Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine a number of issues in the assessment of outcome in mental health.
Method: Issues are considered in terms of a number of dichotomies or choices. These include: intervention-dependent versus intervention-independent definitions of outcome, focussing on inputs or processes versus outcomes; individual versus organisational outcomes; outcomes for patients versus outcomes for significant others; pure versus mixed outcomes; care versus cure; direct versus indirect measures; objective versus subjective measures; descriptive versus prescriptive measures; global versus specific assessment; and assessing at significant times points versus assessing at fixed intervals.
Conclusions: Guiding principles are formulated in terms of the foregoing issues.
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