Social class Health Dictionary

The total number of observations of a particular variable may be grouped according to convenient divisions of the variable range. A group so determined is called a class.... class

See PUBLIC HEALTH.... social medicine

Services provided by government to improve the social welfare of those who need them.... social services

The difference between the lower and upper limits of a class.... class interval

Assignment to predesignated classes on the basis of perceived common characteristics. A means of giving order to a group of disconnected facts.... classification

Arrangement of diseases into groups having common characteristics. Useful in efforts to achieve standardization in the methods of presenting mortality and morbidity data from different sources and, therefore, in comparability. May include a systematic numerical notation for each disease entry. Examples include the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death.... classification of disease

A World Health Organisation classi?cation of all known diseases and syndromes. The diseases are divided according to system (respiratory, renal, cardiac, etc.) or type (accidents, malignant growth, etc.). Each of them is given a three-digit number to facilitate computerisation. This classi?cation allows mortality and morbidity rates to be compared nationally and regionally. A revised ICD is published every ten years; a similar classi?cation is being developed for impairments, disabilities and handicaps.... international classification of disease (icd)

Classification of health and health-related domains that describe body functions and structures, activities and participation. The domains are classified from body, individual and societal perspectives. Since an individual’s functioning and disability occurs in a context, this classification includes a list of environmental factors.... international classification of functioning, disability and health (icf) a

A classification of diseases, conditions and other reasons for attendance for primary care. This classification is an adaptation of the ICD but makes allowance for the diagnostic uncertainty that prevails in primary care.... international classification of health problems in primary care (ichppc)

A systematic taxonomy of the consequences of injury and disease. See “disability”; “handicap”; “impairment”.... international classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps (icidh)

The official classification of the World Organisation of Family Doctors. It includes three elements of the doctor-patient encounter: the reason for the encounter; the diagnosis; and the treatment or other action or intervention.... international classification of primary care (icpc)

A list of diagnoses and identifying codes used by medical practitioners and other health care providers. The coding and terminology provide a uniform language that permits consistent communication on claim forms. Data from earlier time periods were coded using the appropriate revision of the ICD for that time period. Changes in classification of causes of death in successive revisions of the ICD may introduce discontinuities in cause of death statistics over time.... international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, tenth revision (icd-10)

Any previously existing mental-health problems may worsen under the stress of pregnancy and childbirth, and a woman’s socio-economic circumstances may be an in?uential factor. Mood swings are common in pregnant women and mothers of new babies; sympathetic support from sta? and relations will usually remedy the situation. If postnatal depression lasts for more than a week or two the use of mild ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS may be justi?ed. If depression persists, referral to a psychiatrist may be advisable. Rarely, severe psychiatric problems – puerperal psychosis – may develop during or after pregnancy and referral to an appropriate psychiatric unit is then essential. If the mother’s social circumstances are unsatisfactory, advice should be sought from social services departments. Mothers may also need advice on bene?ts to which they are entitled and how to claim them. Bene?ts Agency o?ces or Citizens’ Advice Bureaux as well as antenatal clinics are useful sources of information.... psychological and social problems

An instrument which assesses recipient’s care needs. It has a number of classification levels, ranging from high to low care. These classification levels are sometimes used for placement, staffing level and reimbursement purposes.... resident classification instrument

Kin and other sources of support available to an individual.... social capital

Assistance with the activities of daily life (personal care, domestic maintenance, self-direction) delivered by a personal care helper, home helper or social worker and aimed at supporting older people who experience disabilities in functioning.... social care service

As factors such as the cause of death and the incidence of diseases vary in di?erent social strata, the Registrar-General evolved the following social classi?cation, which has now been in o?cial use for many years:

Class I Professional occupations, such as lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned o?cers in the Armed Forces.

Class II Intermediate occupations, such as teachers, managers and nurses.

Class III N: non-manual – for example, clerical workers.

Class III M: skilled manual occupations such as miners and bricklayers.

Class IV Partly skilled occupations, such as agricultural workers.

Class V Unskilled occupations, such as building and dock labourers.... social classes

A process within society which both formally, through law, and informally, through customs, norms and mores, attempts to influence and order the actions of social groups and their members and thus maintain public order.... social control

A situation in which individuals are prevented from fully participating in society by factors such as age, poverty, disability or ethnicity.... social exclusion

Any set of persons within society with particular demographic, economic or social characteristics.... social group

The extent to which individuals are engaged with their families, friends, neighbours and communities.... social integration

A condition in which an individual has extremely limited social networks and supports.... social isolation

An individual’s web of kinship, friendship and community ties.... social network

See “informal care”.... social network care

Benefits that include income for eligible persons from social security, old age, disability, and survivors’ pension schemes.... social security benefits

Emotional, instrumental and financial assistance obtained from an individual’s social network. Social support provided by family, friends and neighbours is referred to as ‘informal support’, whereas social support provided by formal service agencies is called ‘formal support’.... social support

An intervention designed to enhance an individual’s physical, mental and social functioning through improved coping skills and use of social supports and community health care services. Those who practise social work are generally called social workers. There are many different types, specialties and grades of social worker. Those who specialize in care of older adults are often called geriatric or gerontological social workers.... social work

A method of classifying cancers to determine how far they have spread. This helps doctors to determine the best course of treatment and the prognosis; it is also useful in research. Originally de?ned by the American Joint Committee on Cancer, the T applies to the primary tumour, the N to any lymph-node involvement, and the M to any metastatic spread. (See CANCER; METASTASIS; TUMOUR; LYMPH NODES.)... tnm classification

A collective term for disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome and autism, which begin in childhood. Problems tend to persist throughout life.... social and communication disorders

A form of behaviour modification in which individuals are encouraged to improve their ability to communicate.

