Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

Management of the organization of HEALTH FACILITIES.

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

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

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.

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

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

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)

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

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

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

Childbirth taking place in the home.

Extended care facilities which provide skilled nursing care or rehabilitation services for inpatients on a daily basis.

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

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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

A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA and north of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Dar es Salaam. It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the countries of TANGANYIKA and ZANZIBAR.

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 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)

Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192)

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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

The status of health in rural populations.

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

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

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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.

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.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

An independent state in eastern Africa. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the north and northeast by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia, on the south by Kenya, and on the west and southwest by Sudan. Its capital is Addis Ababa.

Delivery of the FETUS and PLACENTA under the care of an obstetrician or a health worker. Obstetric deliveries may involve physical, psychological, medical, or surgical interventions.

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)

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

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.

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 framework through which the United Kingdom's National Health Service organizations are accountable for continually improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish. (Scally and Donaldson, BMJ (4 July 1998): 61-65)

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

A republic in western Africa, south of BURKINA FASO and west of TOGO. Its capital is Accra.

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

A republic in southern Africa, south of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and TANZANIA, and north of ZIMBABWE. Its capital is Lusaka. It was formerly called Northern Rhodesia.

Those facilities which administer health services to individuals who do not require hospitalization or institutionalization.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of SUDAN and west of KENYA. Its capital is Kampala.

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

The area of a nation's economy that is tax-supported and under government control.

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

Long-term care facilities which provide supervision and assistance in activities of daily living with medical and nursing services when required.

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

Managerial personnel responsible for implementing policy and directing the activities of health care facilities such as nursing homes.

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

Maternal deaths resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in a given population.

Agents used in the treatment of malaria. They are usually classified on the basis of their action against plasmodia at different stages in their life cycle in the human. (From AMA, Drug Evaluations Annual, 1992, p1585)

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.

A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER between BENIN and CAMEROON. Its capital is Abuja.

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

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

The practice of assisting women in childbirth.

Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures.

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

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.

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.

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.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

An infant during the first month after birth.

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

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

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

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

A republic in southern Africa east of ZAMBIA and MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Lilongwe. It was formerly called Nyasaland.

A traditional term for all the activities which a physician or other health care professional normally performs to insure the coordination of the medical services required by a patient. It also, when used in connection with managed care, covers all the activities of evaluating the patient, planning treatment, referral, and follow-up so that care is continuous and comprehensive and payment for the care is obtained. (From Slee & Slee, Health Care Terms, 2nd ed)

A group of SESQUITERPENES and their analogs that contain a peroxide group (PEROXIDES) within an oxepin ring (OXEPINS).

The status of health in urban populations.

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.

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

A system of traditional medicine which is based on the beliefs and practices of the African peoples. It includes treatment by medicinal plants and other materia medica as well as by the ministrations of diviners, medicine men, witch doctors, and sorcerers.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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).

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.

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

Health care institutions operated by private groups or corporations for a profit.

A family of diphenylenemethane derivatives.

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

Amounts charged to the patient as payer for health care services.

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

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

A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA, east of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, west of TANZANIA. Its capital is Kigali. It was formerly part of the Belgian trust territory of Ruanda-Urund.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Hospitals controlled by various types of government, i.e., city, county, district, state or federal.

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.

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

A republic in western Africa, south and east of MALI and west of NIGER. Its capital is Ouagadougou. It was formerly called Upper Volta until 1984.

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

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

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)

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)

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

The process of giving birth to one or more offspring.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

A housing and health care alternative combining independence with personal care. It provides a combination of housing, personalized supportive services and health care designed to meet the needs, both scheduled and unscheduled, of those who need help with activities of daily living. (www.alfa.org)

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

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.

Organizations composed of members with common interests and whose professions may be similar.

Size and composition of the family.

Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

A republic in central Africa lying east of CHAD and the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC and west of NIGERIA. The capital is Yaounde.

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.

Single preparations containing two or more active agents, for the purpose of their concurrent administration as a fixed dose mixture.

An abnormal elevation of body temperature, usually as a result of a pathologic process.

