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GLOSSARY
Analgesic
Medication used to achieve relief from pain.
Body Mass Index
A measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Cultural Competency
A set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a
system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-
cultural situations.
Depression
A mental health condition with a range of symptoms, from mild to serious,
temporary to persistent. Diagnosed by mental health providers based on
American Psychiatric Association guidelines. Noteworthy symptoms last over
a period of time and include reduced interest in daily activities, change in
appetite, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
Explanatory Model
A tool used to explain how people view their illness in terms of how it
happens, what causes it, how it affects them, and what will make them feel
better.
Ethnicity
A group of people who identify with each other based on common (shared)
ancestral, social, cultural or national experience.
Exacerbation
An increase in the severity of a disease or its signs and symptoms.
Healthcare Disparity
The inequalities that occur in the provision of healthcare and access to
healthcare across different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
Inferential Thinking
Drawing conclusions based on prior knowledge, experience or beliefs.
Institute of Medicine
Provides national advice on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine,
and health. It works outside the framework of the U.S. federal government
to provide independent guidance and analysis and relies on a volunteer
workforce of scientists and other experts, operating under a formal peer
review system.
Implicit-association Test (IAT)
The implicit-association test (IAT) is a measure within social psychology
designed to detect the strength of a person’s automatic association between
mental representations of objects (concepts) in memory.
Likert Scale
Psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs
questionnaires. A ratings format for surveys where respondents rank quality
from high to low or best to worst using five or seven levels.
Musculoskeletal Conditions
Conditions of the bones, muscles and their attachments (e.g. joints and
ligaments) cause from traumatizing the body in either a minute or major way
over a period of time.