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.

A directed conversation aimed at eliciting information for psychiatric diagnosis, evaluation, treatment planning, etc. The interview may be conducted by a social worker or psychologist.

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)

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.

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.

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).

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

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

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.

Conferences, conventions or formal meetings usually attended by delegates representing a special field of interest.

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

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

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

The interactions between physician and patient.

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

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

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

Books used in the study of a subject that contain a systematic presentation of the principles and vocabulary of a subject.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Activities performed to identify concepts and aspects of published information and research reports.

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.

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.

Published materials which provide an examination of recent or current literature. Review articles can cover a wide range of subject matter at various levels of completeness and comprehensiveness based on analyses of literature that may include research findings. The review may reflect the state of the art. It also includes reviews as a literary form.

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.

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.

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)

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.

A systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

It is the study of social phenomena which characterize the learned, shared, and transmitted social activities of particular ethnic groups with focus on the causes, consequences, and complexities of human social and cultural variability.

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

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

The terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.

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)

Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness.

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.

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

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

Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.

Persons who provide care to those who need supervision or assistance in illness or disability. They may provide the care in the home, in a hospital, or in an institution. Although caregivers include trained medical, nursing, and other health personnel, the concept also refers to parents, spouses, or other family members, friends, members of the clergy, teachers, social workers, fellow patients.

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

An enduring, learned predisposition to behave in a consistent way toward a given class of objects, or a persistent mental and/or neural state of readiness to react to a certain class of objects, not as they are but as they are conceived to be.

Directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.

Instruction in which learners progress at their own rate using workbooks, textbooks, or electromechanical devices that provide information in discrete steps, test learning at each step, and provide immediate feedback about achievement. (ERIC, Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1996).

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

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

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

The capability to perform acceptably those duties directly related to patient care.

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

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

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

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.

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.

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

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

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

The reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.

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

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.

The act, process, or an instance of narrating, i.e., telling a story. In the context of MEDICINE or ETHICS, narration includes relating the particular and the personal in the life story of an individual.

Categorical classification of MENTAL DISORDERS based on criteria sets with defining features. It is produced by the American Psychiatric Association. (DSM-IV, page xxii)

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)

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)

Individuals participating in the health care system for the purpose of receiving therapeutic, diagnostic, or preventive procedures.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

The process by which the nature and meaning of sensory stimuli are recognized and interpreted.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

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

Those physicians who have completed the education requirements specified by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

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

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

The interactions between the professional person and the family.

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

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

Female parents, human or animal.

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

Patient involvement in the decision-making process in matters pertaining to health.

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)

Sexual activities of humans.

The educational process of instructing.

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

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

Acquiring information from a patient on past medical conditions and treatments.

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

Studies which start with the identification of persons with a disease of interest and a control (comparison, referent) group without the disease. The relationship of an attribute to the disease is examined by comparing diseased and non-diseased persons with regard to the frequency or levels of the attribute in each group.

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.

Works about books, articles or other publications on herbs or plants describing their medicinal value.

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

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

The performance of the basic activities of self care, such as dressing, ambulation, or eating.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

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

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

Those aspects or characteristics which identify a culture.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

Recording of information on magnetic or punched paper tape.

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

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

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)

Truthful revelation of information, specifically when the information disclosed is likely to be psychologically painful ("bad news") to the recipient (e.g., revelation to a patient or a patient's family of the patient's DIAGNOSIS or PROGNOSIS) or embarrassing to the teller (e.g., revelation of medical errors).

A willingness to reveal information about oneself to others.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

The presence of co-existing or additional diseases with reference to an initial diagnosis or with reference to the index condition that is the subject of study. Comorbidity may affect the ability of affected individuals to function and also their survival; it may be used as a prognostic indicator for length of hospital stay, cost factors, and outcome or survival.

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.

The study of plant lore and agricultural customs of a people. In the fields of ETHNOMEDICINE and ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, the emphasis is on traditional medicine and the existence and medicinal uses of PLANTS and PLANT EXTRACTS and their constituents, both historically and in modern times.

