Facilities which provide nursing supervision and limited medical care to persons who do not require hospitalization.

Community health and NURSING SERVICES providing coordinated multiple services to the patient at the patient's homes. These home-care services are provided by a visiting nurse, home health agencies, HOSPITALS, or organized community groups using professional staff for care delivery. It differs from HOME NURSING which is provided by non-professionals.

Geriatric long-term care facilities which provide supervision and assistance in activities of daily living with medical and nursing services when required.

Public or private organizations that provide, either directly or through arrangements with other organizations, home health services in the patient's home. (Hospital Administration Terminology, 2d ed)

Hospital-sponsored provision of health services, such as nursing, therapy, and health-related homemaker or social services, in the patient's home. (Hospital Administration Terminology, 2d ed)

Long-term maintenance hemodialysis in the home.

Childbirth taking place in the home.

Persons who assist ill, elderly, or disabled persons in the home, carrying out personal care and housekeeping tasks. (From Slee & Slee, Health Care Terms. 2d ed, p202)

Living facilities for humans.

Visits to the patient's home by professional personnel for the purpose of diagnosis and/or treatment.

Housing for groups of patients, children, or others who need or desire emotional or physical support. They are usually established as planned, single housekeeping units in residential dwellings that provide care and supervision for small groups of residents, who, although unrelated, live together as a family.

Use of any infusion therapy on an ambulatory, outpatient, or other non-institutionalized basis.

The at-home administering of nutrients for assimilation and utilization by a patient who cannot maintain adequate nutrition by enteral feeding alone. Nutrients are administered via a route other than the alimentary canal (e.g., intravenously, subcutaneously).

Care over an extended period, usually for a chronic condition or disability, requiring periodic, intermittent, or continuous care.

The contamination of indoor air.

A nursing specialty in which skilled nursing care is provided to patients in their homes by registered or licensed practical NURSES. Home health nursing differs from HOME NURSING in that home health nurses are licensed professionals, while home nursing involves non-professional caregivers.

Families who care for neglected children or patients unable to care for themselves.

General and comprehensive nursing practice directed to individuals, families, or groups as it relates to and contributes to the health of a population or community. This is not an official program of a Public Health Department.

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

Long-term care facilities which provide supervision and assistance in activities of daily living with medical and nursing services when required.

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)

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

Housing arrangements for the elderly or aged, intended to foster independent living. The housing may take the form of group homes or small apartments. It is available to the economically self-supporting but the concept includes housing for the elderly with some physical limitations. The concept should be differentiated from HOMES FOR THE AGED which is restricted to long-term geriatric facilities providing supervised medical and nursing services.

Allied health personnel who assist the professional nurse in routine duties.

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.

Instinctual patterns of activity related to a specific area including ability of certain animals to return to a given place when displaced from it, often over great distances using navigational clues such as those used in migration (ANIMAL MIGRATION).

The administrative process of discharging the patient, alive or dead, from hospitals or other health facilities.

Nursing care of the aged patient given in the home, the hospital, or special institutions such as nursing homes, psychiatric institutions, etc.

The caring for individuals in institutions and their adaptation to routines characteristic of the institutional environment, and/or their loss of adaptation to life outside the institution.

Contamination of the air by tobacco smoke.

Evaluation of the level of physical, physiological, or mental functioning in the older population group.

Specialized health care, supportive in nature, provided to a dying person. A holistic approach is often taken, providing patients and their families with legal, financial, emotional, or spiritual counseling in addition to meeting patients' immediate physical needs. Care may be provided in the home, in the hospital, in specialized facilities (HOSPICES), or in specially designated areas of long-term care facilities. The concept also includes bereavement care for the family. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

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.

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.

Delivery of health services via remote telecommunications. This includes interactive consultative and diagnostic services.

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

Devices designed to provide personal protection against injury to individuals exposed to hazards in industry, sports, aviation, or daily activities.

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

Older adults or aged individuals who are lacking in general strength and are unusually susceptible to disease or to other infirmity.

An acquired organic mental disorder with loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning. The dysfunction is multifaceted and involves memory, behavior, personality, judgment, attention, spatial relations, language, abstract thought, and other executive functions. The intellectual decline is usually progressive, and initially spares the level of consciousness.

The care and management of property.

Facilities or services which are especially devoted to providing palliative and supportive care to the patient with a terminal illness and to the patient's family.

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

Falls due to slipping or tripping which may result in injury.

Medical and nursing care of patients in the terminal stage of an illness.

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.

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

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

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 tendency of an individual or individuals to rely on others for advice, guidance, or support.

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

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

Various material objects and items in the home. It includes temporary or permanent machinery and appliances. It does not include furniture or interior furnishings (FURNITURE see INTERIOR DESIGN AND FURNISHINGS; INTERIOR FURNISHINGS see INTERIOR DESIGN AND FURNISHINGS).

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

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

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

An infant during the first month after birth.

The legal relation between an entity (individual, group, corporation, or-profit, secular, government) and an object. The object may be corporeal, such as equipment, or completely a creature of law, such as a patent; it may be movable, such as an animal, or immovable, such as a building.

Those unable to leave home without exceptional effort and support; patients (in this condition) who are provided with or are eligible for home health services, including medical treatment and personal care. Persons are considered homebound even if they may be infrequently and briefly absent from home if these absences do not indicate an ability to receive health care in a professional's office or health care facility. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p309)

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 application of heat to raise the temperature of the environment, ambient or local, or the systems for accomplishing this effect. It is distinguished from HEAT, the physical property and principle of physics.

