x
A U S T I N / T R A V I S  C O U N T Y

C O M M U N I T Y  A C T I O N  N E T W O R K


P R E S C R I P T I O N  F O R  W E L L N E S S

A p r i l, 2001

 

 

X I .  G L O S S A R Y  O F  T E R M S

ACCESS: Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports

ACGC: Austin Child Guidance Center

ACT: Assertive Community Treatment

ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act

ADEPT: Alcohol and Drug Education, Prevention and Training Program

ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Administrative License Revocation (ALR): Legal procedure that allows an arresting officer to confiscate immediately the license of a driver who is found with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above the legally set limit or who refuses to take a BAC test. The officer usually issues a temporary driving permit valid for a short time, often 15 to 20 days, then notifies the offender of his or her right to an administrative hearing to appeal the revocation. If there is no appeal or if revocation is upheld, the offender loses his or her driver's license for a set period (90 days in most states for a first offense and longer for subsequent offenses).

Accidental Poisonings: Exposure to a toxic substance. Includes accidental drug overdose, ingestion of drugs in error, and drugs taken inadvertently (ICD-9 codes 860-869). Also includes accidents with the use of drugs and biologicals in medical and surgical procedures (ICD-9 codes 850-858).

AFDC: Title IV A of the federal Social Security Act commonly know as Aid to Families with Dependent Children and regulations promulgated there under as such are applied to the Medicaid program.

Age-Adjusted: A summarizing procedure for a statistical measure in which the effects of differences in composition of the populations being compared have been minimized by statistical methods.

AIDS: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is a specific group of conditions that result from the suppression of the body's natural immune response to an antigen (ICD-9 codes 042-044).

AISD: Austin Independent School District

Alcohol-Related Crash: A motor vehicle crash in which either a driver or a nonmotorist (usually a pedestrian) had a measurable or estimated BAC of 0.01 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or above.

AMH: Adult Mental Health

AMHPP: Adult Mental Health Planning Partnership

Anxiety Disorders: Anxiety disorders have multiple physical and psychological symptoms, but all have in common feelings of apprehension, tension, or uneasiness. Among the anxiety disorders are panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

AOD: Alcohol and Other Drugs

AODA: Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse

APS: Adult Protective Services

ARC, Inc.: Austin Rehabilitation Center, Incorporated

ASH: Austin State Hospital

ATCMHMR: Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center

AWARE: Association for Women's Research and Education

Behavioral Health Services: Treatment for mental or emotional disorders and treatment for chemical dependency disorders.

Behavioral Risk Factor: A characteristic or behavior that is associated with increased probability of a specified outcome; the term does not imply a causal relationship.

BE SAFE: Blackshear Elementary Substance Abuse Family Education Program

Binge drinking: The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse defines binge drinking as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least onr day in the past 30 days. The Monitoring the Future Study defines binge drinking as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion during the past two weeks.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC): The amount of alcohol in the bloodstream measured as a percentage, by weight, of alcohol in the blood in grams per deciliter (g/dL). Legal intoxication has been defined by states to occur at ranges from as low as 0.05 g/dL to as high as 0.10 g/dL.

CAN: Community Action Network

Case Management: procedure to plan, seek, coordinate, and monitor services from a variety of agencies and staff on behalf of and participating with a client or other significant members of the client's support system.

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cerebrovascular Disease: Bleeding which occurs into brain or spinal cord tissues (ICD-9 codes 430-438).

CHIP: Children's Health Insurance Program

Chronic Disease: Diseases characterize by multiple risk factors, a long development period, and a prolonged course of illness.

Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease: Chronic blockages in breathing organs (ICD-9 codes 490-496).

CMHS: Center for Mental Health Services

Colorectal Cancer: A malignant growth of the colon, rectum, and/or the anus (ICD-9 codes 153,154).

Co-occurring/Comorbidity: In general, the existence of two or more illnesses-whether physical or mental-at the same time in a single individual. In this assessment, comorbidity specifically means the existence of a mental illness and a substance abuse disorder or a mental and a physical illness in the same person at the same time.

Communicable Disease: Those diseases that can be transmitted directly or indirectly from an infected individual, animal, or reservoir, to a susceptible host.

Community Based Services: Services provided to individuals, family members, or other caregivers in the community. These services are an alternative to facility based services or institutions.

