Abortion. An induced termination of pregnancy by specific procedures, including chemical induction, dilation and evacuation, hysterotomy, vacuum aspiration.

Age-adjusted mortality rate. Deaths per 100,000 population, adjusted to a standard population.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Generally known as welfare. Forerunner to the current Temporary Aid to Needy Families. It was administered and funded jointly between federal and state governments with the federal government providing more than half the funds.

AIDS. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Air emissions. The amount of pollutants released into the air from a source, expressed in pounds

American Indian and Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Annual income. Money received from any and all of the following sources in the previous calendar year: Earnings, unemployment compensation, Workers' Compensation, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, public assistance, veterans' payments, survivor benefits, disability benefits, pension or retirement income, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, and estates and trusts, educational assistance, alimony, child support, financial assistance from outside of the household, other income. Although income refers to receipts during the preceding calendar year, the demographic characteristics, such as age, labor force status, and family or household composition, are as of the survey date. The income of the family/household does not include amounts received by people who were members during all or part of the income year if these people no longer resided in the family/household at the time of interview. Data on consumer income collected in the CPS by the Census Bureau cover money income received (exclusive of certain money receipts such as capital gains) before payments for personal income taxes, social security, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. Therefore, money income does not reflect the fact that some families receive part of their income in the form of noncash benefits, such as food stamps, health benefits, rent-free housing, and goods produced and consumed on the farm. In addition, money income does not reflect the fact that noncash benefits are also received by some nonfarm residents which often take the form of the use of business transportation and facilities, full or partial payments by business for retirement programs, medical and educational expenses, etc. Data users should consider these elements when comparing income levels. Moreover, readers should be aware that for many different reasons there is a tendency in household surveys for respondents to underreport their income. Based on an analysis of independently derived income estimates, the Census Bureau determined that respondents report income earned from wages or salaries much better than other sources of income and that the reported wage and salary income is nearly equal to independent estimates of aggregate income.

Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian."

Birth rate. The number of births per 1,000 female population 15 to 44 years old

Birth weight. The weight of an infant at delivery, recorded in pounds and ounces or in grams

Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The category includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

Breast cancer mortality. Age-adjusted deaths from breast cancer for ICD-10 code C50

Cancers mortality. Age-adjusted mortality rates/100,000) for ICD-10 code C00-C14.

Cardiovascular disease mortality. Age-adjusted mortality rates/100,000) for ICD-10 code 100-178

Central County. The county (or counties) that contains the largest city in a Metropolitan Statistical Area and any adjacent counties that have at least 50 percent of their population in the urbanized area surrounding the largest city.

Cesarean Section. A surgical procedure that involves the delivery of the fetus through an abdominal incision.

CHAMPUS/TriCare. Prior to 1995, the federal government offered CHAMPUS, a health benefit package to active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. In 1995, the Department of Defense began offering TRICARE is a regionally managed, health care program that offers a managed care option, TRICARE Prime, as well as TRICARE standard, with the same cost sharing structure as Champus. TRICARE uses the health care resources of the Army, Navy, and Air Force combined with networks of civilian health care professionals to provide care.

Child poverty rate. The number of children in poverty divided by the total number in the population who are 17 years old or younger expressed as a percent.

Childbearing years. The reproductive age span of women; conventionally defined as 15 through 44 years of age for the U.S. population.

Children. The term "children" used in household descriptions refers to persons under 18 years old, excluding those who maintain households, families, or subfamilies as a reference person or spouse.

Children in poverty. The number of individuals 17 years old or younger who are members of families who are poor.

Chinese. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of China.

Chlamydia. A sexually transmitted disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis.

Cohort. A group of individuals sharing a common demographic experience with respect to an observed period of time (e.g., individuals sharing the same birth year or years, individuals who fall in a specified age range.)

Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA); Primary MSA (PMSA). An area that is an MSA and has a population of one million or more may be recognized as a CMSA if separate component areas can be identified within it and local opinion supports recognition of the component areas. If component areas are recognized, they are designated as Primary MSAs (PMSA). PMSAs and CMSAs are composed of entire counties. Texas has two of the nation's 18 CMSAs-Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and Dallas-Fort Worth.

COPD mortality. Age-adjusted deaths/100,000 for ICD-10 codes J40 through J47. Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and allied conditions (replaced in 1999 by chronic lower respiratory diseases CLRD); Age adjusted to year 2000 standard population.

Cuban. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Cuba

Cumulative AIDS data. Includes all cases reported since 1980, including cases originally reported as HIV which have progressed to AIDS.

Cumulative HIV. Includes pediatric HIV infections reported since 1994, and adult/adolescent HIV infections reported since 1999.