Payment by individuals or their family for health care services which are not covered by a third-party payer, either insurance or medical assistance.

An abnormal anatomical passage that connects the VAGINA to other organs, such as the bladder (VESICOVAGINAL FISTULA) or the rectum (RECTOVAGINAL FISTULA).

Conformity in fulfilling or following official, recognized, or institutional requirements, guidelines, recommendations, protocols, pathways, or other standards.

Organizational development including enhancement of management structures, processes and procedures, within organizations and among different organizations and sectors to meet present and future needs.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

Care of infants in the home or institution.

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

Formal voluntary or governmental procedures and standards required of hospitals and health or other facilities to improve operating efficiency, and for the protection of the consumer.

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

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 physical condition of human reproductive systems.

Medical problems associated with OBSTETRIC LABOR, such as BREECH PRESENTATION; PREMATURE OBSTETRIC LABOR; HEMORRHAGE; or others. These complications can affect the well-being of the mother, the FETUS, or both.

A republic in southern Africa, south of ANGOLA and west of BOTSWANA. Its capital is Windhoek.

Facilities for the preparation and dispensing of drugs.

A class of hospitals that includes profit or not-for-profit hospitals that are controlled by a legal entity other than a government agency. (Hospital Administration Terminology, AHA, 2d ed)

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.

Diagnostic procedures, such as laboratory tests and x-rays, routinely performed on all individuals or specified categories of individuals in a specified situation, e.g., patients being admitted to the hospital. These include routine tests administered to neonates.

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

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.

Care over an extended period, usually for a chronic condition or disability, requiring periodic, intermittent, or continuous care.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium.

Health care services provided to patients on an ambulatory basis, rather than by admission to a hospital or other health care facility. The services may be a part of a hospital, augmenting its inpatient services, or may be provided at a free-standing facility.

A country of eastern Africa, west of the Red Sea, bordered west and northwest by SUDAN, and south by ETHIOPIA. Its capital is Asmara.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

A kingdom in southern Africa, west of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Mbabane. The area was settled by the Swazi branch of the Zulu nation in the early 1880's, with its independence guaranteed by the British and Transvaal governments in 1881 and 1884. With limited self-government introduced in 1962, it became independent in 1968. Swazi is the Zulu name for the people who call themselves Swati, from Mswati, the name of a 16th century king, from a word meaning stick or rod. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1170 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p527)

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

The capacity of an organization, institution, or business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, personnel, materiel, etc.

The process of negotiation between representatives of an employee organization, association or union, and representatives of the employer.

AMINO ALCOHOLS containing the ETHANOLAMINE; (-NH2CH2CHOH) group and its derivatives.

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

Outside services provided to an institution under a formal financial agreement.

The care provided to women and their NEWBORNS for the first few months following CHILDBIRTH.

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

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

A republic in southern Africa, south of TANZANIA, east of ZAMBIA and ZIMBABWE, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Maputo. It was formerly called Portuguese East Africa.

An international organization whose members include most of the sovereign nations of the world with headquarters in New York City. The primary objectives of the organization are to maintain peace and security and to achieve international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian problems.

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

Expendable and nonexpendable equipment, supplies, apparatus, and instruments that are used in diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic, scientific, and experimental procedures.

A republic in western Africa, lying between GHANA on its west and BENIN on its east. Its capital is Lome.

Facilities which provide nursing supervision and limited medical care to persons who do not require hospitalization.

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

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

Private, not-for-profit hospitals that are autonomous, self-established, and self-supported.

Programs of disease surveillance, generally within health care facilities, designed to investigate, prevent, and control the spread of infections and their causative microorganisms.

Institutions with an organized medical staff which provide medical care to patients.

An organizational enterprise between a public sector agency, federal, state or local, and a private sector entity. Skills and assets of each sector are shared to deliver a service or facility for the benefit or use of the general public.

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

Non-optimal interval of time between onset of symptoms, identification, and initiation of treatment.

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.

The care of women and a fetus or newborn given before, during, and after delivery from the 28th week of gestation through the 7th day after delivery.

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

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

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.

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

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

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

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.