Wp. Achterberg et al., Effects of the Resident Assessment Instrument on the care process and health outcomes in nursing homes. A review of the literature, SC J RE MED, 31(3), 1999, pp. 131-137
The objective of the paper is to review the effects of the implementation o
f the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) on process measures (quality of
care plans and staff satisfaction) and outcome measures (health problems an
d quality of life) in nursing homes. All available publications on the effe
cts of the RAI were included in the review. The most positive effects of th
e RAI were found in improvements in the comprehensiveness and accuracy of t
he care plans. As regards outcome quality, the RAI method had most positive
effects on the health condition of nursing home residents with diminished
physical and mental functioning. In psychosocial areas of assessment, fewer
positive effects were found, We concluded that positive effects have been
found, based on pre-test-post-test noncontrolled designs. Control-group des
igns are needed in future evaluation studies to determine if these positive
results will hold.