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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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).

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.

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

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

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

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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

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

Planning that has the goals of improving health, improving accessibility to health services, and promoting efficiency in the provision of services and resources on a comprehensive basis for a whole community. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p299)

Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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

The status of health in urban populations.

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

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

Place or physical location of work or employment.

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

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.

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

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

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.

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.

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.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

The status of health in rural populations.

The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.

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

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.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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

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

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

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

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

Organizations and individuals cooperating together toward a common goal at the local or grassroots level.

The promotion and support of consumers' rights and interests.

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

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

Use of marketing principles also used to sell products to consumers to promote ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Design and use of programs seeking to increase the acceptance of a social idea or practice by target groups, not for the benefit of the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.

The exertion of a strong influence or control over others in a variety of settings--administrative, social, academic, etc.

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

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)

Specific practices for the prevention of disease or mental disorders in susceptible individuals or populations. These include HEALTH PROMOTION, including mental health; protective procedures, such as COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL; and monitoring and regulation of ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS. Primary prevention is to be distinguished from SECONDARY PREVENTION and TERTIARY PREVENTION.

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

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

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

A medical specialty primarily concerned with prevention of disease (PRIMARY PREVENTION) and the promotion and preservation of health in the individual.

Social process whereby the values, attitudes, or institutions of society, such as education, family, religion, and industry become modified. It includes both the natural process and action programs initiated by members of the community.

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

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)

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

The collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such media as pamphlets, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, radio, motion pictures, television, and books. While originally applied to the reportage of current events in printed form, specifically newspapers, with the advent of radio and television the use of the term has broadened to include all printed and electronic communication dealing with current affairs.

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.

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

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.

A cabinet department in the Executive Branch of the United States Government concerned with administering those agencies and offices having programs pertaining to health and human services.

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

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.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Collaborative process of research involving researchers and community representatives.

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

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

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

The availability of HEALTH PERSONNEL. It includes the demand and recruitment of both professional and allied health personnel, their present and future supply and distribution, and their assignment and utilization.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

A state in southeastern Australia, the southernmost state. Its capital is Melbourne. It was discovered in 1770 by Captain Cook and first settled by immigrants from Tasmania. In 1851 it was separated from New South Wales as a separate colony. Self-government was introduced in 1851; it became a state in 1901. It was named for Queen Victoria in 1851. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1295 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, p574)

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.

A method of data collection and a QUALITATIVE RESEARCH tool in which a small group of individuals are brought together and allowed to interact in a discussion of their opinions about topics, issues, or questions.

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.

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

The function of directing or controlling the actions or attitudes of an individual or group with more or less willing acquiescence of the followers.

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.

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

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

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

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

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

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

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

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

The circulation or wide dispersal of information.

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

Educational institutions.

Persons who donate their services.

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 concept covering the physical and mental conditions of men.

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.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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.

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

The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

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

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

A mode of communication concerned with inducing or urging the adoption of certain beliefs, theories, or lines of action by others.

The industry concerned with the removal of raw materials from the Earth's crust and with their conversion into refined products.

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

A 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.

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.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

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

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

Organizations established by endowments with provision for future maintenance.

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

Platforms that provide the ability and tools to create and publish information accessed via the INTERNET. Generally these platforms have three characteristics with content user generated, high degree of interaction between creator and viewer, and easily integrated with other sites.

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

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

Procedures, strategies, and theories of planning.

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

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.

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 act or practice of calling public attention to a product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, on radio, or on television. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

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)

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the islands of the central and South Pacific, including Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and traditionally Australasia.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

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

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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

Individuals responsible for the development of policy and supervision of the execution of plans and functional operations.

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

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).

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

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.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

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

Publications printed and distributed daily, weekly, or at some other regular and usually short interval, containing news, articles of opinion (as editorials and letters), features, advertising, and announcements of current interest. (Webster's 3d ed)

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

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

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

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

The process by which decisions are made in an institution or other organization.

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

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

A course or method of action selected, usually by an organization, institution, university, society, etc., from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions and positions on matters of public interest or social concern. It does not include internal policy relating to organization and administration within the corporate body, for which ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION is available.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

Those aspects or characteristics which identify a culture.

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)

Individuals enrolled in a school of nursing or a formal educational program leading to a degree in nursing.

The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.

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.

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

Healthy People Programs are a set of health objectives to be used by governments, communities, professional organizations, and others to help develop programs to improve health. It builds on initiatives pursued over the past two decades beginning with the 1979 Surgeon General's Report, Healthy People, Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives, and Healthy People 2010. These established national health objectives and served as the basis for the development of state and community plans. These are administered by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). Similar programs are conducted by other national governments.

Instruments or technological means of communication that reach large numbers of people with a common message: press, radio, television, etc.

The practice of nursing in the work environment.

Professional or volunteer members of a fire department who are trained to suppress fire and respond to related emergency.

An infant during the first month after birth.

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.