Inter-rater reliability of Monitor, Senior Monitor and Qualpacs.

This paper describes inter-rater reliability of three quality assessment instruments: Monitor, Senior Monitor and Qualpacs. The work forms part of a Department of Health funded study examining the reliability and validity of these three instruments. Inter-rater reliability is not a fixed entity and therefore should be tested every time raters or the setting change. In this instance, testing was carried out in three wards (one elderly and two surgical). Two methods of analysis were used: percent agreement and intra-class correlation coefficient. Results and some of the techniques that were found to be useful in enhancing reliability are described. Acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability with all three instruments were reached.