Dictionary

S

Seamless Trial DesignTermSeamless Phase 2/3 Design, Inferentially Seamless Design

An adaptive design combining traditionally separate phase II and III trials into one continuous study, avoiding an intervening design and startup gap.

Search GoodTermSearch Product, Inspection Good

A good whose quality can be assessed by the consumer before purchase, unlike an experience good evaluated only after consumption.

Search StrategyTermSearch Protocol, Database Search Terms

The specific combination of search terms, database selections, and filters used to identify relevant studies during a literature search.

Second Primary CancerTermSecond Cancer, Second Malignancy

A new, distinct cancer developing in a person with a prior different cancer diagnosis, unlike a recurrence or metastasis of the original.

Second-Line TherapyTermSecond-Line Treatment, 2L Therapy

A treatment used after a patient's first-line treatment has failed to control disease adequately or has been discontinued due to intolerance.

Second-Order UncertaintyTermDistributional Parameter Uncertainty, Hyperparameter Uncertainty

Uncertainty about the parameters of a probability distribution itself, such as its true mean and variance, distinct from the variability the distribution represents.

Secondary Attack RateTermSAR, Household Attack Rate

A measure of infectious disease transmission, the proportion of susceptible close contacts of a primary case who themselves become infected.

Secondary CareTermSpecialist Care, Secondary Healthcare

Specialised medical care typically provided by a specialist following referral from primary care, between basic and highly specialised tertiary care.

Secondary Data AnalysisTermSecondary Analysis, Retrospective Data Analysis

The use of data originally collected for a purpose other than the current research question, such as insurance claims data used to study treatment patterns.

Secondary EndpointTermSecondary Outcome, Supportive Endpoint

An outcome measure assessed within a trial that provides supportive evidence about a treatment's effects, alongside the trial's primary endpoint.

Secondary FailureTermAcquired Failure, Late Failure

The loss of a previously achieved treatment response after an initial period of successful disease control, unlike primary failure, where response never occurs.

Secondary PreventionTermEarly Detection Prevention, Secondary Prophylaxis

Preventive intervention aimed at detecting and treating disease early, before significant harm, unlike primary prevention's aim of stopping onset entirely.

Secondary Prevention EconomicsTermEconomics of Secondary Prevention, Early-Treatment Economics

The application of health economic evaluation specifically to interventions detecting and treating disease at an early, typically more treatable stage.

Secondary ResistanceTermLate-Onset Resistance, Emergent Resistance

A reduction in a cancer treatment's effectiveness developing after a period of initial successful control, unlike primary resistance from the outset.

Secondary Service AreaTermSecondary Catchment, Outer Service Area

A geographic area beyond a facility's primary service area from which it draws a smaller, still meaningful, patient proportion.

Sector CapTermSector Spending Limit, Sectoral Ceiling

A fixed upper limit on total spending across an entire health sector, used as a macro-level tool controlling expenditure growth.

Sectoral Cost-EffectivenessTermSector-Wide Cost-Effectiveness, System-Level Cost-Effectiveness

An assessment of an intervention's cost-effectiveness across an entire health sector rather than in isolation, often against a common null counterfactual.

Security StandardsTermInformation Security Requirements, Data Protection Standards

The specific technical and administrative requirements governing how electronic health information must be protected from unauthorised access or loss.

Seed QuestionTermCalibration Question, Seed Variable

A question with a known true answer included in expert elicitation, used to assess and calibrate each expert's accuracy beforehand.

Seed ValueTermRandom Seed, Simulation Seed

A starting number supplied to a pseudo-random number generator that fixes the entire subsequent sequence it produces, allowing exact reproduction of results.

Segmented RegressionTermPiecewise Regression, Breakpoint Regression

A regression method that fits separate slopes to different segments of a series, used to estimate the effect of an interruption such as a policy change in interrupted time-series analysis.

SEIR ModelConceptSEIR Compartmental Model, Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered Model

An extension of the basic epidemic model adding an exposed compartment for individuals infected but not yet infectious, before they become infectious.

Selection BiasTermSelection Effect, Sampling Bias

Bias arising when the individuals included in a study differ systematically from the broader population of interest, in ways linked to exposure and outcome.

Selection ModelConceptHeckman Correction, Sample Selection Correction

A missing data modelling approach explicitly modelling the process by which observations become missing, alongside the model for the outcome itself.

Selective ReportingTermSelective Analysis Reporting, Outcome Cherry-Picking

The practice of reporting only a subset of a study's originally planned outcomes or analyses, typically favouring those with significant or favourable results.

