title: Validity and reliability of Resource Utilization Groups (RUG-III) in Finnish long-term care facilities.
abstract: Resource Utilization Groups, Version III (RUG-III) is a case-mix system developed in the USA for classification of long-term care residents. This paper examines the validity and reliability of an adapted 22-group version of RUG-III (RUG-III/22) for use in long-term care facilities in Finland. Finnish cost weights for RUG-III/22 groups are calculated and different methods for their computation are evaluated. The study sample (1,964 residents) was collected in 1995-96 from ten long-term care facilities in Finland. RUG-III/22 alone explained 38.2% of the variance of total patient-specific (nursing + auxiliary staff) per diem cost. Resource use within RUG groups was relatively homogeneous. Other predictors of resource use included age, gender and length of stay. RUG-III/22 also met the standard for good reliability (i.e. a kappa value of 0.6 or higher) for crucial classification items, such as activities of daily living and high correlation between assessments based on relative cost.
authors.affiliation: National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, Health Services Research Unit, Helsinki, Finland. magnus.bjorkgren@chydenius.fi
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Björkgren
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Häkkinen
authors.forename: U H
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Finne-Soveri
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Fries
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000145:classification*; D008297:Male; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000191:economics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D000078329:Workforce