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

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

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.

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

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

The observable response an animal makes to any situation.

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

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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).

Behavioral responses or sequences associated with eating including modes of feeding, rhythmic patterns of eating, and time intervals.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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)

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

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

Any observable response or action of an adolescent.

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.

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.

Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.

Undertaking a task involving a challenge for achievement or a desirable goal in which there is a lack of certainty or a fear of failure. It may also include the exhibiting of certain behaviors whose outcomes may present a risk to the individual or to those associated with him or her.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Sexual activities of humans.

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

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

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Physical activity which is usually regular and done with the intention of improving or maintaining PHYSICAL FITNESS or HEALTH. Contrast with PHYSICAL EXERTION which is concerned largely with the physiologic and metabolic response to energy expenditure.

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

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 observable response of a man or animal to a situation.

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

Behaviors associated with the ingesting of alcoholic beverages, including social drinking.

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

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)

Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

Any observable response or action of a child from 24 months through 12 years of age. For neonates or children younger than 24 months, INFANT BEHAVIOR is available.

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

The status of health in rural populations.

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

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.

The status of health in urban populations.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

The application of modern theories of learning and conditioning in the treatment of behavior disorders.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Reduction of high-risk choices and adoption of low-risk quantity and frequency alternatives.

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

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).

Sexual activities of animals.

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

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

The behavior patterns associated with or characteristic of a mother.

The practice of personal hygiene of the mouth. It includes the maintenance of oral cleanliness, tissue tone, and general preservation of oral health.

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)

Cognitive mechanism based on expectations or beliefs about one's ability to perform actions necessary to produce a given effect. It is also a theoretical component of behavior change in various therapeutic treatments. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)

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.

Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the black groups of Africa.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

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

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)

Principles applied to the analysis and explanation of psychological or behavioral phenomena.

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

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.

Telephone surveys are conducted to monitor prevalence of the major behavioral risks among adults associated with premature MORBIDITY and MORTALITY. The data collected is in regard to actual behaviors, rather than on attitudes or knowledge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in 1984.

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

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.

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

The tendency to explore or investigate a novel environment. It is considered a motivation not clearly distinguishable from curiosity.

Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli.

Acquired or learned food preferences.

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.

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)

Disturbances considered to be pathological based on age and stage appropriateness, e.g., conduct disturbances and anaclitic depression. This concept does not include psychoneuroses, psychoses, or personality disorders with fixed patterns.

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

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.

A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the acceptable or desirable weight, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).

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

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.

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

Usual level of physical activity that is less than 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most days of the week.

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

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)

A food group comprised of EDIBLE PLANTS or their parts.

An indicator of body density as determined by the relationship of BODY WEIGHT to BODY HEIGHT. BMI=weight (kg)/height squared (m2). BMI correlates with body fat (ADIPOSE TISSUE). Their relationship varies with age and gender. For adults, BMI falls into these categories: below 18.5 (underweight); 18.5-24.9 (normal); 25.0-29.9 (overweight); 30.0 and above (obese). (National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of men.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

Theoretical representations that simulate psychological processes and/or social processes. These include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Method for obtaining information through verbal responses, written or oral, from subjects.

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

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

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

A 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 fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.

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.

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

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.

Counseling during which a professional plays an active role in a client's or patient's decision making by offering advice, guidance, and/or recommendations.

Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with major depression present in neurotic and psychotic disorders.

Persons who have experienced a prolonged survival after serious disease or who continue to live with a usually life-threatening condition as well as family members, significant others, or individuals surviving traumatic life events.

The giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.

What a person has in mind to do or bring about.

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.

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

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.

The state of being engaged in an activity or service for wages or salary.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Relatively invariant mode of behavior elicited or determined by a particular situation; may be verbal, postural, or expressive.

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

The interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of behavioral and biomedical science, knowledge, and techniques relevant to health and illness and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

An instrument for reproducing sounds especially articulate speech at a distance. (Webster, 3rd ed)

The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.

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.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

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

Behavior which may be manifested by destructive and attacking action which is verbal or physical, by covert attitudes of hostility or by obstructionism.

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

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.

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 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.

A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols. Culture includes customs, traditions, and language.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continent of Europe.

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

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

Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of parenthood as well as preparation for becoming a parent.

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.

The interactions between parent and child.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of members of minority 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.

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.

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.

Health care provided to individuals.

Process of cultural change in which one group or members of a group assimilate various cultural patterns from another.

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

Discontinuation of the habit of smoking, the inhaling and exhaling of tobacco smoke.

Persons living in the United States of Mexican (MEXICAN AMERICANS), Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin. The concept does not include Brazilian Americans or Portuguese Americans.

The exchange or transmission of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs between individuals or groups.

The branch of psychology concerned with the effects of group membership upon the behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of an individual.

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

A group of people with a common cultural heritage that sets them apart from others in a variety of social relationships.

Any behavior associated with conflict between two individuals.

Epidemiologic investigations designed to test a hypothesized cause-effect relation by modifying the supposed causal factor(s) in the study population.

Feeling or emotion of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with ANXIETY DISORDERS.

Significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real gross domestic product, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. (National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, www.nber.org/cycles.html, accessed 4/23/2009)

Research that involves the application of the behavioral and social sciences to the study of the actions or reactions of persons or animals in response to external or internal stimuli. (from American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed)

New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.

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 measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.

Appraisal of one's own personal qualities or traits.

Comparison of various psychological, sociological, or cultural factors in order to assess the similarities or diversities occurring in two or more different cultures or societies.

A demographic parameter indicating a person's status with respect to marriage, divorce, widowhood, singleness, etc.

The act of cleaning teeth with a brush to remove plaque and prevent tooth decay. (From Webster, 3d ed)

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

The process of leaving one's country to establish residence in a foreign country.

Personality construct referring to an individual's perception of the locus of events as determined internally by his or her own behavior versus fate, luck, or external forces. (ERIC Thesaurus, 1996).

Group composed of associates of same species, approximately the same age, and usually of similar rank or social status.