Self-Control ConceptConceptSelf-Control, Impulse Regulation

The management of conflict between immediate incentives or effort and longer-term goals, especially when the timing of a choice changes what a person prefers to do.

Self-EfficacyTermPerceived Capability, Confidence to Act

An individual's belief in their own capacity to successfully perform actions needed to manage a specific situation, such as a chronic condition.

Self-Funded PlanTermSelf-Funded Health Plan, ASO Arrangement

An arrangement where an employer itself assumes financial risk for employee healthcare claims, rather than purchasing a fully insured policy.

Self-Harm EconomicsTermEconomics of Self-Harm, Self-Injury Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to self-harm behaviours and prevention, covering crisis intervention, psychotherapy, and public health strategies.

Self-InsuranceTermSelf-Insured Arrangement, Own-Risk Retention

An arrangement where an organisation retains financial responsibility for its own risk, such as employee healthcare claims, rather than transferring it.

Self-ManagementTermSelf-Care, Patient-Led Care

A patient's active participation in the ongoing tasks needed to manage a chronic condition, including monitoring symptoms and adhering to treatment.

Self-Rated HealthTermSRH, Single-Item Health Rating

A single-item measure asking individuals to rate their own overall health, shown to independently predict future mortality and healthcare use.

Self-ReferralTermPhysician Financial Referral, Referral to Owned Facility

A situation where a physician refers a patient to a facility in which they have a financial interest, raising conflict of interest concerns.

Self-Reported HealthTermSelf-Report Health Data, Patient-Reported Health

Health status information provided directly by the patient rather than through clinical examination, ranging from a simple rating to detailed symptom questionnaires.

Semi-Fixed CostTermStep-Fixed Cost, Semi-Fixed Expense

A cost that stays fixed within a certain range of activity but rises in discrete steps once a threshold is crossed.

Semi-Parametric AnalysisTermSemiparametric Model, Partially Parametric Analysis

A statistical approach combining parametric assumptions for some model components with non-parametric assumptions for others, exemplified by the Cox model.

Semi-Parametric SurvivalTermSemiparametric Survival Model, Cox-Type Model

A category of survival models, notably the Cox model, that assumes covariate effects parametrically while leaving the baseline hazard unspecified.

Semi-Variable CostTermMixed Cost, Semi-Variable Expense

A cost containing both a fixed and a variable component, such as a utility bill with a base charge plus a per-unit fee.

SensitivityConceptTrue Positive Rate, Recall

The proportion of people with a specified target condition who test positive at a stated diagnostic threshold, calculated as true positives divided by true positives plus false negatives.

Sensitivity AnalysisConceptSA, Robustness Analysis, Sensitivity Analysis Methods

Sensitivity analysis examines how conclusions change when uncertain inputs, assumptions or model structures are varied.

Sensitivity Analysis for Missing DataTermMissing Data Sensitivity Analysis, Delta-Adjustment Analysis

Techniques assessing how much a study's conclusions might change under different, less favourable assumptions about missing data values.

Sensitivity AssessmentTermModel Sensitivity Check, Sensitivity Evaluation

An evaluation of how much a model's results change in response to variation in its key inputs or structural assumptions.

Sensitivity SynthesisTermSensitivity Meta-Analysis, Leave-One-Out Analysis

A supplementary meta-analysis testing how pooled results change when specific studies are excluded or alternative models or criteria are applied.

Sensor AnalyticsTermSensor Data Analytics, Wearable Analytics

The application of data analysis to data generated by wearable or embedded health sensors, extracting insights from continuous monitoring.

Sensory FunctioningTermSensory Function, Sensory Domain

A health outcome domain capturing sensory capabilities, such as vision and hearing, which can be affected by disease or as a side effect of treatment.

Sentinel EventTermSentinel Incident, Serious Incident

An unexpected occurrence involving death or serious injury unrelated to a patient's underlying illness, occurring within a healthcare organisation.

Sentinel Event RateConceptSentinel Event Frequency, SE Rate

A sentinel event rate is the number of events meeting a specified serious patient-safety definition divided by a clearly defined population, activity, or exposure denominator during a stated period, usually expressed per a standard number of opportunities.

Separating EquilibriumTermSeparating Outcome, Self-Selection Equilibrium

A market outcome in which different risk types choose different options, revealing their true type to the other party in the transaction.

Sepsis EconomicsTermEconomics of Sepsis, Septicaemia Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to sepsis, a life-threatening infection response condition with substantial mortality and intensive care costs.

Sequence EffectTermOrder Effect, Treatment-Order Effect

In a crossover trial, a systematic difference in outcomes attributable to the order in which treatments were given, distinct from a carryover effect.