ABSTRACT
Evaluation has been described as: ‘…a comparative assessment of the value of…[an]…intervention using systematically collected and analysed data, in order to decide how to act’. (Ovretveit J., Evaluating Health Interventions, Open University Press, 1998.)
In this section of the Reader there are five articles each describing different methods of evaluation and of systematically collecting and analysing data. Methods range from meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials through observational studies to qualitative enquiries. The models of service delivery also vary and include stroke care, both within and outside stroke units, the use of an emergency helicopter, clinical policies in intensive care and the effects on the outcome of the volume of procedures or interventions undertaken.