Denominator. The number on the bottom of a fraction. Population data are referred to as "denominator data" when they are used to calculate rates.

Diabetes mortality. Age-adjusted deaths/100,000) for ICD-10 code E10-E14

Disproportionate Share Hospital Program (Dispro or DSH). A Medicaid program established in 1981 to allow state Medicaid programs to provide payments, in addition to direct payments for patient care, to hospitals that provide a disproportionate amount of care to low income Medicaid and uninsured patients. The program was enacted in an effort to cover a portion of uncompensated care as well as to cover additional costs that are incurred by safety net hospitals.

Economic contribution of the health care sector. Total jobs/salaries created by the multiplier effect.

Ethnic origin. Ethnicity refers to self-identification an individual's non-racial origin or descent. U.S Census respondents selected their origin (and the origin of other household members) from a "flash card" listing ethnic origins.

Family. A family is a group of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. The number of families is equal to the number of family households, however, the count of family members differs from the count of family household members because family household members include any non-relatives living in the household.

Family group. A family group is any two or more people residing together, and related by birth, marriage, or adoption. A household may be composed of one such group, more than one, or none at all. The count of family groups includes family households, related subfamilies, and unrelated subfamilies.

Family Household. A household maintained by a householder who is in a family (as defined above), and includes any unrelated people (unrelated subfamily members and/or secondary individuals) who may be residing there. The number of family households is equal to the number of families. The count of family household members differs from the count of family members, however, in that the family household members include all people living in the household, whereas family members include only the householder and his/her relatives. See the definition of family.

Fertility. The actual reproductive performance of an individual, couple or a population

Fetal Death. (stillbirth): Death of a product of conception prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother, regardless of the length of gestation. In Texas, fetal death registration is required only for those cases with a gestation of 20 weeks or more.

Filipino. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Philippines.

FIPS county code. A unique number assigned by the Federal Information Processing Standards program to each county in the US.

Food Stamps. A federal food assistance program which provides recipients with either coupons or electronic benefit transfer payments which may be used to purchase food and nonalcoholic beverages in authorized stores. Stores are then reimbursed the full value of the food. In addition to asset limits, recipients must have a gross income less than 130% of the poverty line to qualify.

Gonorrhea. A sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Group quarters. Group quarters are noninstitutional living arrangements for groups not living in conventional housing units or groups living in housing units containing ten or more unrelated people or nine or more people unrelated to the person in charge. Examples include persons residing in a rooming house, in staff quarters at a hospital, or in a halfway house. Inmates of institutions have not been included.

Guam/Chamorro. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Guam, or of Chamorran ancestry.

Head versus householder. In 1980, the Bureau of the Census discontinued the use of the terms "head of household" and "head of family." Instead, the terms "householder" and "family householder" are used. Recent social changes have resulted in greater sharing of household responsibilities among the adult members and, therefore, have made the term "head" increasingly inappropriate in the analysis of household and family data. Specifically, beginning in 1980, the Census Bureau discontinued its longtime practice of always classifying the husband as the reference person (head) when he and his wife are living together.

Health insurance coverage. Individuals having coverage by any of the following types of health insurance: Employer/union, privately purchased (not related to employment), Medicare, Medicaid, military health care (military, TriCare,CHAMPUS, CHAMPVA, VA, Indian Health Services), someone outside the household, other. An individual may have more than one type of health insurance coverage simultaneously

Heart attack mortality. Age-adjusted deaths/100,000 from heart attack

High poverty areas. Census tracts in which more than 40% of the population lives at or below the poverty level. Individuals in these neighborhoods, even if they have incomes above the poverty line, are impacted by the "neighborhood effects" of poverty. The measure is used to reflect the concentration of poverty.

Hispanic. Hispanics are individuals who describe their ethnic origin as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South American, or some other Spanish-speaking nation origin. Individuals of Hispanic origin may be of any race

Hospital district. All Texas counties must have a program to serve the medically indigent. Many counties have formed hospital districts which have taxing authority and use the funds they collect to operate public hospitals and in some cases, clinics. In 1999 there were 93 hospital districts operating in 87 counties

Household. A household consists of all the people who occupy a housing unit. A household includes the related family members and all the unrelated people, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit. A person living alone in a housing unit, or a group of unrelated people sharing a housing unit such as partners or roomers, is also counted as a household. The count of households excludes group quarters. The two major categories of households are "family" and "nonfamily.

