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)

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

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

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.

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

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 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.

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

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

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.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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

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

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

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Men and women working in the provision of health services, whether as individual practitioners or employees of health institutions and programs, whether or not professionally trained, and whether or not subject to public regulation. (From A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)

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

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

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

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.

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).

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

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

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)

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

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 status of health in rural populations.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

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

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.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

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

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

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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.

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.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

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)

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

The status of health in urban populations.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

Health care provided to specific cultural or tribal peoples which incorporates local customs, beliefs, and taboos.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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

The primary responsibility of one nurse for the planning, evaluation, and care of a patient throughout the course of illness, convalescence, and recovery.

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

A republic in southern Africa, the southernmost part of Africa. It has three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). Officially the Republic of South Africa since 1960, it was called the Union of South Africa 1910-1960.

The 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.

Health care workers specially trained and licensed to assist and support the work of health professionals. Often used synonymously with paramedical personnel, the term generally refers to all health care workers who perform tasks which must otherwise be performed by a physician or other health professional.

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

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

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

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.

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

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

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)

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

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.

Organized services to provide health care to women. It excludes maternal care services for which MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES is available.

Techniques or methods of patient care used by nurses as primary careproviders.

Professionals qualified by graduation from an accredited school of nursing and by passage of a national licensing examination to practice nursing. They provide services to patients requiring assistance in recovering or maintaining their physical or mental health.

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

Areawide planning for health care institutions on the basis of projected consumer need.

Community or individual involvement in the decision-making process.

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

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.

Parliamentary democracy located between France on the northeast and Portugual on the west and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

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.

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

Physicians whose practice is not restricted to a specific field of MEDICINE.

Management of the organization of HEALTH FACILITIES.

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

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

An infant during the first month after birth.

A framework through which the United Kingdom's National Health Service organizations are accountable for continually improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish. (Scally and Donaldson, BMJ (4 July 1998): 61-65)

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)

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)

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

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

A geographic location which has insufficient health resources (manpower and/or facilities) to meet the medical needs of the resident population.

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.

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

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.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

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.

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

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.

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.

Nurses who are specially trained to assume an expanded role in providing medical care under the supervision of a physician.

Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to mothers and children.

All organized methods of funding.

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.

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

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

A province of Canada lying between the provinces of Manitoba and Quebec. Its capital is Toronto. It takes its name from Lake Ontario which is said to represent the Iroquois oniatariio, beautiful lake. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p892 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p391)

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

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

Health insurance coverage for all persons in a state or country, rather than for some subset of the population. It may extend to the unemployed as well as to the employed; to aliens as well as to citizens; for pre-existing conditions as well as for current illnesses; for mental as well as for physical conditions.

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.

Organized services to provide health care to adolescents, ages ranging from 13 through 18 years.

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 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.

The capacity of an organization, institution, or business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, personnel, materiel, etc.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

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

The systematic application of information and computer sciences to public health practice, research, and learning.

An evaluation procedure that focuses on how care is delivered, based on the premise that there are standards of performance for activities undertaken in delivering patient care, in which the specific actions taken, events occurring, and human interactions are compared with accepted 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 teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

The interactions between members of a community and representatives of the institutions within that community.

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.

Patient-based medical care provided across age and gender or specialty boundaries.

Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

The interactions between physician and patient.

Introduction of changes which are new to the organization and are created by management.

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures.

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

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.

Health care services related to human REPRODUCTION and diseases of the reproductive system. Services are provided to both sexes and usually by physicians in the medical or the surgical specialties such as REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; ANDROLOGY; GYNECOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; and PERINATOLOGY.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA, east of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, west of TANZANIA. Its capital is Kigali. It was formerly part of the Belgian trust territory of Ruanda-Urund.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the islands of the central and South Pacific, including Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and traditionally Australasia.

A federation of seven states on the southeast portion of the Arabian peninsula: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain. In 1820 a treaty of peace was concluded between Great Britain and native rulers. During the 19th century the rulers agreed to suppression of the slave trade and restriction of foreign relations to Great Britain. The Trucial Council was established in 1952 and defense treaties with Great Britain terminated. In 1971 an independent six-member federation was formed, with Ras al-Khaimah joining the federation in 1972. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1250)

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

Voluntary groups of people representing diverse interests in the community such as hospitals, businesses, physicians, and insurers, with the principal objective to improve health care cost effectiveness.

Those facilities which administer health services to individuals who do not require hospitalization or institutionalization.

Health care provided on a continuing basis from the initial contact, following the patient through all phases of medical care.

To entrust to the care or management of another, to transfer or to assign tasks within an organizational or administrative unit or structure

Longitudinal patient-maintained records of individual health history and tools that allow individual control of access.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of men.

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.

Movable or portable facilities in which diagnostic and therapeutic services are provided to the community.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

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

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

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

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

Professional medical personnel who provide care to patients in an organized facility, institution or agency.

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

Financial resources provided for activities related to health planning and development.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

The condition in which individuals are financially unable to access adequate medical care without depriving themselves and their dependents of food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials of living.

Groups of persons whose range of options is severely limited, who are frequently subjected to COERCION in their DECISION MAKING, or who may be compromised in their ability to give INFORMED CONSENT.

Process of shifting publicly controlled services and/or facilities to the private sector.

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

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of public health.

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.

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

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.

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

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.