Outcome Assessment/Treatment Assessment

Introduction

Outcome assessment, or treatment outcome assessment, refers to the assessment of the results of psychological treatment for a patient or group of patients on one or more dimensions of functioning. Although outcome assessment can reflect the results of psychological intervention in many settings (social, organization, school, etc.), the term is most commonly used to refer to the assessment of therapeutic interventions taking place in clinical settings.

Outcomes is one of three dimensions of quality of care identified by Donabedian (1985). The first dimension is structure. This refers to various aspects of the organization providing the care, including how the organization is ‘organized’, the physical facilities and equipment, and the number and qualifications of its professional staff. Process refers to the specific types of services that are ...