RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Balancing stakeholder needs in the evaluation of healthcare quality improvement JF BMJ Quality & Safety JO BMJ Qual Saf FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 803 OP 807 DO 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004814 VO 25 IS 10 A1 Laura C Leviton A1 Lori Melichar YR 2016 UL http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/25/10/803.abstract AB Quality improvement (QI) efforts affect a broader range of people than we often assume. These are the potential stakeholders for QI and its evaluation, and they have valuable perspectives to offer when they are consulted in planning, conducting and interpreting evaluations. QI practitioners are accustomed to consulting stakeholders to assess unintended consequences or assess patient experiences of care, but in many cases there are additional benefits to a broad inclusion of stakeholders. These benefits are better adherence to ethical standards, to assure that all legitimate interests take part, more useful and relevant evaluation information and better political buy-in to improve impact. Balancing various stakeholder needs for information requires skill for both politics and research management. These challenges have few pat answers, but several preferred practices, which are illustrated with practical examples.