outcomes research

A field of inquiry that focusses on health problems or diseases and that is essentially aimed at evaluating the care delivered by multidisciplinary teams in general, real-world settings.

Note: This type of research looks at a wide range of indicators, including mortality, morbidity, functional status, mental well-being and other aspects of health-related quality of life. It may also include an evaluation of the economic impact of clinical outcomes—a cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analysis, for example. It may be based on any method for collecting original data or for summarizing data from original studies.