TY - JOUR
T1 - Classification trees for decision making in long-term care
AU - Quartararo, Maria
AU - Glasziou, Paul
AU - Kerr, Charles B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Public Health Fellowship. The project was funded by the federal Department of Community Services (currently Department of Human Sciences and Health) and supported by the Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatric Medicine, The Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.
PY - 1995/11
Y1 - 1995/11
N2 - Background. The purpose of the study was to develop a classification tool predicting a requirement for nursing home care in a population of nursing home applicants. In long-term care services, the objectives of classification mechanisms will include the prevention of inappropriate nursing home admission. Method. We studied 295 nursing home applicants residing in the Lower North Shore Area of Sydney, a high socioeconomic status area of Sydney, Australia. The predictor variables examined included: demographic data, social work assessment data, the presence of dementia and incontinence, the Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Results. Classification analysis using the C4.5 Program resulted in several classification trees for a decision for nursing home care with sensitivities greater than 70%. The best classification tree was one which combined the scores of the Barthel Index and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Conclusion. Classification trees in their simplicity of design and application have advantages over other analytical methods of classification. Classification analysis and the trees examined in this study may have future useful application in decision making for long-term care.
AB - Background. The purpose of the study was to develop a classification tool predicting a requirement for nursing home care in a population of nursing home applicants. In long-term care services, the objectives of classification mechanisms will include the prevention of inappropriate nursing home admission. Method. We studied 295 nursing home applicants residing in the Lower North Shore Area of Sydney, a high socioeconomic status area of Sydney, Australia. The predictor variables examined included: demographic data, social work assessment data, the presence of dementia and incontinence, the Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Results. Classification analysis using the C4.5 Program resulted in several classification trees for a decision for nursing home care with sensitivities greater than 70%. The best classification tree was one which combined the scores of the Barthel Index and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Conclusion. Classification trees in their simplicity of design and application have advantages over other analytical methods of classification. Classification analysis and the trees examined in this study may have future useful application in decision making for long-term care.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0028822063&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/gerona/50A.6.M298
DO - 10.1093/gerona/50A.6.M298
M3 - Article
C2 - 7583800
AN - SCOPUS:0028822063
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 50A
SP - M298-M302
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 6
ER -