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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

Financial support of research activities.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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)

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)

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

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.

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

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

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)

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

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

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).

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.

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).

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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

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

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.

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 seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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

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

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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

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

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

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

The status of health in rural populations.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

The status of health in urban populations.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

Fibrinolysin or agents that convert plasminogen to FIBRINOLYSIN.

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.

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

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.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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

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.

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.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.

All organized methods of funding.

Those individuals engaged in research.

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

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

A constituent organization of the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES concerned with protecting and improving the health of the nation.

The application of discoveries generated by laboratory research and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials and studies in humans. A second area of translational research concerns enhancing the adoption of best practices.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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)

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

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

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.

Disease having a short and relatively severe course.

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

Groups set up to advise governmental bodies, societies, or other institutions on policy. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

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

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

Restoration of human functions to the maximum degree possible in a person or persons suffering from disease or injury.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Detailed financial plans for carrying out specific activities for a certain period of time. They include proposed income and expenditures.

A nursing specialty concerned with promoting and protecting the health of populations, using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences to develop local, regional, state, and national health policy and research. It is population-focused and community-oriented, aimed at health promotion and disease prevention through educational, diagnostic, and preventive programs.

Works about controlled studies which are planned and carried out by several cooperating institutions to assess certain variables and outcomes in specific patient populations, for example, a multicenter study of congenital anomalies in children.

Professions or other business activities directed to the cure and prevention of disease. For occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians but who are working in the fields of medical technology, physical therapy, etc., ALLIED HEALTH OCCUPATIONS is available.

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 circulation or wide dispersal of information.

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

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.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

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.

Bleeding into one or both CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES including the BASAL GANGLIA and the CEREBRAL CORTEX. It is often associated with HYPERTENSION and CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to the nutritional status of a human population within a given geographic area. Data from these surveys are used in preparing NUTRITION ASSESSMENTS.

Component of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. It conducts and supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span, from the management of patients during illness and recovery to the reduction of risks for disease and disability; the promotion of healthy lifestyles; the promotion of quality of life in those with chronic illness; and the care for individuals at the end of life. It was established in 1986.

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

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

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

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

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

A United States organization of distinguished scientists and engineers established for the purpose of investigating and reporting upon any subject of art or science as requested by any department of government. The National Research Council organized by NAS serves as the principal operating agency to stimulate and support research.

Conformity in fulfilling or following official, recognized, or institutional requirements, guidelines, recommendations, protocols, pathways, or other standards.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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

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.

Financial support for training including both student stipends and loans and training grants to institutions.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

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)

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.

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.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

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

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

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

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

The health status of the family as a unit including the impact of the health of one member of the family on the family as a unit and on individual family members; also, the impact of family organization or disorganization on the health status of its members.

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

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

In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

An agency of the UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE that conducts and supports programs for the prevention and control of disease and provides consultation and assistance to health departments and other countries.

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

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

Societies whose membership is limited to physicians.

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

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

Organized services to provide information on any questions an individual might have using databases and other sources. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)