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

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.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries.

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

Those individuals engaged in research.

Persistent and disabling ANXIETY.

An affective disorder manifested by either a dysphoric mood or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The mood disturbance is prominent and relatively persistent.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

Systems of medicine based on cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation. The concept includes mystical and magical rituals (SPIRITUAL THERAPIES); PHYTOTHERAPY; and other treatments which may not be explained by modern medicine.

The expected function of a member of the medical profession.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

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

Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.

Labels pasted in books to mark their ownership and sometimes to indicate their location in a library. Private bookplates are often ornate or artistic: simpler and smaller ones bearing merely the owner's name are called "book labels." They are usually pasted on the front endpaper of books. (From Harrod, The Librarians' Glossary and Reference Book, 4th rev ed & Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Published pieces of paper or other material, usually printed on one side and intended to be read unfolded and usually intended to be posted, publicly distributed, or sold. (From Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing, 2d ed)

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

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

Those factors, such as language or sociocultural relationships, which interfere in the meaningful interpretation and transmission of ideas between individuals or groups.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.)

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.

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

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.

Confidence in or reliance on a person or thing.

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

A person's view of himself.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Studies in which a number of subjects are selected from all subjects in a defined population. Conclusions based on sample results may be attributed only to the population sampled.

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

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)

The circulation or wide dispersal of information.

Financial support of research activities.

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

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

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

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

The interactions between parent and child.

Marked depression appearing in the involution period and characterized by hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and agitation.

Brief accounts or narratives of an incident or event.

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

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

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

An infant during the first month after birth.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

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)

Acquisition of knowledge as a result of instruction in a formal course of study.

The process whereby a representation of past experience is elicited.

Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.

The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a measurable amount of factual evidence, and involving some degree of reflection, analysis, and reasoning.

Transmission of live or pre-recorded audio or video content via connection or download from the INTERNET.

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

Interaction between the patient and nurse.

Recording of visual and sometimes sound signals on magnetic tape.

A class of traumatic stress disorders with symptoms that last more than one month. There are various forms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depending on the time of onset and the duration of these stress symptoms. In the acute form, the duration of the symptoms is between 1 to 3 months. In the chronic form, symptoms last more than 3 months. With delayed onset, symptoms develop more than 6 months after the traumatic event.

Size and composition of the family.

An oversimplified perception or conception especially of persons, social groups, etc.

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

Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.

Educational programs designed to inform physicians of recent advances in their field.

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

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

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

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

The body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time, the cumulated sum of information, its volume and nature, in any civilization, period, or country.

Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.

Conceptual response of the person to the various aspects of death, which are based on individual psychosocial and cultural experience.

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

Design of patient care wherein institutional resources and personnel are organized around patients rather than around specialized departments. (From Hospitals 1993 Feb 5;67(3):14)

A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic. (Morse & Flavin for the Joint Commission of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alcoholism: in JAMA 1992;268:1012-4)

Communication, in the sense of cross-fertilization of ideas, involving two or more academic disciplines (such as the disciplines that comprise the cross-disciplinary field of bioethics, including the health and biological sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences and law). Also includes problems in communication stemming from differences in patterns of language usage in different academic or medical disciplines.

Criteria and standards used for the determination of the appropriateness of the inclusion of patients with specific conditions in proposed treatment plans and the criteria used for the inclusion of subjects in various clinical trials and other research protocols.

Compositions written by hand, as one written before the invention or adoption of printing. A manuscript may also refer to a handwritten copy of an ancient author. A manuscript may be handwritten or typewritten as distinguished from a printed copy, especially the copy of a writer's work from which printed copies are made. (Webster, 3d ed)

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

Studies to determine the advantages or disadvantages, practicability, or capability of accomplishing a projected plan, study, or project.

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

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

A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc., with application chiefly in the areas of research and medicine.

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.

The period of medical education in a medical school. In the United States it follows the baccalaureate degree and precedes the granting of the M.D.