Determining the appropriate level of care. An analysis of factors affecting the staff's overall needs assessments, using data collected through the ASIM monitoring system

Abstract

For the purpose of evaluating the validity of the staff's overall needs assessment in terms of the ‘appropriate level of care’ as a measure of resource needs — with particular emphasis on the need for institutional resources — an analysis was made concerning the relation of the assessment to various other factors. In the analysis, we used data collected in a survey undertaken in Solna municipality on November 1, 1991 according to the ASIM monitoring system. It was found by multiple regression analysis, that the ‘appropriate level of care’ was closely related to the client's degree of disability, age, and actual level of care. On the other hand, variables describing the client's social situation — marital status, single-living, informal social support, standard and accessibility of housing — bore no relation to the assessment of need for institutional care. Chiefly because of the close relation to the actual level of care it was concluded that the staff's overall assessment of ‘appropriate level of care’ should be used with a degree of caution as measure of the need for institutional resources, since it would tend to overrate that need. A more systematic needs assessment procedure is required in order to provide the municipal authorities with unbiased estimates of institutional resource needs.