Efforts to establish the reliability of the Resident Assessment Instrument.

Background: since its original implementation in the USA, the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) has been used in many countries in languages other than English. This paper describes the efforts that have been made to test the inter-rater reliability of the core set of items forming the minimum data set items in the USA and in non-English speaking countries (Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland).

Results: a large proportion (from 70 to 96%) of the items in the RAI achieved an adequate to excellent level of reliability, with no substantial differences across countries. The RAI met the standard for good reliability (i.e. a kappa value of 0.6 or higher) in crucial areas of functional status, such as memory, activities of daily living self-performance and support, and bowel and bladder continence in most of the countries. Indicators of mood and behavioural problems achieved adequate reliability levels of 0.4 or higher.