Smallest political subdivisions within a country at which general governmental functions are carried-out.

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

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

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

The complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out in a specific political unit.

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

The status of health in suburban populations.

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)

Waste products which threaten life, health, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Programs and activities sponsored or administered by local, state, or national governments.

The leveraging of collective wisdom within an organization as a catalyst to increase responsiveness and innovation.

Personnel trained to provide the initial services, care, and support in EMERGENCIES or DISASTERS.

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

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

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Deaths that occur before LIFE EXPECTANCY is reached within a given population.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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

The status of health in urban populations.

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)

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

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

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

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

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).

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.

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

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

A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)

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

Conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews.

The capital is Seoul. The country, established September 9, 1948, is located on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Its northern border is shared with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

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 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 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.

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

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

All deaths reported in a given population.

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.

Drugs that block nerve conduction when applied locally to nerve tissue in appropriate concentrations. They act on any part of the nervous system and on every type of nerve fiber. In contact with a nerve trunk, these anesthetics can cause both sensory and motor paralysis in the innervated area. Their action is completely reversible. (From Gilman AG, et. al., Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed) Nearly all local anesthetics act by reducing the tendency of voltage-dependent sodium channels to activate.

An infant during the first month after birth.

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

Agencies of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of the United States.

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

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

A blocking of nerve conduction to a specific area by an injection of an anesthetic agent.

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.