ABSTRACT
Evaluation, encompassing both ‘quality
control’ and outcome assessment, is of key
importance, not only for its intrinsic value,
but also:
• to satisfy management and funding bodies
(Andrews et al 1995)
• as a tool to influence other clinicians and
policy makers
• to ensure finite resources are deployed
efficiently and for the purposes for which
they were intended
Early psychosis projects that integrate
programme description and evaluation into
everyday service delivery are in an excellent
position to demonstrate the integrity of
treatments provided, the impact on clients’
mental health, and the professionalism and
value of their service. This chapter expands on
the five-phase approach to programme
description and evaluation, based on Owen
and Rogers (1999), which has been adopted
by EPPIC: description, clarification,
programme monitoring, process evaluation,
and outcome evaluation (see Figure 7.1). The
focus is on treatment integrity, often neglected
in the hot pursuit for outcome data.
