Analyzing Costs, Procedures, Processes, and Outcomes in Human Services: An Introduction - Applied Social Research Methods

The techniques for performing cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in mental health and other human services are introduced in this volume. After describing a model for assessment and improvement-oriented analysis of human service systems using CEA and CBA methods, the author then shows how to analyze each of the links between the expenditure of resources and the achievement of long-term program objectives. Examples of each step in understanding and improving relationships between resources used, procedures, processes induced, and outcomes generated are drawn from the author's own long and varied experience. They are designed to encourage readers to conduct their own quantitative and qualitative analyses of cost, procedure, process, and outcomes paths in human service.