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A classification scheme for outcome indicators
B M Jennings1, N Staggers, L R Brosch
1U.S. Army Nurse Corps, Falls Church, VA, USA. bonnie.jennings@otsg.amedd.army.mil
Purpose:
To provide a framework for classifying outcome indicators for a more comprehensive view of outcomes and quality.
Methods:
Review of outcomes literature published since 1974 from medicine, nursing, and health services research to identify indicators. Outcome indicators were clustered inductively.
Findings:
Three groups of outcome indicators were identified: patient-focused, provider-focused, and organization-focused. Although investigators tend to focus on a select few outcome indicators, such as patient satisfaction, quality of life, and mortality, many indicators exist to measure outcomes.
Conclusions:
Selecting and integrating a wide array of outcome indicators from the various categories will provide a more balanced view of health care delivery as compared with focusing on a few common indicators or only one category.
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