[How can health services research deal with the problem of multiple objectives of health care interventions?]

Abstract

Primary health care delivered by general practitioners and health services research are both moving through a field of high-grade complexity. Health services research questions try to highlight certain aspects of care but it has to be understood that these are just artificial sections of an interdependent network. Problems deriving from multiple objectives of health-related interventions and possible ways of dealing with them are presented, using a study on dementia care in general practice. A qualitative-quantitative design including pre and post phases leads to a marked increase of expenditure and duration of a study, but also enhances the applicability of the study results for health policy makers.