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.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with the morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and pathology of reproduction in man and other animals, and on the biological, medical, and veterinary problems of fertility and lactation. It includes ovulation induction, diagnosis of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, and assisted reproductive technologies such as embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, and intrafallopian transfer of zygotes. (From Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Clinics of North America, Foreword 1990; Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, Notice to Contributors, Jan 1979)

Health care programs or services designed to assist individuals in the planning of family size. Various methods of CONTRACEPTION can be used to control the number and timing of childbirths.

Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.

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

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.

Prevention of CONCEPTION by blocking fertility temporarily, or permanently (STERILIZATION, REPRODUCTIVE). Common means of reversible contraception include NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING METHODS; CONTRACEPTIVE AGENTS; or CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES.

Behavior patterns of those practicing CONTRACEPTION.

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, to guide and determine present and future decisions on population control by limiting the number of children or controlling fertility, notably through family planning and contraception within the nuclear family.

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.

Termination of pregnancy under conditions allowed under local laws. (POPLINE Thesaurus, 1991)

Human behavior or decision related to REPRODUCTION.

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

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

Sexual activities of humans.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

Diseases due to or propagated by sexual contact.

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).

Intentional removal of a fetus from the uterus by any of a number of techniques. (POPLINE, 1978)

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

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

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

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

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

A method of data collection and a QUALITATIVE RESEARCH tool in which a small group of individuals are brought together and allowed to interact in a discussion of their opinions about topics, issues, or questions.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

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

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

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

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

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

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

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

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

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)

Education which increases the knowledge of the functional, structural, and behavioral aspects of human reproduction.

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

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

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

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

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

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

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

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

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)

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.

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

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)

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

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

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

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 rights of women to equal status pertaining to social, economic, and educational opportunities afforded by society.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

The status of health in rural populations.

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

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.

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.

A division of the UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE that is responsible for the public health and the provision of medical services to NATIVE AMERICANS in the United States, primarily those residing on reservation lands.

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.

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

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)

Health services for college and university students usually provided by the educational institution.

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

The status of health in urban populations.

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

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

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

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

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.

All organized methods of funding.

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.

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.

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