Consumer: Customers who are adults with mental illnesses, and/or substance abuse or dependence, and/or mental retardation, or children with mental illnesses, behavioral problems or developmental delays.

Core Services: 24 hour emergency screening and rapid crisis stabilization services; community based crisis residential services or hospitalization; community based assessments, including the development of interdisciplinary treatment plans and diagnosis and evaluation services; family support services, including respite care case management services, medication related services, including medication clinics, laboratory monitoring, medication education, mental health maintenance education, and the provision of medication; and, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, including social support activities, independent living skills, and vocational training.

CPS: Child Protective Services

CSAP: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

CSAT: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

Cultural Competence: A group of skills, attitudes, and knowledge that allows persons, organizations, and systems to work effectively with diverse racial, ethnic, and social groups.

DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration

Death (Mortality) Rate: An estimate of the proportion of a population that dies during a specified period.

Demographics: The description of a population, especially with reference to size and density, fertility, mortality, growth, age distribution, gender and race/ethnic makeup, migration, and the interaction of all these with social and economic conditions.

Depression: A state of low mood that is described differently by people who experience it. Commonly described are feelings of sadness, despair, emptiness, or loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all things. Depression also can be experienced in other disorders such as bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder).

DHHS: Department of Health and Human Services

DHS: Department of Human Services

Diabetes: A disease of the endocrine system that impacts the ability of the body to metabolize carbohydrates (ICD-9 code 250).

Diagnosable Mental Illness: Includes all people with a mental illness in a specified population group, whether or not they have received a formal diagnosis from a medical or mental health professional.

DPRS: Department of Protective and Regulatory Services

Drowning: Suffocating in water or other liquid. Consists of ICD-9 code 830 (accidental submersion during water transport) and 910 (accidental drowning or submersion).

Drug Dependence: A pattern of drug use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three or more of the following occurring at any time in the same 12-month period: tolerance; withdrawal; use in larger amounts or over a longer period of time than intended; persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down; spending a great deal of time in activities necessary to obtain drug(s); giving up or reducing important social, occupational, or recreational activities; continued use despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem.

DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition; the American Psychiatric Association's official classification of mental disorders.

DWI/DUI: Driving While Intoxicated/Driving Under the Influence

ECI: Early Childhood Intervention

Environment: All that is external to the individual human host. It can be divided into physical, biological, social, cultural, etc., any or all of which can influence health status of populations.

Epigram: A computer program provided by the Texas Department of Health for analyzing Texas population and mortality data.

Falls: To drop without restraint (ICD-9 codes 880-888). Each code specifies the object that was fallen off of or the action that caused it.

FAS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fatal crash: A police-reported crash involving a motor vehicle in transport on a traffic way in which at least one person dies within 30 days of the crash.

Female Breast Cancer: A malignant growth of a woman's breasts (ICD-9 codes 174,175).

FY: Fiscal Year

GAF Scale: Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (Axis V). Used to determine level of functioning.

General Fertility Rate: The total number of births in a calendar year per 1000 women of reproductive age (15 through 44).

HB: House Bill

HCS: Home and Community-Based Services

Hepatitis B and C: Viral infections of the liver spread through contact with infected blood products, injection use of drugs, and needle-sharing.

House Bill 2377: Legislation emphasising the basic functions of state and local MHMR authorities in light of managed care, and drawing a distinction between authority and provider functions.

HCFA: Health Care Financing Administration

Health Indicator: A characteristic of an individual, population, or environment, which is subject to measurement (directly or indirectly) and can be used to describe one or more aspects of the health of an individual or population (quality, quantity and time).

Health Partnership 2000 & 2010: An Austin collaboration of health care providers.

Healthy People 2000 & 2010: National Health Promotion and Disease Objectives - A national initiative that identifies objectives to improve the health of citizens of the United States.

Heart Disease: Comprised of ICD-9 codes 393-398, 402, 404-429, this grouping reflects deaths from acute myocardial infarction, the sudden insufficiency of blood supply to an area of the heart muscle. This grouping also includes coronary arteriosclerosis, a chronic condition characterized by thickening/loss of coronary artery elasticity.

Hepatitis B: Inflammation of the liver caused by blood- and body fluid-borne infections spread primarily through high-risk behaviors (ICD-9 code 070).

HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Homeless person: A person who lacks housing. The definition also includes a person living in transitional housing or a person who spends most nights in a supervised public or private facility providing temporary living quarters.

HMO: Health Maintenance Organization

HUD: Housing and Urban Development

ICD: International Classification of Diseases

Incidence Rate: The number of new cases of an illness occurring in a population over a period of time. The numerator is the number of new cases occurring in a given time period and the denominator is the population at risk during the same time period.

Indicated Preventive Interventions: Interventions targeted to reach high-risk individuals who are identified as having minimal but detectable signs or symptoms foreshadowing substance abuse or biological or familial markers indicating predisposition for substance abuse, even though they do not meet DSM-IV diagnostic levels at the current time.

Infant Mortality Rate: Deaths of individuals less than one year of age per 1,000 live births.

Inhalants: Fumes or gases from common household substances, such as glues, aerosols, butane, and solvents that are inhaled to produce a feeling of euphoria.

Injection Drug Use: The use of a needle and syringe to inject illicit drugs (for example, heroin, crack cocaine, steroids) into the vein, muscle, skin, or below the skin. Injection drug use places the user at great risk for transmitting or contracting a number of blood borne infectious diseases, including HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

Juvenile Justice Facility: Detention centers, shelters, reception or diagnostic centers, training schools, ranches, forestry camps or farms, halfway houses and group homes, and residential treatment centers for young offenders.

LCDC: Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor

LMSW: Licensed Master of Social Work

LMSW-ACP: Licensed Master of Social Work Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Local Authority: An entity to which TDMHMR delegates its authority and responsibility within a specified region for planning, policy development, coordination, and resource development and allocation, and for supervising and ensuring the provision of services.

Local Provider: Healthcare professional or organization that provides health care services, including doctors, hospitals, mental health centers, nurse practitioners, etc.

Low Birth Weight: A birth weight of less than 2,500 grams or 5 pounds 9 ounces.

LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor

Lung Cancer: A malignant growth of the trachea, bronchus, or lung (ICD-9 code 162).

MADD: Mothers Against Drunk Driving

MAP: Medical Assistance Program

MCO: Managed Care Organization

MDCD: Medicaid

Measles: A vaccine preventable, acute viral illness characterized by a 2 to 4 day period of high-grade fever and cough followed by a generalized rash which lasts 5 to 6 days. Disease transmission occurs primarily from person-to-person through respiratory droplets (ICD-9 code 055).

Mental Disorders: Health conditions characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) that are all mediated by the brain and associated with distress or impaired functioning or both. Mental disorders spawn a host of human problems that may include personal distress, impaired functioning and disability, pain, or death. These disorders can occur in men and women of any age and in all racial and ethnic groups. They can be the result of family history, genetics, or other biological, environmental, social, or behavioral factors that occur alone or in combination.

Mental Health Services: Diagnostic, treatment, and preventive care that seeks to improve how persons with mental illness feel both physically and emotionally as well as how they interact with other persons. These services also help persons who have a strong risk of developing a mental illness.

Mental Illness: The term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders.

MH: Mental Health

MHMR: Mental Health Mental Retardation

Morbidity Rate: The rate of incidence of a disease.

Mortality (Death) Rates: The frequency of death in a specified period of time divided by the population at risk for the event.

Motor Vehicle Related Accidents: (ICD-9 codes 810-825) An accident involving a device used for conveying persons or goods from one place to another in which a fatality occurs.

MR: Mental Retardation

MR/DD: Mental Retardation/Development Disabilities

MSO: Managed Service Organization

NAMI: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

Neonatal Period: The first 28 days of life.

NHIC: National Heritage Insurance Company. The agency that administers Medicaid payments in the state of Texas.

NIDA: National Institute for Drug Abuse

NIMBY: "Not in My Backyard"

NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health

Parity, Mental Health Parity: Equivalent benefits and restrictions in insurance coverage for mental health services and for other health services.

PES: Psychiatric Emergency Service

PLWA: People Living with AIDS

PPO: Preferred Provider Organization

Pregnancy Rate: The number of pregnancies (live births, fetal deaths, and induced abortions) in a given calendar year per 1,000 females age 15 through 44.

Prevalence Rate: The amount of a given disease or other condition in a given population at a designated point in time.

