMODIUM OVALE; and PLASMODIUM MALARIAE; and transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito of the genus ANOPHELES. Malaria is endemic in parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Oceania, and certain Caribbean islands. It is characterized by extreme exhaustion associated with paroxysms of high FEVER; SWEATING; shaking CHILLS; and ANEMIA. Malaria in ANIMALS is caused by other species of plasmodia.

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)

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.

Invertebrates or non-human vertebrates which transmit infective organisms from one host to another.

Activity engaged in for pleasure.

The status of health in rural populations.

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 unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

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 vertical distance measured from a known level on the surface of a planet or other celestial body.

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

Water containing no significant amounts of salts, such as water from RIVERS and LAKES.

Aspects of health and disease related to travel.

Large natural streams of FRESH WATER formed by converging tributaries and which empty into a body of water (lake or ocean).

The reduction or regulation of the population of mosquitoes through chemical, biological, or other means.

The branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their ENVIRONMENT, especially as manifested by natural cycles and rhythms, community development and structure, interactions between different kinds of organisms, geographic distributions, and population alterations. (Webster's, 3d ed)

A republic in eastern Africa, south of ETHIOPIA, west of SOMALIA with TANZANIA to its south, and coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Nairobi.

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.

Monitoring of rate of occurrence of specific conditions to assess the stability or change in health levels of a population. It is also the study of disease rates in a specific cohort such as in a geographic area or population subgroup to estimate trends in a larger population. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

An acute febrile disease transmitted by the bite of AEDES mosquitoes infected with DENGUE VIRUS. It is self-limiting and characterized by fever, myalgia, headache, and rash. SEVERE DENGUE is a more virulent form of dengue.

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

Animate or inanimate sources which normally harbor disease-causing organisms and thus serve as potential sources of disease outbreaks. Reservoirs are distinguished from vectors (DISEASE VECTORS) and carriers, which are agents of disease transmission rather than continuing sources of potential disease outbreaks.

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

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)

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

The state of the ATMOSPHERE over minutes to months.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

A genus of mosquitoes (CULICIDAE) that are known vectors of MALARIA.

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

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

A province of western Canada, lying between the provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Its capital is Edmonton. It was named in honor of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p26 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p12)

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of operating room services and facilities.

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.

A family of the order DIPTERA that comprises the mosquitoes. The larval stages are aquatic, and the adults can be recognized by the characteristic WINGS, ANIMAL venation, the scales along the wing veins, and the long proboscis. Many species are of particular medical importance.

Educational institutions.

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.

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

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

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

The pattern of any process, or the interrelationship of phenomena, which affects growth or change within a population.

A chronic disease caused by LEISHMANIA DONOVANI and transmitted by the bite of several sandflies of the genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia. It is commonly characterized by fever, chills, vomiting, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, leukopenia, hypergammaglobulinemia, emaciation, and an earth-gray color of the skin. The disease is classified into three main types according to geographic distribution: Indian, Mediterranean (or infantile), and African.

The portion of an interactive computer program that issues messages to and receives commands from a user.

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.

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.

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

An infant during the first month after birth.

The use of a bicycle for transportation or recreation. It does not include the use of a bicycle in studying the body's response to physical exertion (BICYCLE ERGOMETRY TEST see EXERCISE TEST).

A republic in southern Africa, the southernmost part of Africa. It has three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). Officially the Republic of South Africa since 1960, it was called the Union of South Africa 1910-1960.

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.

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.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

Pesticides designed to control insects that are harmful to man. The insects may be directly harmful, as those acting as disease vectors, or indirectly harmful, as destroyers of crops, food products, or textile fabrics.

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 genus of mosquitoes (CULICIDAE) frequently found in tropical and subtropical regions. YELLOW FEVER and DENGUE are two of the diseases that can be transmitted by species of this genus.

A theorem in probability theory named for Thomas Bayes (1702-1761). In epidemiology, it is used to obtain the probability of disease in a group of people with some characteristic on the basis of the overall rate of that disease and of the likelihood of that characteristic in healthy and diseased individuals. The most familiar application is in clinical decision analysis where it is used for estimating the probability of a particular diagnosis given the appearance of some symptoms or test result.

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

Areawide planning for health care institutions on the basis of projected consumer need.

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.

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

Particles of any solid substance, generally under 30 microns in size, often noted as PM30. There is special concern with PM1 which can get down to PULMONARY ALVEOLI and induce MACROPHAGE ACTIVATION and PHAGOCYTOSIS leading to FOREIGN BODY REACTION and LUNG DISEASES.

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

Hospital department which is responsible for the administration and provision of x-ray diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Size and composition of the family.

Organized procedures for establishing patient identity, including use of bracelets, etc.

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.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical pharmacy services.

Protective measures against unauthorized access to or interference with computer operating systems, telecommunications, or data structures, especially the modification, deletion, destruction, or release of data in computers. It includes methods of forestalling interference by computer viruses or so-called computer hackers aiming to compromise stored data.

Computer-based information systems used to integrate clinical and patient information and provide support for decision-making in patient care.

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.

Data recorded by nurses concerning the nursing care given to the patient, including judgment of the patient's progress.

Management of the acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information. (From Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1994)

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.

Application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed or assumed facts from a particular study.

The attitude and behavior associated with an individual using the computer.

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 concept, developed in 1983 under the aegis of and supported by the National Library of Medicine under the name of Integrated Academic Information Management Systems, to provide professionals in academic health sciences centers and health sciences institutions with convenient access to an integrated and comprehensive network of knowledge. It addresses a wide cross-section of users from administrators and faculty to students and clinicians and has applications to planning, clinical and managerial decision-making, teaching, and research. It provides access to various types of clinical, management, educational, etc., databases, as well as to research and bibliographic databases. In August 1992 the name was changed from Integrated Academic Information Management Systems to Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems to reflect use beyond the academic milieu.

Services specifically designed, staffed, and equipped for the emergency care of patients.

Woody, usually tall, perennial higher plants (Angiosperms, Gymnosperms, and some Pterophyta) having usually a main stem and numerous branches.

Specifications and instructions applied to the software.

The science and art of collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data that are subject to random variation. The term is also applied to the data themselves and to the summarization of the data.

The physical activity of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon.