ABSTRACT
Assessment and evaluation of healthcare is the systematic application of scientific research methods for assessing the conceptualization, design, implementation, impact, and/or generalizability of health services programs. This entry provides an overview of assessment and evaluation of healthcare. Specifically, it describes the purposes, characteristics, and perspectives of healthcare evaluation; demonstrates the major types of healthcare evaluation, which include needs assessment, process evaluation, outcome evaluation, and policy analysis; and delineates the process to conduct evaluation, including determining the scope of evaluation, getting acquainted with the program to evaluate, finalizing the methodology for evaluation, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting findings.
