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

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

Individuals or groups with no or inadequate health insurance coverage. Those falling into this category usually comprise three primary groups: the medically indigent (MEDICAL INDIGENCY); those whose clinical condition makes them medically uninsurable; and the working uninsured.

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

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.

Coverage by contract whereby one part indemnifies or guarantees another against loss by a specified contingency.

An organization of insurers or reinsurers through which particular types of risk are shared or pooled. The risk of high loss by a particular insurance company is transferred to the group as a whole (the insurance pool) with premiums, losses, and expenses shared in agreed amounts.

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.

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

Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XIX, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, administered by the states, that provides health care benefits to indigent and medically indigent persons.

Organizations which assume the financial responsibility for the risks of policyholders.

Criteria to determine eligibility of patients for medical care programs and services.

An Act prohibiting a health plan from establishing lifetime limits or annual limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary after January 1, 2014. It permits a restricted annual limit for plan years beginning prior to January 1, 2014. It provides that a health plan shall not be prevented from placing annual or lifetime per-beneficiary limits on covered benefits. The Act sets up a competitive health insurance market.

Health insurance to provide full or partial coverage for long-term home care services or for long-term nursing care provided in a residential facility such as a nursing home.

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.

Insurance providing for payment of a stipulated sum to a designated beneficiary upon death of the insured.

Payments or services provided under stated circumstances under the terms of an insurance policy. In prepayment programs, benefits are the services the programs will provide at defined locations and to the extent needed.

Adverse or favorable selection bias exhibited by insurers or enrollees resulting in disproportionate enrollment of certain groups of people.

Insurance providing coverage for dental care.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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.

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

Insurance providing a broad range of medical services and supplies, when prescribed by a physician, whether or not the patient is hospitalized. It frequently is an extension of a basic policy and benefits will not begin until the basic policy is exhausted.

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

Financing of medical care provided to public assistance recipients.

Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.

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.

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

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

Insurance providing benefits to cover part or all of the psychiatric care.

Insurance providing for payment of services rendered by the pharmacist. Services include the preparation and distribution of medical products.

Health insurance providing benefits to cover or partly cover hospital expenses.

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

The level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.

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

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

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

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

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

Provisions of an insurance policy that require the insured to pay some portion of covered expenses. Several forms of sharing are in use, e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. Cost sharing does not refer to or include amounts paid in premiums for the coverage. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

The condition in which individuals are financially unable to access adequate medical care without depriving themselves and their dependents of food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials of living.

Insurance providing benefits for the costs of care by a physician which can be comprehensive or limited to surgical expenses or for care provided only in the hospital. It is frequently called "regular medical expense" or "surgical expense".

Financial assistance provided by the government to indigent families with dependent children who meet certain requirements as defined by the Social Security Act, Title IV, in the U.S.

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.

Programs in which participation is required.

Insurance against loss resulting from liability for injury or damage to the persons or property of others.

The design, completion, and filing of forms with the insurer.

The level of governmental organization and function at the national or country-wide level.

Financial assistance to impoverished persons for the essentials of living through federal, state or local government programs.

Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XVIII-Health Insurance for the Aged, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, that provides health insurance benefits to persons over the age of 65 and others eligible for Social Security benefits. It consists of two separate but coordinated programs: hospital insurance (MEDICARE PART A) and supplementary medical insurance (MEDICARE PART B). (Hospital Administration Terminology, AHA, 2d ed and A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, US House of Representatives, 1976)

Insurance providing coverage for physical injury suffered as a result of unavoidable circumstances.

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)

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

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.

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

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

Size and composition of the family.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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

The containment, regulation, or restraint of costs. Costs are said to be contained when the value of resources committed to an activity is not considered excessive. This determination is frequently subjective and dependent upon the specific geographic area of the activity being measured. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

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.

Public Law 104-91 enacted in 1996, was designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system, protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families, and to protect individual personal health information.

Children with mental or physical disabilities that interfere with usual activities of daily living and that may require accommodation or intervention.

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

The actual costs of providing services related to the delivery of health care, including the costs of procedures, therapies, and medications. It is differentiated from HEALTH EXPENDITURES, which refers to the amount of money paid for the services, and from fees, which refers to the amount charged, regardless of cost.

Tax on the net income of an individual, organization, or business.

The application of mathematical formulas and statistical techniques to the testing and quantifying of economic theories and the solution of economic problems.

Groups of individuals whose putative ancestry is from native continental populations based on similarities in physical appearance.

Review of claims by insurance companies to determine liability and amount of payment for various services. The review may also include determination of eligibility of the claimant or beneficiary or of the provider of the benefit; determination that the benefit is covered or not payable under another policy; or determination that the service was necessary and of reasonable cost and quality.

Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS and PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

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

An approach to health care financing with only one source of money for paying health care providers. The scope may be national (the Canadian System), state-wide, or community-based. The payer may be a governmental unit or other entity such as an insurance company. The proposed advantages include administrative simplicity for patients and providers, and resulting significant savings in overhead costs. (From Slee and Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993, p106)

Groups of persons whose range of options is severely limited, who are frequently subjected to COERCION in their DECISION MAKING, or who may be compromised in their ability to give INFORMED CONSENT.

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

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

Processes or methods of reimbursement for services rendered or equipment.

