Evaluating Palliative Care: Establishing the Evidence Base provides an introduction to the theory and practice of the evaluation of palliati ve care services. It examines the methodological issues involved in th e evaluation of palliative care, and outlines a practical approach tha t is readily applicable to many other health care interventions. In pa rticular, research issues involving terminally ill patients and their carers are analysed and discussed, and approaches suggested for future work.