An institute of the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION which is responsible for assuring safe and healthful working conditions and for developing standards of safety and health. Research activities are carried out pertinent to these goals.

An office in the Department of Labor responsible for developing and establishing occupational safety and health standards.

An operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to health and medical research. Until 1995, it was an agency of the United States PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

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

Unforeseen occurrences, especially injuries in the course of work-related activities.

Organizations comprising wage and salary workers in health-related fields for the purpose of improving their status and conditions. The concept includes labor union activities toward providing health services to members.

Respirators to protect individuals from breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors.

Freedom from exposure to danger and protection from the occurrence or risk of injury or loss. It suggests optimal precautions in the workplace, on the street, in the home, etc., and includes personal safety as well as the safety of property.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.

A component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with research, overall planning, promoting, and administering mental health programs and research. It was established in 1949.

The development of systems to prevent accidents, injuries, and other adverse occurrences in an institutional setting. The concept includes prevention or reduction of adverse events or incidents involving employees, patients, or facilities. Examples include plans to reduce injuries from falls or plans for fire safety to promote a safe institutional environment.

Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment.

Organizations representing specialized fields which are accepted as authoritative; may be non-governmental, university or an independent research organization, e.g., National Academy of Sciences, Brookings Institution, etc.

Any enterprise centered on the processing, assembly, production, or marketing of a line of products, services, commodities, or merchandise, in a particular field often named after its principal product. Examples include the automobile, fishing, music, publishing, insurance, and textile industries.

Air pollutants found in the work area. They are usually produced by the specific nature of the occupation.

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

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. It was established in 1948.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It supports and conducts research, both basic and clinical, on the normal and diseases nervous system. It was established in 1950.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. Through basic and clinical biomedical research and training, it conducts and supports research into the nature of the aging process and diseases associated with the later stages of life. The Institute was established in 1974.

Place or physical location of work or employment.

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

Standards for limiting worker exposure to airborne contaminants. They are the maximum concentration in air at which it is believed that a particular substance will not produce adverse health effects with repeated daily exposure. It can be a time-weighted average (TLV-TWA), a short-term value (TLV-STEL), or an instantaneous value (TLV-Ceiling). They are expressed either as parts per million (ppm) or milligram per cubic meter (mg/m3).

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

Injuries sustained from incidents in the course of work-related activities.

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

Elements, compounds, mixtures, or solutions that are considered severely harmful to human health and the environment. They include substances that are toxic, corrosive, flammable, or explosive.

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

The maximum exposure to a biologically active physical or chemical agent that is allowed during an 8-hour period (a workday) in a population of workers, or during a 24-hour period in the general population, which does not appear to cause appreciable harm, whether immediate or delayed for any period, in the target population. (From Lewis Dictionary of Toxicology, 1st ed)

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

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)

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

Risk or hazard associated with the handling and use of chemicals.

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 minimizing risk to an organization by developing systems to identify and analyze potential hazards to prevent accidents, injuries, and other adverse occurrences, and by attempting to handle events and incidents which do occur in such a manner that their effect and cost are minimized. Effective risk management has its greatest benefits in application to insurance in order to avert or minimize financial liability. (From Slee & Slee: Health care terms, 2d ed)

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It was initially established to investigate the broad aspects of human development as a means of understanding developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, and the events that occur during pregnancy. It now conducts and supports research on all stages of human development. It was established in 1962.

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

The science of designing, building or equipping mechanical devices or artificial environments to the anthropometric, physiological, or psychological requirements of the people who will use them.

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.

Substances and materials manufactured for use in various technologies and industries and for domestic use.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

Financial support of research activities.

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.

A form of pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of dust that contains both CARBON and crystalline SILICON DIOXIDE. These foreign matters induce fibrous nodule formation in the lung.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports basic and applied research for a national program in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases and nutrition; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. It was established in 1948.

Supplying a building or house, their rooms and corridors, with fresh air. The controlling of the environment thus may be in public or domestic sites and in medical or non-medical locales. (From Dorland, 28th ed)

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. Through basic and clinical biomedical research and training, it conducts and supports research with the objective of cancer prevention, early stage identification and elimination. This Institute was established in 1937.

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.

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

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

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.

Activities devoted to freeing persons or animals from danger to life or well-being in accidents, fires, bombings, floods, earthquakes, other disasters and life-threatening conditions. While usually performed by team efforts, rescue work is not restricted to organized services.

