Scope

Scope: The scope of the evaluation should be defined, which includes the specific aspects of the service that will be evaluated, the time period covered by the evaluation, and the target population.

Our Evaluation Framework makes the distinction between 3 domains of outcomes in Social Care.

Process Outcomes: The lived experience of the service i.e. quality of the interactions.

Change Outcomes: Improvements in physical, mental or emotional functioning.

Maintenance Outcomes: The prevention or delay of deterioration in health well-being and or quality of life.

Qureshi, H. et al. (1998) Overview: Outcomes of Social Care for Older People.

Process Outcomes

Change Outcome

Maintenance Outcomes

Process outcomes, Refer more to the lived experience of a service i.e. how a service is delivered.

• The degree to which service users feel valued and respected;

• having a say or control over how and when services are provided;

• being treated as an individual;

• compatibility with cultural preferences and wider informal network of support being treated as an individual.

The quality of interactions and relationships within a service are therefore fundamental determinants of process outcomes.

This can be contrasted with -

Change outcomes - The most often measured change outcome being improvements in physical functioning.

Maintenance outcomes - This includes meeting basic care needs, living in a clean and tidy environment, social interaction, sustaining independence in daily living, keeping active and alert. This outcome is of considerable importance to older people who often perceive quality of life very much in terms of these outcomes. Home care services and day service services are highly valued to the extent that they are seen as achieving the outcomes, enabling people to remain at home.

Measuring what matters most to Equal Care Coop

Linking our approach to evaluation to our relationship centred philosophy of care. .

If people were plants, relationships would be their roots.

Key Domains

1. Individual well-being

2. Quality of Caregiving Relationships

3. Group Experiences

4. Systems

5. Community Networks

Reference to approaches to measuring Maintenance and Change outcomes

• Electronic Health Records (EHR) Data Analysis: Analyze EHR data to track patient outcomes over time, including changes in hospital admissions, readmissions, and length of stay.

• Functional Assessment Measures: Utilize validated tools like the Barthel Index or the Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) to assess changes in patient's ability to perform daily activities.