Household, family, or subfamily, Size of. The term "size of household" includes all the people occupying a housing unit. "Size of family" includes the family householder and all other people in the living quarters who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. "Size of related subfamily" includes the husband and wife or the lone parent and their never- married sons and daughters under 18 years of age. "Size of unrelated subfamily" includes the reference person and all other members related to the reference person. If a family has a related subfamily among its members, the size of the family includes the members of the related subfamily.

Householder. The householder refers to the person (or one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented (maintained) or, if there is no such person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees. If the house is owned or rented jointly by a married couple, the householder may be either the husband or the wife. The person designated as the householder is the "reference person" to whom the relationship of all other household members, if any, is recorded. The number of householders is equal to the number of households. Also, the number of family householders is equal to the number of families.

Housing unit. A house, an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room, is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters; that is, when the occupants do not live and eat with any other persons in the structure and there is direct access from the outside or through a common hall

Income earned by lowest/highest 20% of earners. Based on the Lorenz curve, a common measure of income inequality, the population is divided into five equal groups (quintiles) based on earnings. The income of each quintile is then measured.

Income-to-poverty ratios. Income-to-poverty ratios represent the ratio of family or unrelated individual income to their appropriate poverty threshold. Ratios below 1.00 indicate that the income for the respective family or unrelated individual is below the official definition of poverty, while a ratio of 1.00 or greater indicates income above the poverty level. A ratio of 1.25, for example, indicates that income was 125 percent above the appropriate poverty threshold.

Indian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of India.

Indigent Health Care Spending. Counties without hospital districts are eligible for funds through the County Indigent Health Care Program. Counties seeking funding under this program must first spend 10 percent of their general tax revenues on indigent care. State funds are then available for subsequent services with a 20 percent county match.

Infant. An individual less than one year of age.

Infant death. Death of an individual less than one year of age. Infant deaths are further classified as neonatal deaths or postneonatal deaths. (See also neonatal death and postneonatal death.)

Infant mortality rate. Number of deaths occurring to infants under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births.

Japanese. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Japan.

Kessner adequate percent. Numerator is number of births with adequate Kessner index. Denominator is number of births with known Kessner index (unknown Kessner scores are not included in denominator). This is a measure of the adequacy of prenatal care. A higher Kessner adequate percent for a population indicates better prenatal care.

Kessner Index. Method of categorizing adequacy of prenatal care, based on month of pregnancy care started, number of visits, and length of gestation. This index adjusts for the fact that women with short gestations have less time in which to make prenatal care visits.

Korean. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Korea.

Labor force. The civilian labor force comprises all individuals not in the military who are 16 years of age and over classified as employed or unemployed.

Land discharges. The amount of pollutants released onto land, expressed in pounds.

Late prenatal care. Onset of prenatal care after the first trimester.

Live birth. The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, regardless of the duration of the pregnancy, which after expulsion shows any vital signs (heart beat, voluntary breathing, umbilical cord pulsation, or voluntary muscle movement).

Living with HIV/AIDS. The number of individuals in the county still alive who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

Low weight births. A live birth of an infant weighing under 2,500 grams (5.5 pounds).

Lung cancer mortality. Age-adjusted mortality rates/100,000); Age adjusted to year 2000 standard population for ICD-10 code C33-C34

Marital status. The marital status classification includes the categories of never married, married, widowed, and divorced. The category "married" is further divided into "married, spouse present," "separated," and "other married, spouse absent." A person is classified as "married, spouse present" if the husband or wife was reported as a member of the household, even though he or she may have been temporarily absent on business or on vacation, visiting, in a hospital, etc. People reported as separated included those with legal separations, those living apart with intentions of obtaining a divorce, and other people permanently or temporarily separated because of marital discord.

Married couple. A married couple is a husband and wife enumerated as members of the same household. The married couple may or may not have children living with them. The expression "husband-wife" or "married- couple" before the term "household," "family," or "subfamily" indicates that the household, family, or subfamily is maintained by a husband and wife. The number of married couples equals the count of married-couple families plus related and unrelated married-couple subfamilies.

Maternal death. The death of a woman resulting from pregnancy or childbearing, while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.

Median Age. The age which separates the population into two equal groups-- one half of which is older than the median age, the other half of which is younger

Median family income. Median income is a dollar amount that divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having incomes above the median, half having incomes below the median. A median is based on the population 15 years old and over with income.

Medically Underserved Areas (MUA). Areas or populations having a shortage of personal health services according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines. Decisions are based on percentage of elderly, poverty rate, infant mortality rate and ratio of primary care physicians to 1,000 residents. MUA designations are used for rural health clinic and community health center.