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.

A diffuse parenchymal lung disease caused by inhalation of dust and by tissue reaction to their presence. These inorganic, organic, particulate, or vaporized matters usually are inhaled by workers in their occupational environment, leading to the various forms (ASBESTOSIS; BYSSINOSIS; and others). Similar air pollution can also have deleterious effects on the general population.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It supports a comprehensive research portfolio that focuses on the biological, social, behavioral and neuroscientific bases of drug abuse on the body and brain as well as its causes, prevention, and treatment. NIDA, NIAAA, and NIMH were created as coequal institutes within the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration in 1974. It was established within the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH in 1992.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports basic and applied research to reduce the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental causes by, defining how environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and age interact to affect an individual's health. It was established in 1969.

Discarded electronic devices containing valuable and sometimes hazardous materials such as LEAD, NICKEL, CADMIUM, and MERCURY. (from http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/faq.htm#impact accessed 4/25/2010)

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)

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

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

Noise present in occupational, industrial, and factory situations.

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

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

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

Insurance coverage providing compensation and medical benefits to individuals because of work-connected injuries or disease.

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.

Diseases in persons engaged in cultivating and tilling soil, growing plants, harvesting crops, raising livestock, or otherwise engaged in husbandry and farming. The diseases are not restricted to farmers in the sense of those who perform conventional farm chores: the heading applies also to those engaged in the individual activities named above, as in those only gathering harvest or in those only dusting crops.

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.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports research program related to diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and SLEEP WAKE DISORDERS. From 1948 until October 10, 1969, it was known as the National Heart Institute. From June 25, 1976, it was the National Heart and Lung Institute. Since October 1997, the NHLBI has also had administrative responsibility for the NIH Woman's Health Initiative.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents by inhaling them.

Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.

Identifies, for study and analysis, important issues and problems that relate to health and medicine. The Institute initiates and conducts studies of national policy and planning for health care and health-related education and research; it also responds to requests from the federal government and other agencies for studies and advice.

A natural fuel formed by partial decomposition of vegetable matter under certain environmental conditions.

Planned management, use, and preservation of energy resources.

A group of pathological conditions characterized by sudden, non-convulsive loss of neurological function due to BRAIN ISCHEMIA or INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGES. Stroke is classified by the type of tissue NECROSIS, such as the anatomic location, vasculature involved, etiology, age of the affected individual, and hemorrhagic vs. non-hemorrhagic nature. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp777-810)

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

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 enactment of laws and ordinances and their regulation by official organs of a nation, state, or other legislative organization. It refers also to health-related laws and regulations in general or for which there is no specific heading.

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

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

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 science of utilization, distribution, and consumption of services and materials.

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

A soft, grayish metal with poisonous salts; atomic number 82, atomic weight 207.19, symbol Pb. (Dorland, 28th)

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

The collective designation of three organizations with common membership: the European Economic Community (Common Market), the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It was known as the European Community until 1994. It is primarily an economic union with the principal objectives of free movement of goods, capital, and labor. Professional services, social, medical and paramedical, are subsumed under labor. The constituent countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997, p842)

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.

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

The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

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).

Pollution prevention through the design of effective chemical products that have low or no toxicity and use of chemical processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.

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.

Efforts to reduce risk, to address and reduce incidents and accidents that may negatively impact healthcare consumers.

The aggregate enterprise of manufacturing and technically producing chemicals. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

A form of pneumoconiosis resulting from inhalation of dust containing crystalline form of SILICON DIOXIDE, usually in the form of quartz. Amorphous silica is relatively nontoxic.

Medical specialty concerned with the promotion and maintenance of the physical and mental health of employees in occupational settings.

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).

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.

A condition of BRONCHOCONSTRICTION resulting from hypersensitive reaction to inhaled dust during the initial processing of cotton, flax, or hemp in the textile industry. Symptoms include wheezing and tightness in the chest.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

Statement of the position requirements, qualifications for the position, wage range, and any special conditions expected of the employee.

A form of pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers which elicit potent inflammatory responses in the parenchyma of the lung. The disease is characterized by interstitial fibrosis of the lung, varying from scattered sites to extensive scarring of the alveolar interstitium.