Efforts and designs to reduce the incidence of unexpected undesirable events in various environments and situations.

The practice of assisting women in childbirth.

Size and composition of the family.

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.

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

Method in which repeated blood pressure readings are made while the patient undergoes normal daily activities. It allows quantitative analysis of the high blood pressure load over time, can help distinguish between types of HYPERTENSION, and can assess the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy.

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.

Interfacility or intrahospital transfer of patients. Intrahospital transfer is usually to obtain a specific kind of care and interfacility transfer is usually for economic reasons as well as for the type of care provided.

The at-home administering of nutrients for assimilation and utilization by a patient whose sole source of nutrients is via solutions administered intravenously, subcutaneously or by some other non-alimentary route.

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).

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

Care of patients by a multidisciplinary team usually organized under the leadership of a physician; each member of the team has specific responsibilities and the whole team contributes to the care of the patient.

A general concept referring to the organization and administration of nursing activities.

The process of accepting patients. The concept includes patients accepted for medical and nursing care in a hospital or other health care institution.

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

Designs for approaching areas inside or outside facilities.

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

Evaluation of the nature and extent of nursing problems presented by a patient for the purpose of patient care planning.

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 period of confinement of a patient to a hospital or other health facility.

Female parents, human or animal.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 surface of a structure upon which one stands or walks.

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

Health care institutions operated by private groups or corporations for a profit.

An ulceration caused by prolonged pressure on the SKIN and TISSUES when one stays in one position for a long period of time, such as lying in bed. The bony areas of the body are the most frequently affected sites which become ischemic (ISCHEMIA) under sustained and constant pressure.

Devices, not affixed to the body, designed to help persons having musculoskeletal or neuromuscular disabilities to perform activities involving movement.

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.

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

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

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

The use of electronic equipment to observe or record physiologic processes while the patient undergoes normal daily activities.

Care alleviating symptoms without curing the underlying disease. (Stedman, 25th 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.

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.

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.

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

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

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.

A component of the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee and direct the Medicare and Medicaid programs and related Federal medical care quality control staffs. Name was changed effective June 14, 2001.

The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population.

The physical space or dimensions of a facility. Size may be indicated by bed capacity.

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

Care of infants in the home or institution.

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.

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.

Persons with physical or mental disabilities that affect or limit their activities of daily living and that may require special accommodations.

The selection, appointing, and scheduling of personnel.

Theoretical representations and constructs that describe or explain the structure and hierarchy of relationships and interactions within or between formal organizational entities or informal social groups.

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

Small-arms weapons, including handguns, pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, etc.

Providing for the full range of personal health services for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation of patients.

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.

A housing and community arrangement that maximizes independence and self-determination.

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

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)

A regimen or plan of physical activities designed and prescribed for specific therapeutic goals. Its purpose is to restore normal musculoskeletal function or to reduce pain caused by diseases or injuries.

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.

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).

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

The planning of the furnishings and decorations of an architectural interior.

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

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.

Subsequent admissions of a patient to a hospital or other health care institution for treatment.

Institutions which provide health-related care and services to individuals who do not require the degree of care which hospitals or skilled nursing facilities provide, but because of their physical or mental condition require care and services above the level of room and board.

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

A feeling of restlessness associated with increased motor activity. This may occur as a manifestation of nervous system drug toxicity or other conditions.

Irreversible cessation of all bodily functions, manifested by absence of spontaneous breathing and total loss of cardiovascular and cerebral functions.

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.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

A measure of inpatient health facility use based upon the average number or proportion of beds occupied for a given period of time.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

Reductions in all or any portion of the costs of providing goods or services. Savings may be incurred by the provider or the consumer.

Transmission of the readings of instruments to a remote location by means of wires, radio waves, or other means. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Delivery of the FETUS and PLACENTA under the care of an obstetrician or a health worker. Obstetric deliveries may involve physical, psychological, medical, or surgical interventions.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Substances or materials used in the course of housekeeping or personal routine.

Skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. It assists in the development of skills needed for independent living.

Persons trained to assist professional health personnel in communicating with residents in the community concerning needs and availability of health services.

Care of CHILDREN in the home or in an institution.

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)

Techniques for measuring blood pressure.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

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.

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.

Inhalation of oxygen aimed at restoring toward normal any pathophysiologic alterations of gas exchange in the cardiopulmonary system, as by the use of a respirator, nasal catheter, tent, chamber, or mask. (From Dorland, 27th ed & Stedman, 25th ed)

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

Research carried out by nurses that uses interviews, data collection, observation, surveys, etc., to evaluate nursing, health, clinical, and nursing education programs and curricula, and which also demonstrates the value of such evaluation.

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.

A form of bronchial disorder with three distinct components: airway hyper-responsiveness (RESPIRATORY HYPERSENSITIVITY), airway INFLAMMATION, and intermittent AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION. It is characterized by spasmodic contraction of airway smooth muscle, WHEEZING, and dyspnea (DYSPNEA, PAROXYSMAL).

The interactions between parent and child.

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.

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)

Health care services provided to patients on an ambulatory basis, rather than by admission to a hospital or other health care facility. The services may be a part of a hospital, augmenting its inpatient services, or may be provided at a free-standing facility.

Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determining the quality of health care.

Professional nurses who have received postgraduate training in midwifery.

Devices which are very resistant to wear and may be used over a long period of time. They include items such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, artificial limbs, etc.

Organizations which are not operated for a profit and may be supported by endowments or private contributions.

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