Medicare. Medicare covers most people over age 65, some disabled people under 65 and people with End Stage Renal Disease. Part A-hospital insurance has a deductible and coinsurance but, for most enrollees does not have a monthly premium. Part B-Medical Insurance, which covers office and outpatient visits and some preventive services, has a deductible, coinsurance and a monthly premium of $45.50.

Medicare Supplemental Medical Insurance. Covers office and outpatient visits and some preventive services, has a deductible, coinsurance and a monthly premium. See Medicare.

Metropolitan Statistical Area. A Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core area containing a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities which have a high degree of social and economic integration with the core. Current MSAs are defined on the basis of 1990 standards that require each MSA to include a city of at least 50,000 residents, or an urbanized area of at least 50,000 residents and a total population of at least 100,000.

Mexican. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Mexico.

Mortality. Death as a component of population change

MSA/PMSA code. A unique number identifying each Metropolitan Statistical Area and Primary MSA.

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. The category includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander."

Native Hawaiian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii.

Neonatal death. Death prior to the 28th day of life.

Non-Hispanic. Refers to all ethnic self-identifications other than Hispanic on the U.S. Census

Non-family household. A nonfamily household consists of a householder living alone (a one-person household), a householder sharing a home exclusively with people to whom he/she is not related.

Number children uninsured. The number of individuals 18 years old or younger without any type of health insurance coverage

Number DWI. The number of individuals arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol

Number employed. Employed persons are (a) all civilians who, during the reference week, did any work at all as paid employees, in their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family, and (b) all those who were not working but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of illness, bad weather, vacation, child-care problems, maternity or paternity leave, labor-management disputes, job training, or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs. Each person is counted only once, even if he or she holds more than one job.

Number of people living in high poverty census tracts. The total population of tracts in which more than 40% of the population is poor.

Number unemployed. The number of individuals in the labor force who do not have employment of 15 or more hours weekly.

Occupied housing units. Housing units in which people live.

One Race. Selection of a single racial category as the self identifier on the U.S. Census.

Other Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Asian places not otherwise specified

Other Hispanic. A person having origins in any of the Spanish-speaking country not otherwise specified.

Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Pacific Islands not otherwise specified.

Other relatives in household. Related children in a family include own children and all other children under 18 years old in the household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. The count of related children in families was formerly restricted to never-married children. Ever-married children are in the category of related children.

Own child under 18 years in household. Own children in a family are sons and daughters, including stepchildren and adopted children, of the householder. Similarly, "own" children in a subfamily are sons and daughters of the married couple or parent in the subfamily. (All children shown as members of related subfamilies are own children of the person(s) maintaining the subfamily.) For each type of family unit , the count of "own children under 18 years old" is limited to never-married children; however, "own children under 25" and "own children of any age," include all children regardless of marital status. The counts include never-married children living away from home in college dormitories.

Per capita income. Per capita personal income is the annual total personal income of residents divided by resident population as of July 1. The Census Bureau derives per capita income by dividing the total income of a particular group by the total population in that group (excluding patients or inmates in institutional quarters).

Perinatal. Period from 20 weeks gestation through 27 days after birth

Persons living in or below poverty. Number of people who are poor or in poverty. Totals are calculated for total population, population 0-17 years, and population 18 years and over.

Physicians providing direct patient care. MDs and DOs (osteopathic physicians) providing patient care. Excludes non-active and exclusively research physicians.

Population per Square Mile. The number of people inhabiting an area, divided by the number of square miles in that area.

Postneonate. An infant between 28 days and one year of age.

Postterm birth. Birth after 41 weeks of gestation.

Poverty. The state of being poor. A set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition are used to determine who is poor. If a family's total income is less than that family's threshold, then that family, and every individual in it, is considered poor. The poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated annually for inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition counts money income before taxes and excludes capital gains and noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). . Poverty is not defined for people in military barracks, institutional group quarters, or for unrelated individuals under age 15 (such as foster children). According to US Department of Health and Human Services, the average poverty threshold for a family of four in was $12,700 in 1990, $15,150 in 1995, $16,050 in 1997, $16,700 in 1999, $17,050 in 2000 and $18,100 in 2002.

Poverty rate. The number of people in poverty divided by the total population expressed as a percent. A rate is calculated for total population, population 0-17 years, and population 18 years and over.

Prenatal care, first trimester. Percent of mothers with onset of care in first trimester.

Preterm birth (premature birth). Birth at less than 37 completed weeks of gestation.

Primary care physicians. General practice, family practice, general internal medicine and general pediatric practitioners.

PS Syphilis. The initial two stages of syphilis, called primary and secondary syphilis. Primary syphilis requires demonstrated Treponema pallidum infection; secondary syphilis is a subsequent stage of infection characterized by localized or diffuse mucosotaneous lesions and general lymphadenopathy.