Prevention: Actions or activities that protect and promote safety, health, and healthy behaviors and reduce or control risks for disease, disability and dysfunction. Three types of prevention include: primary prevention activities carried out before an illness/condition manifests; secondary once illness manifests, prevention activities prevent reoccurrence or exacerbation of the illness/condition; tertiary prevention activities prevent further deterioration from the illness/condition.

Priority Population: Persons who are most in need of services as defined by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

Priority Population (MH): Children and adolescents under the age of eighteen who have a diagnosis of mental illness who exhibit severe emotional or social disabilities which are life threatening or require prolonged intervention. Adults who have severe and persistent mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression, manic depressive disorder, or other severely disabling mental disorders which require crisis resolution or ongoing and long term support and treatment.

PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Resilience: Manifested competence in the context of significant challenges to adaptation or development.

Risk Factor: Biological, psychological, or social conditions which might influence or increase the likelihood of an individual's developing, maintaining or increasing harmful behaviors or becoming more susceptible to conditions that reduce standards of health and well-being.

RTC: Residential Treatment Center

SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

SAPP: Substance Abuse Planning Partnership

Schizophrenia: A mental disorder lasting for at least 6 months, including at least one month with two or more active-phase symptoms. Active-phase symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior. Schizophrenia is accompanied by marked impairment in social or occupational functioning.

Screening for Mental Health Problems: A brief formal or informal assessment by mental health professionals to identify persons who have mental health problems or are likely to develop such problems. The screening process helps determine whether a person has a problem and, if so, the most appropriate mental health services for that person.

Selective Preventive Interventions: Interventions targeted to individuals or a subgroup of the population whose risk of developing substance abuse is significantly higher than average. The risk may be imminent, or it may be a lifetime risk. The basis may be biological, psychological, or environmental.

Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED): A diagnosable mental disorder found in persons from birth to age 18 years that is so severe and long lasting that it seriously interferes with functioning in family, school, community, or other major life activities.

Serious Mental Illness (SMI): A diagnosable mental disorder found in persons aged 18 years and older that is so long lasting and severe that it seriously interferes with a person's ability to take part in major life activities.

Socioeconomic: Refers to the arrangement of persons into groups according to such characteristics as prior education, occupation, and income.

Substance abuse: The problematic consumption or illicit use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and drugs, including misuse of prescription drugs.

Suffocation: To die from the lack of air or oxygen. Consists of ICD-9 codes 911 (by food), 912 (by an inhaled or ingested object other than food), and 913 (by an external object).

Surveillance of Disease: The continuing scrutiny of all aspects of occurrence and spread of a disease, injury or illness that is pertinent to effective control. Surveillance systems include systematic collection and evaluation of morbidity and mortality data, information on persons, place and time of occurrence and risk factors attributing to the occurrence of disease, injury or illness.

SPMI: Severe and persistent mental illness

Syphilis (Primary and Secondary): A sexually transmitted disease characterized by lesions that may involve any organ or tissue. Untreated syphilis progresses into a chronic disease with long periods of latency (ICD-9 codes 090-097). Primary and secondary syphilis are more contagious stages of the disease.

TAIP: Treatment Alternatives to Incarceration Program

TCADA: Texas Commission of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

TCJC: Travis County Juvenile Court

TDC: Texas Department of Corrections

TDH: Texas Department of Health

TDHS: Texas Department of Human Services.

TDMHMR: Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation

Trauma Registry: A system for collection of data on patients who receive hospital care for injuries (trauma). Trauma is a serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or accident.

TRC: Texas Rehabilitation Commission

Tuberculosis (TB): An airborne communicable disease spread primarily by microscopic airborne bacteria particles expelled by an infected person (ICD-9 codes 010-018).

TXMHMR: Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation

TYC: Texas Youth Commission

Universal Preventive Interventions: Interventions targeted to the public or a whole population group that has not been identified on the basis of individual risk. The intervention is desirable for everyone in that group. Universal interventions have advantages in terms of cost and overall effectiveness for large populations.

USDHHS: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

WHO: World Health Organization

Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL): A statistical measure used to enumerate premature death. Calculated by subtracting an individual's age at death from a predetermined life expectancy (generally 75 years of age).

Top Of Page

 

RETURN
HOME
PLANNING
TERMS
RETURN TO
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RETURN TO
ASSESSMENTS LIST