The
Outcomes Star is designed to enable services to take an overview of their achievements by providing valuable data on the outcomes of clients. It opens the poossibility of comparing outcomes for different types of client (e.g. men and women) or different services or interventions. However, to use the data in this way, it is essential that the data collected on individual service users is summarised across the service on a regular basis.
The
Star Chart provides a rich source of data that can be summarised in different ways.
If your organisation has an
IT system, you should aim to incorporate Star data alongside other information on service users and interventions.
However, if you do not have an IT system, or as a short-term solution such as a pilot of the Star, you can analyse Star data on a basic spreadsheet. You could use the
Number Cruncher Excel tool provided by Triangle Consulting.
Also, keep an eye on this site as we are currently developing an on-line system to enable Star users to input and analyse their Star data on-line, including automatically completing the Star chart on the screen for individual clients, for the service or groups of clients. This should be ready for use in 2008. It will also provide reports of key outcome data and open the posisbility of benchmarking against an average for other (anonymised) users of the Outcomes Star.
For an example of the applications and benefits of collating Outcomes Star data across similar services,
read St Mungos excellent research briefing, which outlines the results of their first Outcomes Star research comparing Star data for 122 hostel residents.
Author: Triangle Consulting
Page added: 12 March 2007
Last updated: 26 November 2007