This is an important part of rehabilitation for people with mental handicap or those with chronic psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia.

Role-playing is a commonly used technique in which various social situations are simulated in order to improve the individual’s confidence and performance.... social skills training

a widely used classification for grading patients’ fitness for surgery prior to the operation. It was developed by the American Society of Anesthesia (ASA), but is now used worldwide. Patients are assigned grades between 1 and 6.... asa classification

(HSCIC) formerly, an executive nondepartmental public body set up in April 2013 to collect, analyse, and publish UK national health data and supply IT systems and services to health-care providers nationwide. It was rebranded as *NHS Digital in August 2016.... health and social care information centre

a social worker employed to assist hospital patients with social problems that may arise through illness. See also social services.... hospital social worker

a classification of the *Streptococcus bacteria based on the presence or absence of antigenic carbohydrate on the cell surface. Species are classified into the groups A–S. Most species causing disease in humans belong to groups A, B, and D. [R. C. Lancefield (1895–1981), US bacteriologist]... lancefield classification

a classification of fractures involving the *maxilla (upper jaw) and *orbit. Type I involves the maxilla only, type II the anterior orbit, and type III the posterior orbit. [R. Le Fort (19th century), French surgeon]... le fort classification

(S–H classification) a classification of fractures involving the growth plate of bones (see physis), which is useful for their prognosis and treatment. There are five S–H categories of fracture. [R. Salter and R. I. Harris (20th century), Canadian orthopaedic surgeons]... salter–harris classification

see Salter–Harris classification.... s–h classification

a system for classifying renal cysts seen on CT imaging to aid in determining their degree of malignancy.

Type I: a benign cyst with smooth margins and no calcification or septa that does not enhance with contrast material.

Type II: a benign cyst with a few hairline septa and/or minimal calcification that does not enhance with contrast.

Type IIF: a cyst with more septa and increased calcification but no contrast enhancement.

Type III: a complicated cyst with irregular margins, moderate calcification, thick septa, and contrast enhancement.

Type IV: a malignant cyst with irregular margins and solid enhancing elements.... bosniak classification

(DHSC) (in Britain) a department of central government that supports the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in meeting his or her obligations, which include the *National Health Service, the promotion and protection of the health of the nation, and social care, including some oversight of personal social services provided by local authorities. The department is staffed by civil servants, including some health professionals. Following the reforms of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the Department no longer has direct control of the NHS, which has passed to *NHS England. The name of the department was expanded from ‘Department of Health’ in 2018. Equivalent departments support the ministers responsible for health services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

DHSC section of the website: provides information on a wide range of public health issues... department of health and social care

(ICD) a list of all known diseases and syndromes, including mental and behavioural disorders, published by the *World Health Organization every ten years (approximately). Over the years the classification has moved from being disease-orientated to include a wider framework of illness and other health problems. The version in current use, ICD-10, was published in 1992 and employs alphanumeric coding. It is used in many countries as the principal means of classifying both mortality and morbidity experience and allows comparison of morbidity and mortality rates nationally and internationally. The clinical utility of the ICD is a matter of some controversy, especially in the field of psychiatry. ICD-11 was published in June 2018 and is intended to come into use from 2022. It includes about 55,000 codes for injuries, diseases, and causes of death, which is three times more than its predecessor. It also differs substantially from ICD-10 as each disease entry includes descriptions and guidance as to what is covered by the term, rather than the term alone. For the first time it includes specific sections on sexual health and traditional medicine. A parallel list, the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health (ICF), has also been compiled and is being used alongside the ICD. See also handicap.

The standard international classification for statistical, administrative, and epidemiological purposes, as supplied by the World Health Organization

The WHO framework for measuring health and disability in individuals and populations... international classification of diseases

(NS-SEC) an occupational classification of the national population that was developed to replace older systems based on social classes and socio-economic groups. The groupings are intended to stratify the population according to different forms of employment: households are classified according to the occupation of the household reference person (the person renting, owning, or otherwise responsible for accommodation). The NS-SEC is used for official surveys and statistics, including the *census. The analytic version of the classification has eight classes and is the version used for most analyses.... national statistics socio-economic classification

an extreme fear of humiliating or embarrassing oneself in social situations (e.g. dating, parties, eating with other people, asking questions, etc.). Symptoms include shaking, blushing, gastrointestinal disturbances, sweating, and other signs of anxiety; people with social anxiety disorder may avoid social situations. Treatment includes cognitive behavioural therapy, occupational therapy, and medication (e.g. antidepressants, anxiolytics, or beta blockers).... social anxiety disorder

the application of marketing techniques to achieve behaviour change for a social benefit, for example reduction in *health inequalities.... social marketing

see social services.... social worker

a classification defined by the *UICC for the extent of spread of a cancer. T refers to the size of the tumour, N the presence and extent of lymph node involvement, and M the presence of distant spread (metastasis).... tnm classification