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RAI database

Objectives

The RAI database at the VU medical center has been founded originally to support and stimulate research of the Department of Nursing Home Medicine. It came into existence in 1995 with the first batch of data from a nursing home that had begun to use the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI).  It grew quickly when in 1996 80.000 records were purchased from SIG from the SIG Nursing Home Information System (SIVIS). Since then various new data has been added to it from facilities, organizations and research groups that have used or are using versions of the Resident Assessment Instrument for Long Term Care, Home Care, Palliative Care and Community Health Care. The deposit of anonymized data is based on contracts that users of RAI have with the interRAI Corporation, the copyright holder of the RAI instruments. The RAI database at the VU no longer only supports research of the Department of Nursing Home Medicine, but various other research of the EMGO institute as well. The database plays a role in training both researchers (within EMGO) and the relevant professionals and provides an environment in which research and vocational training strengthen and inspire each other.

Collaborations

In 1992 interRAI was founded, an international group of researchers and professionals that committed themselves to further develop, do research with and stimulate the use of RAI instruments across the world. Miel Ribbe and Dinnus Frijters from the Department of Nursing Home Medicine became fellows of interRAI early on. InterRAI now has applications and fellows in about 35 countries. Through the intense contacts of the fellows many international collaboration initiatives have taken off and have been successful and plenty of new opportunities offer themselves in Long Term Care, Acute Care, Post-Acute Care, Mental Health, Intellectual Disability Care and Community Care, all areas in which InterRAI instruments have branched out. At the moment active collaborations exist on the European projects SHELTER  for Long Term Care and ADHOC for Home Care, palliative Care with Canada and the US, pain with Italy and Finland and within the Netherlands PIKOV from EMGO.

At several places in the world international databases with RAI data exist that EMGO researchers through interRAI can use for their research.

Results

The below selection of papers from the last 5 years comprise about 50% of EMGO involved papers that have been enabled through the RAI database at the VU medical center.  It gives an idea about the rich scope of the research that has been supported. On the interRAI website a multitude of research papers are presented that worldwide have been produced using RAI data (www.interrai.org).

Contact information

D. Frijters, email: d.frijters@vumc.nl