Puerto Rican. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Puerto Rico

Race. A descriptive category of self identification. Race categories include both racial and national-origin groups as established by the "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity" issued by the U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Racial categories include White; Black; American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut; Asian or Pacific Islander; and Other races. In most instances "Other races" are included in the total population data but are not further subdivided.

Ratio. The relation of one population subgroup to another subgroup, or to the whole population. The denominator of a ratio may or may not include the numerator. If the denominator includes the numerator, it is a proportion.

Residence data. Data compiled by the usual place of residence without regard to the geographic place where the event occurred. For births and fetal deaths, the mother's usual county of residence is used as the place of residence.

Samoan. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Samoa.

Social Security Disability (SSDI). Cash assistance for people with sufficient work histories that were covered by Social Security who become disabled and are unable to work for a year or more.

Some other race. Includes all other responses not included in the "White", "Black or African American", "American Indian and Alaska Native", "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) in the "Some other race" category are included here.

Square Miles in County. Total land and water surface area in a county expressed in square miles.

Stroke mortality. Age adjusted deaths per 100,000 from stroke for ICD-10 codes 160-169.

Substantiated child maltreatment cases. Verified instances of child abuse and neglect.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Means tested, federal cash assistance program administered by the Social Security Administration and funded by general tax revenues to help low income elderly, disabled and blind people.

Syphilis. The diagnosis of syphilis includes primary, secondary, latent and congenital infection with Treponema pallidum.

TANF. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families replaced AFDC as a program to assist families and children.

Teen births. Births to mothers under 18 years of age.

Term birth. Birth at 37 to 41 weeks of gestation.

Tobacco settlement. Texas, in litigation independent from other states, settled its lawsuit against the tobacco industry for $15.3 billion to be paid out over 25 years.

Total number uninsured. Number and percent population without insurance: total, 0-18 years, and 19-64 years.

Total Population. The total number of people inhabiting a geographic area at a given point in time.

Total releases. The amount of pollutants released to land, air, water and underground, expressed in pounds.

Two or more races. The selection of two or more races either by checking two or more race response boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses on the U.S. Census.

Underinsured Medicare enrollees. Medicare covers most people over age 65, some disabled people under 65 and people with End Stage Renal Disease. Part A-hospital insurance has a deductible and coinsurance but, for most enrollees does not have a monthly premium. Part B-Medical Insurance, which covers office and outpatient visits and some preventive services, has a deductible, coinsurance and a monthly premium of $45.50. Underinsured Medicare enrollees is a measure of the number of people who are enrolled in Part A but not Part B

Unemployment rate. Number of persons unemployed divided by the total number of individuals in the civilian labor force expressed as a percent. This does not include individuals who have dropped out of the labor force.

Unmarried couple. An unmarried couple is composed of two unrelated adults of the opposite sex (one of whom is the householder) who share a housing unit with or without the presence of children under 15 years old. Unmarried couple households contain only two adults.

Unrelated individuals. Unrelated individuals are people of any age who are not members of families or subfamilies.

Unrelated subfamily. An unrelated subfamily (formerly called a secondary family) is a married couple with or without children, or a single parent with one or more own never-married children under 18 years old living in a household. Unrelated subfamily members are not related to the householder. An unrelated subfamily may include people such as guests, partners, roommates, or resident employees and their spouses and/or children. The number of unrelated subfamily members is included in the total number of household members, but is not included in the count of family members.

Any person(s) who is not related to the householder and who is not the husband, wife, parent, or child in an unrelated subfamily is counted as an unrelated individual.

Vacant housing. A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it, unless the occupants are only temporarily absent. Units temporarily occupied entirely by individuals who have a usual residence elsewhere are classified as vacant. (Transient quarters, such as, hotels, are housing units only if occupied. Thus, there are no vacant housing units at hotels and the like.) New units not yet occupied are classified as vacant housing units if construction has reached a point where all exterior windows and doors are installed and final usable floors are in place. Vacant units are excluded from the housing unit inventory if they are open to the elements. Also excluded from the housing unit inventory are units with a posted condemnation sign or units that are used entirely for nonresidential purposes.

Very low birth weight. A live birth of an infant weighing less than 1500 grams ( 3 pounds, 5 ounces)

Vietnamese. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Viet Nam.

Violent crime. Sum of murders, rapes robberies and assaults per 100,000 population.

Viral Hepatitis. An acute illness with a discrete onset of illness and jaundice or elevated serum animotransferase levels. Includes Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis non-A and non-B.

White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. The category includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.