Gazing into the Oracle: The Delphi Method and its Application to Social Policy and Public Health

The Delphi Method is an exercise in group communication. It is intended to enhance informed decision-making by enabling decision makers to plan based on a wide reservoir of knowledge, experience and expertise in a systematic manner. The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 contains chapters on theoretical, methodological and practical issues - inclusing computerisation - which are raised by the Delphi Method while Part 2 consists of a series of case studies which illustrate the application fo the Delphi Method to a range of problems in social policy and public health. The case studies show how the Delphi Method has been used to study furture trends in mental health and mental health care, services for the elderly, accidents, family planning services, the implications of advances in biomedical and behavioural research and the administration of social security.