2008 Age Plus Prize Winner

Jeff Poss
University of Waterloo
Validation of resource utilization groups version III for home care (RUG-III/HC)

People want to live in their own homes as long as possible and home care services are important in supporting this goal. The research from Dr. Poss' paper contributes to the understanding of what types of home care clients receive and what amounts of care, both from publicly-funded services and from unpaid sources, such as family and friends.

Dr. Poss and his colleagues analyzed existing information on approximately 30,000 home care clients. For each client, there was a comprehensive assessment of about 300 items (including an estimate of unpaid care from family and friends), which was tied to the amount of home care service, all compiled from millions of service records.

Successful testing of the system that describes different types of home care clients and their costs will be useful for health care planners and administrators. One example of a useful outcome from this research is that it will help to understand reasons for differences in home care costs from one part of a province to another.

This research project formed a major part of Dr. Poss' Doctoral thesis work. Currently in autumn 2008 he is working on a similar but much larger project as a co-investigator and together, these projects will give him invaluable experience with many important aspects of health services research involving older persons.

Dr. Poss is presently an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Health Studies & Gerontology at the University of Waterloo. He is engaged in writing scientific papers and applying for research grants.