In this article, I share a ridgeline plot showing the evolution in the distribution of Australian aged care star ratings since they were introduced. I specifically use the overall star rating prior to the final rounding step as this allows me to showcase the data in greater detail. The key R functions I used to prepare Figure 1 was ggplot and density.
- There is a general trend towards higher overall star ratings.
- In the first to second quarter there is a steep drop off in one and two star rated homes.
- The 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile, all appear to have increased over time. However, they often don’t move in parallel. For example, between the most recent two quarters only the median star rating appears to have increased.
- Note that homes with a compliance rating of one and two stars cannot have a higher overall star rating than their compliance rating. This explains some of the density around exactly one and two stars.
- In recent quarters there appears to be very few one and two star rated homes. Although this may be exacerbated by the choice of binwidth (0.1) and the algorithm that estimates the density.