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

Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community.

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)

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.

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

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.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

An infant during the first month after birth.

An acute or prolonged illness usually considered to be life-threatening or with the threat of serious residual disability. Treatment may be radical and is frequently costly.

The giving of attention to the special dental needs of children, including the prevention of tooth diseases and instruction in dental hygiene and dental health. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.

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

The combined discipline of psychology and economics that investigates what happens in markets in which some of the agents display human limitations and complications.

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

A condition or physical state produced by the ingestion, injection, inhalation of or exposure to a deleterious agent.

Accounting procedures for determining credit status and methods of obtaining payment.

State-provided health insurance marketplaces established under the PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.

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

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

A center in the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE which is primarily concerned with the collection, analysis, and dissemination of health statistics on vital events and health activities to reflect the health status of people, health needs, and health resources.

People who leave their place of residence in one country and settle in a different country.

Cost-sharing mechanisms that provide for payment by the insured of some portion of covered expenses. Deductibles are the amounts paid by the insured under a health insurance contract before benefits become payable; coinsurance is the provision under which the insured pays part of the medical bill, usually according to a fixed percentage, when benefits become payable.

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.

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.

Method of charging whereby a physician or other practitioner bills for each encounter or service rendered. In addition to physicians, other health care professionals are reimbursed via this mechanism. Fee-for-service plans contrast with salary, per capita, and prepayment systems, where the payment does not change with the number of services actually used or if none are used. (From Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)

A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.

Government sponsored social insurance programs.

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

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.

The state of being retired from one's position or occupation.

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

The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).

Health care provided to individuals.

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

A 1974 Federal act which preempts states' rights with regard to workers' pension benefits and employee benefits. It does not affect the benefits and rights of employees whose employer is self-insured. (From Slee & Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993)

Insurance designed to compensate persons who lose wages because of illness or injury; insurance providing periodic payments that partially replace lost wages, salary, or other income when the insured is unable to work because of illness, injury, or disease. Individual and group disability insurance are two types of such coverage. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p207)

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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

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.

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

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continent of Europe.

Status not subject to taxation; as the income of a philanthropic organization. Tax-exempt organizations may also qualify to receive tax-deductible donations if they are considered to be nonprofit corporations under Section 501(c)3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

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

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

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 subgroup having special characteristics within a larger group, often bound together by special ties which distinguish it from the larger group.

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.

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

Radiographic examination of the breast.

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

Drugs that cannot be sold legally without a prescription.

Visits made by patients to health service providers' offices for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.

The confinement of a patient in a hospital.

Administration of vaccines to stimulate the host's immune response. This includes any preparation intended for active immunological prophylaxis.

Organized services to administer immunization procedures in the prevention of various diseases. The programs are made available over a wide range of sites: schools, hospitals, public health agencies, voluntary health agencies, etc. They are administered to an equally wide range of population groups or on various administrative levels: community, municipal, state, national, international.

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.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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)

Used for general articles concerning statistics of births, deaths, marriages, etc.

People who frequently change their place of residence.

Chronic absence from work or other duty.

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

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

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

Health care provided on a continuing basis from the initial contact, following the patient through all phases of medical care.

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

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

The personal cost of acute or chronic disease. The cost to the patient may be an economic, social, or psychological cost or personal loss to self, family, or immediate community. The cost of illness may be reflected in absenteeism, productivity, response to treatment, peace of mind, or QUALITY OF LIFE. It differs from HEALTH CARE COSTS, meaning the societal cost of providing services related to the delivery of health care, rather than personal impact on individuals.

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.

Health services for college and university students usually provided by the educational institution.

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).

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

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

That portion of total HEALTH CARE COSTS borne by an individual's or group's employing organization.

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

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

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.

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.

Process of shifting publicly controlled services and/or facilities to the private sector.

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.

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

The effort of two or more parties to secure the business of a third party by offering, usually under fair or equitable rules of business practice, the most favorable terms.

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.

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

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.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

A cabinet department in the Executive Branch of the United States Government concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to VETERANS. It was established March 15, 1989 as a Cabinet-level position.

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)

Prepaid health and hospital insurance plan.

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

Damage inflicted on the body as the direct or indirect result of an external force, with or without disruption of structural continuity.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

The frequency of different ages or age groups in a given population. The distribution may refer to either how many or what proportion of the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

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

Tax-exempt trusts or custodial accounts established by individuals with financial institutions for saving money for future medical expenses.

Persons living in the United States of Mexican descent.

A strategy for purchasing health care in a manner which will obtain maximum value for the price for the purchasers of the health care and the recipients. The concept was developed primarily by Alain Enthoven of Stanford University and promulgated by the Jackson Hole Group. The strategy depends on sponsors for groups of the population to be insured. The sponsor, in some cases a health alliance, acts as an intermediary between the group and competing provider groups (accountable health plans). The competition is price-based among annual premiums for a defined, standardized benefit package. (From Slee and Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993)

Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.

The prediction or projection of the nature of future problems or existing conditions based upon the extrapolation or interpretation of existing scientific data or by the application of scientific methodology.

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

Methods to identify and characterize cancer in the early stages of disease and predict tumor behavior.

The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.

The degree to which the individual regards the health care service or product or the manner in which it is delivered by the provider as useful, effective, or beneficial.