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)

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

Planning for the equitable allocation, apportionment, or distribution of 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.

The science, art, or technology dealing with processes involved in the separation of metals from their ores, the technique of making or compounding the alloys, the techniques of working or heat-treating metals, and the mining of metals. It includes industrial metallurgy as well as metallurgical techniques employed in the preparation and working of metals used in dentistry, with special reference to orthodontic and prosthodontic appliances. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p494)

A usually four-wheeled automotive vehicle designed for passenger transportation and commonly propelled by an internal-combustion engine using a volatile fuel. (Webster, 1973)

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.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.

The contamination of indoor air.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It seeks to improve oral, dental and craniofacial health through research, research training, and the dissemination of health information by conducting and supporting basic and clinical research. It was established in 1948 as the National Institute of Dental Research and re-named in 1998 as the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by socioeconomic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.

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

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

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.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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

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

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

A process of separating particulate matter from a fluid, such as air or a liquid, by passing the fluid carrier through a medium that will not pass the particulates. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

On the job training programs for personnel carried out within an institution or agency. It includes orientation programs.

Earth or other matter in fine, dry particles. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

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.

A proteolytic enzyme in the serine protease family found in many tissues which converts PLASMINOGEN to FIBRINOLYSIN. It has fibrin-binding activity and is immunologically different from UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR. The primary sequence, composed of 527 amino acids, is identical in both the naturally occurring and synthetic proteases.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

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

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.

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.

Colloids with a gaseous dispersing phase and either liquid (fog) or solid (smoke) dispersed phase; used in fumigation or in inhalation therapy; may contain propellant agents.

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.

Devices that cover the nose and mouth to maintain aseptic conditions or to administer inhaled anesthetics or other gases. (UMDNS, 1999)

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)

Personal devices for protection of the ears from loud or high intensity noise, water, or cold. These include earmuffs and earplugs.

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

The status of health in rural populations.

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.

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.

Localized reduction of blood flow to brain tissue due to arterial obstruction or systemic hypoperfusion. This frequently occurs in conjunction with brain hypoxia (HYPOXIA, BRAIN). Prolonged ischemia is associated with BRAIN INFARCTION.

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.

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

Fibrinolysin or agents that convert plasminogen to FIBRINOLYSIN.

Crafts, trades, professions, or other means of earning a living.

The status of health in urban populations.

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.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

Articles on conferences sponsored by NIH presenting summary statements representing the majority agreement of physicians, scientists, and other professionals convening for the purpose of reaching a consensus on a subject of interest. This heading is used for NIH consensus conferences as a means of scientific communication. In indexing it is viewed as a type of review article and as a tag for any article appearing in any publication of the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR).

An infant during the first month after birth.

Transparent, tasteless crystals found in nature as agate, amethyst, chalcedony, cristobalite, flint, sand, QUARTZ, and tridymite. The compound is insoluble in water or acids except hydrofluoric acid.

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.

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.

Penetrating stab wounds caused by needles. They are of special concern to health care workers since such injuries put them at risk for developing infectious disease.

Use of infusions of FIBRINOLYTIC AGENTS to destroy or dissolve thrombi in blood vessels or bypass grafts.

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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)

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)

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

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

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts research focused on improving the treatment and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems to reduce the health, social, and economic consequences of this disease. NIAAA, NIMH, and NIDA were created as coequal institutes within the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration in 1974. It was established within the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH in 1992.

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.

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.

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

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

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

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

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.

An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

Evaluation of biomedical technology in relation to cost, efficacy, utilization, etc., and its future impact on social, ethical, and legal systems.

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.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports basic biomedical research that is not targeted to specific diseases and funds studies on genes, proteins, and cells, as well as on fundamental processes like communication within and between cells and metabolism. It was established in 1962.

A system of medical care regulated, controlled and financed by the government, in which the government assumes responsibility for the health needs of the population.

Methods of creating machines and devices.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

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

Activities involved in ensuring the safety of FOOD including avoidance of bacterial and other contamination.

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.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. Its mission is to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies, and integrating the physical and engineering sciences with the life sciences to advance basic research and medical care. It was established in 2000.

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.

A measurement index derived from a modification of standard life-table procedures and designed to take account of the quality as well as the duration of survival. This index can be used in assessing the outcome of health care procedures or services. (BIOETHICS Thesaurus, 1994)

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