This page includes explanations of section headings used in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) Population Profiles. These definitions are meant to make the information in the HHS OMH Population Profiles accessible to most readers and are not necessarily intended for scientific or academic publications.
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Comorbidities
Comorbidities are when a person has two or more health conditions at the same time. These can be physical or mental health conditions. For example, someone might have both depression and diabetes. Some conditions exist together without causing major problems, but others can interact and make treatment or daily management harder.
Related terms: co-occurring or co-existing conditions, multiple conditions, overlapping health issues, underlying health issues
Health Care Use
Health care use refers to how people receive medical care to stay healthy, prevent illness, diagnose and treat health problems, or get health advice. This includes visits to doctors, hospital stays, emergency room visits, medical tests and scans, use of prescription medicines and home health care. What services and how often someone receives care depends on multiple factors, such as their individual health needs and beliefs, available services in their area, and whether they have health insurance.
Related terms: accessing health care, doctor or medical visits, medical services, using health services
5-year Survival and Mortality Rates
A 5-year survival rate is the percentage of people with a disease, usually cancer, who are still alive five years after being diagnosed. This helps patients and doctors understand the long-term outlook for a disease. A 5-year mortality rate shows the percentage of people who have died within five years of their diagnosis. These are estimates only. Individual outcomes depend on many factors like your age, the type and stage of disease, and your overall health.
Related terms: long-term outcomes, prognosis, survival outlook
Mortality
Mortality is another term for death. A mortality rate shows how many people die from a disease during certain time, usually reported as the number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 people each year. Mortality rates are important for understanding the overall health of a population, monitoring trends in specific causes of death, and identifying areas needing intervention.
Related terms: death rate, deaths from [disease name], fatalities
Occurrence
Occurrence is a general term used to show how often a disease or health event happens in a population during a defined period. It can include both new cases of a disease (incidence) and all existing cases (prevalence).
Related terms: frequency, disease burden, rate of illness
Risk Factors for Complications
Risk factors for complications are behaviors, health conditions, demographic, or other factors that increase the chance of severe illness, hospitalization, or death. For example, if a pregnant woman smokes during her pregnancy, she increases the risk of health problems for her baby, such as low birth weight or birth defects.
Related terms: contributing factors, high-risk groups, higher-risk characteristics, increased risk, vulnerabilities
Date Last Reviewed: March 2026