abandonment
1 Negligent or malicious breaking off of an asymmetrical or dependency relationship, as between physician and patient or between parent(s) and dependent child(ren).2 A philosophical term for absence ...
abatement
Reduction or preferably elimination of public health hazards or nuisances such as environmental pollutants, noxious smells, excessive noise. Abatement is often an important activity in public health ...
abiotic transformation
Literally, a biologically important chemical transformation in the absence of living organisms. An example is formation of stratospheric ozone from oxygen, catalyzed by solar ultraviolet radiation.
aborigines
The indigenous inhabitants of a colonized country. They often have high incidence and prevalence rates of multiple social and health problems and reduced life expectancy when their habitat, culture, ...
abscissa
The horizontal or X axis of a graph; the vertical or Y axis is the ordinate, and the two axes are the Cartesian coordinates.
absolute risk
The probability that a specified event will occur in a specified population, in contrast to the relative risk of the event, which compares absolute risks in different populations.
absolute risk approach
A disease-control method based on the observation that proportional reduction in risk for given absolute reductions in risk factors is independent of the level of the risk factor. For instance, ...
abstinence
Refraining from action, continence, particularly refraining from activities regarded as pleasurable by those who indulge, including sexual activity, drinking alcohol, and smoking. Some groups ...
academic freedom
The right of scholars to study and report on any problem that their curiosity and conscience dictate, without fear of retribution. This right may be infringed when studies are paid for by ...
acceptable risk
A risk that has significantly smaller and/or fewer detrimental consequences than the potential hazards of alternative courses of action. Environmental regulations such as those of the US ...
access to information
The process of locating and using information gathered by public officials and often also those in the private sector. One characteristic of an open democratic society is that citizens are able to ...
accessibility
Openness, the quality of being approachable, available in practice, to clients, users of a health care system. Accessibility is one of the criteria used to assess the quality of a health care system ...
accident
An unplanned, unanticipated event leading to damage, injury, or death, commonly classified according to the site of occurrence (traffic, workplace, domestic, recreational). For such events involving ...
accommodation
1 The living space of a person, family, or group of people.2 Variation in the aperture of the iris and the shape of the lens of the eye induced by ocular muscles, enabling clarity of vision under ...
accountability
The state of being answerable for decisions and actions; a criterion that can be used as an indicator of how well a health care system functions. In clinical and public health practice, professional ...
accreditation
A process of formal recognition by a professional external body whereby an educational establishment or programme meets certain agreed quality standards.
acid aerosol
Acidic liquid or solid particles small enough to become airborne. High concentrations can irritate the lungs and have been associated with respiratory diseases like asthma.
acid-fast stain
Special staining solution such as Ziehl-Neelsen stain that is used to detect the presence of mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in sputum, other body fluids, or tissues; called ...
acroosteolysis
A condition caused by prolonged occupational exposure to vinyl chloride, in which bone density is pathologically reduced in the extremities, i.e., fingers and toes. It may also be associated with ...
acrylonitrile
A colorless, volatile, highly reactive liquid with many industrial uses, e.g., in the manufacture of acrylic fibers, rubberized compounds. It is an ingredient of tobacco smoke. It is highly toxic in ...
