ABSTRACT
This chapter interprets original research and systematic reviews across disciplines including education, knowledge translation, implementation science, training, and organizational psychology. It presents a conceptual framework for measuring outcomes. The chapter organizes educational interventions, stressing theories and linkages to evidence to assure the effectiveness of continuing education across a spectrum of desirable effects. A more recent systematic review of interventions tailored to support transfer of training in health care showed that only six out of 26 studies reported use of theory to guide the instructional design of the tailored intervention. Cost perspectives also differ for a sponsoring institution concerned with changing physician performance or to a health care payer sensitive to the utilization of health care resources and patient outcomes. Cost-inclusive evaluation can take one or more of these perspectives. Leaders in education and health care are challenged to improve the quality of care, decrease the risk of adverse events, and reduce expenses.
