Open AccessCriteria, norms and standards of quality: what do they mean?
Author(s) -
Avedis Donabedian
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.71.4.409
Subject(s) - statement (logic) , quality (philosophy) , flexibility (engineering) , goodness of fit , set (abstract data type) , outcome (game theory) , process (computing) , statistics , mathematics , computer science , econometrics , risk analysis (engineering) , actuarial science , mathematical economics , medicine , epistemology , business , law , political science , philosophy , programming language , operating system
Quality assessment requires specification of: 1) a set of phenomena that are usually attributes of either process or outcome; 2) a general rule of what constitutes goodness; and 3) a precise numerical statement of what constitutes acceptable or optimal goodness with respect to each of these phenomena. The terms "criteria," "norms," and "standards," as currently employed, do not correspond well with these three components, but they could be used effectively if the basic distinctions were understood. Alternatively, one could use, as corresponding terms, "elements," "parameters," and "standards." The terms "criteria," and "norms" would then be redefined and be available to be used more uniformly, while "standards" could be further differentiated according to method of measurement, configuration, level, and flexibility.