Evaluating outcomes in health and social care

Partnerships continue to be a prominent feature of health and social care policy and one which seems set to stay. Despite this, partnerships have not actually been demonstrated to improve service user outcomes. This book argues that, rather than a lack of an impact per se, this is a result of the massive challenge faced by partnership evaluations and suggests we need to effectively evaluate the outcomes of partnerships - or else the concept risks losing legitimacy. The book provides an introduction to evaluation, outcomes and partnerships, summarising recent trends in policy and research, setting out useful frameworks and approaches and aiding policy makers and practitioners to more effectively evaluate partnerships. Short, accessible and designed for everyday use, the book is aimed at students, practitioners, managers and policy makers in health and social care.