OUTCOME EVALUATION IN HOST ORGANIZATIONS - A RESEARCH AGENDA

The organizational context in which social work is practiced is viewed as an important factor in evaluating the outcomes of social work inte rventions. In host organizations, the context includes forces outside the department. The author offers a framework for developing a researc h agenda aimed at assessing the effectiveness of social work intervent ions in those organizations. The author demonstrates such an agenda wi th references to hospital social work. Different types of outcomes and the relationships between them are considered at both the correlation al and causal levels of knowledge. Examples of research assessing thes e outcomes are presented, and the implications of various types of fin dings are considered.