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Health services research in surgery—definitions, approaches and methods

  • Current Concepts in Clinical Surgery
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Abstract

Background and aims

Health services research (HSR) investigates the translation of clinical studies into the practice of health care in relation to quality and efficiency from the individual and socioeconomic perspective. Given the fact that HSR has become increasingly popular during the last decade, this article aims at providing an overview of the significance and benefit of HSR in general and especially in the field of surgery.

Results

The first part of the overview provides various definitions that apply to the field, gives a brief historical overview of the development in Germany in contrast to the USA and Great Britain, and describes relevant theoretical frameworks and methods. In the second part it deals with gaps in patient care, patient-related outcomes, registry research, the integration of clinical and ambulatory surgery, and research on implementation of guidelines into practice.

Conclusions

This overview shows that HSR is by now regarded as an essential field, at least in developed countries, and that we are just at the beginning to understand why demonstrated effective strategies in the clinical context do not or rarely translate into routine patient’s care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health Services Research Cologne, ZVFK, Cologne, Germany

    O. Ommen & H. Pfaff

  2. Department of Medical Sociology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    C. Janssen & H. Pfaff

  3. Institute for Research in Operative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke Campus Cologne-Merheim, Ostmerheimer Str. 200, 51109, Cologne, Germany

    R. Lefering & E. Neugebauer

Authors
  1. O. Ommen
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  2. C. Janssen
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  3. H. Pfaff
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  4. R. Lefering
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  5. E. Neugebauer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. Neugebauer.

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Ommen, O., Janssen, C., Pfaff, H. et al. Health services research in surgery—definitions, approaches and methods. Langenbecks Arch Surg 393, 985–994 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-008-0353-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-008-0353-z

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