The mental health residential care study: predicting costs from resident characteristics

Little information is available on the costs of residential care for people with mental health problems, and there are very few research data on how or why the costs of provision vary.

As part of a broader study based on data collected from across the residential care sectors in eight districts and using multiple regression analysis, research has examined whether and which resident characteristics are associated with higher or lower costs.

Resident characteristics account for approximately 21% of the observed variation in inter-resident costs. Separate analyses were conducted for people in the London and non-London districts. The resident characteristics that were found to be significant predictors of cost include: age, gender, ethnic group, history of psychiatric admissions, diagnosis, emotional lability, daily living skills, social interaction and network, aggression, suicidal tendencies, drug abuse and legal status. Examination of the residual ('unexplained') costs found significant differences between facility types, sectors (private and voluntary being less costly than public, other things being equal) and districts.

The associations uncovered by these analyses can inform commissioners' planning and purchasing activities, at both the macro and micro levels, by revealing those resident needs and circumstances that are associated with higher costs.