Springer Health Services Evaluation (Health Services Research)

The Handbook of Health Services Research is a reference for all aspects of the field of health services and outcomes research. It addresses the increasing need for comprehensive, yet balanced, information in a field that welcomes various disciplines: medicine, public health, statistics, economics, management, policy, and information technology. This well-organized reference is an indispensable source of information for everyone who seeks to develop understanding of health systems and to learn about historical, political, and socioeconomic factors that influence health policies at the global, national, regional and local level. Specifically, the Handbook helps readers: Recognize core concepts of health services and outcomes research, such as, need, access, equity, quality and safety; Become familiar with social, political, organizational, behavioral and economic theories that have influenced health systems designs; Learn about frameworks developed for evaluating the organization, financing, delivery, utilization and outcomes of health services; Get an introduction to methods of comparative effectiveness research, program evaluation, health technology assessment and health economics; Identify types and sources of data appropriate for generating valid and reliable information about the delivery of health services; Learn about strengths and weaknesses of various research designs used to study health services and policy issues. The online version of the Handbook of Health Services Research is in the format of a dynamically updated knowledge base, offering search tools, cross-referencing across chapters and linking to supplement data, other major reference works and external articles. The Handbook of Health Services Research is accessible at the level of graduate students even if it is not their focus area. This includes students with various backgrounds: medicine, public health, statistics, economics, management or information technology. About the Author Adrian Levy is professor of epidemiology and health services research working at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dr. Levy commenced his academic career working for the Quebec Council for Health Technology Assessment doing applied health research on real-world use of health technologies such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and complex operations. His doctoral dissertation in epidemiology was completed at McGill University (1998) followed by postgraduate training in economic evaluation at McMaster University (2000). In 2000, Dr. Levy joined the faculty in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia and was awarded British Columbia Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2001) and Senior Scholar (2006) awards and a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2004). There, he linked administrative health databases with patient and treatment registries to study access, quality, and cost of care in cardiac surgery, HIV, and transplant. In 2009, Dr. Levy joined Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to serve as head of the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. As an integral part of the Medical School of the Maritimes, the Department’s collective purpose is to enhance the capacity to improve the health of individuals, patients, communities, populations, and systems, by serving as leaders who generate evidence and apply critical thinking to the health challenges of today and tomorrow. The Department’s faculty generate evidence and engage in knowledge exchange that advances effective and sustainable systems for health services access and delivery. As nominated principal investigator, Dr. Levy led the development and implementation of the Maritime Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research SUPPORT Unit. This initiative, co-funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, offers research infrastructure designed to promote patient-