Consumer evaluation of health services: implications for methodology and health care policy

Consumer evaluation research is defined and analyzed as an experimental model for establishing a link between social science research and public policy. The paper reports the results of an 18-month longitudinal study of an experimental citizen evaluation group. Participant observation was the method used to organize the data. The impact of the model on methodological issues, such as objectivity, researcher autonomy, and control over research decision-making are discussed. Implications of the consumer evaluation model for integrating social research and health policy formulation are analyzed and principles of citizen evaluation research are presented.