Glossary: Definitions of Disability, Health and Medical Terms

Main Document

Many of the words and terms used in the health and medicine field can be confusing and hard to understand. Therefore Disabled World has supplied a number of definitions relating to many of the health and disability terms used on our website which you may encounter. Included in our glossary are the meaning of these words and terminology to make life a little easier.

Glossary - Also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms.

Definition - A passage that explains the meaning of a term (a word, phrase or other set of symbols), or a type of thing. The term to be defined is called the definiendum.

Core Glossary - A simple glossary or defining dictionary which enables definition of other concepts, especially for newcomers to a language or field of study. It contains a small working vocabulary and definitions for important or frequently encountered concepts, usually including useful idioms or metaphors.

Medicine Definitions

In medical dictionaries, definitions should to the greatest extent possible be:

• Measurable
• Reflecting current scientific knowledge
• Useful clinically or in related areas where the definition will be used
• Simple and easy to understand, preferably even by the general public
• Specific, that is, by reading the definition only, it should ideally not be possible to refer to any other entity than the definiendum

Disability and Health Organization Acronyms

• AAPOR - American Association for Public Opinion Research
• APHA - American Public Health Association
• ASA - American Sociological Association
• ASA - American Statistical Association
• AT - Assistive Technology
• AT/IT - Assistive Technology/Information Technology
• CASRO - Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research
• CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• CMS - Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• DHS - Department of Health Services
• DSQ - Disability Studies Quarterly
• DW - Disabled World
• FLC - Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer
• ICD - International Classification of Diseases
• ICDR - Interagency Committee on Disability Research
• ICF - International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
• IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• ISDS - Interagency Subcommittee on Disability Statistics
• NACC - North American Coordinating Center
• NCD - National Council on Disability
• NCHS - National Center for Health Statistics
• NHIS-D - National Health Interview Survey-Disability Supplement
• NIDRR - National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
• NTIA - National Telecommunications and Information Administration
• OSEP - Office of Special Education Programs
• RRTC - Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
• SDS - Society for Disability Studies
• WHO - World Health Organization