Public Health Vocabulary

The potential for or actual entry of a population into the health system.

A

Collecting, analyzing, and using data to educate and mobilize communities, develop priorities, garner resources, and plan actions to improve public health.

A

The process of determining that “services necessary to achieve agreed upon goals are provided, either by encouraging actions by other entities (public or private sector), by requiring such action through regulation, or by providing services directly.”

A

A point of reference or a standard against which measurements can be compared.

B

The most appropriate clinical or administrative approach at the moment given the situation, the consumer’s or community’s needs and desires, the evidence about what works for this situation/need/desire, and available resources.

B

A legally designated governing entity whose members are appointed or elected to provide advisory functions and/or governing oversight of public health activities, including assessment, assurance and policy development, for the protection and promotion of health in their community.

B

A disease that has one or more of the following characteristics: it is permanent, leaves residual disability, is caused by a nonreversible pathological alteration, requires special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation or care.

C

Direct causes and risk factors which, based on scientific evidence or theory, are thought to influence directly the level of a specific health problem.

D

Prevalent in or peculiar to a particular locality or people.

E

Situations or materials that pose a threat to human health and safety in the built or natural environment, as well as to the health and safety of other animals and plants, and to the proper functioning of an ecosystem, habitat or other natural resource.

E

A group of cases of a specific disease or illness clearly in excess of what one would normally expect in a particular geographic area.

E

The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems.

E

A measure that reflects or indicates the state of health in a defined population, e.g., the infant mortality rate.

H

A disease caused by a living organism that can be transmitted person to person, animal to person or insect to person.

I

Illness or lack of health caused by disease, disability or injury.

M

A measure of the incidence of deaths in a population.

M

Health conditions that are required through statute, ordinance or administrative rule to be reported to a public health agency when diagnosed in an individual.

R

The process of directing limited available resources to those areas and strategies where the greatest amount of risk can be reduced for the least amount of resources.

R

The use of technology and procedures to differentiate those individuals with signs or symptoms of disease from those less likely to have the disease.

S

The ability to expand care or service capabilities in response to unanticipated or prolonged demand.

S

The ongoing and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health data.

S

Populations with barriers to the health care system, including the uninsured, the underinsured and the socially disadvantaged.

U

Data derived from certificates and reports of birth, death, fetal death, induced termination of pregnancy, marriage, divorce, marriage dissolution or annulment and related reports.

V

Groups of people with certain characteristics that cause them to be at greater risk of having poor health outcomes.

V