What is Barthel Index and What is it Used For? Barthel Index (BI) is an ordinal scale that measures the performance of disabled people, aged people, stroke patients, and patients with chronic disability in activities of daily living (ADL) and mobility. This scale uses ten or fifteen variables of ADL and mobility to measure the dependency and the severity of disability in the patients. The format of ten variables is used the most. The ten variables associated with ADL and mobility include: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Bowel Control Bladder Control Assistance required with grooming Assistance required with toilet use Assistance required with feeding Assistance required with transferring (such as moving from chair to bed) Assistance required with walking Assistance required with dressing Assistance required with climbing stairs Assistance required with bathing
Each of these ADL and mobility variables are given a score based on the performance of the patients. The patients are given tasks based on these ten variables and they have to complete those within the given time. The health officials carefully supervise them performing the tasks and based on their performance in different tasks, they give the patients numerical scores for each of ten ADL and Mobility variables. The scores for each of the ten variables can be 0, 5, 10, or 15, depending on the patients' performance.
Uses of Barthel Index Barthel Index is used, especially in rehabilitation centers and home healthcare to continuously supervise the improvement of the patients who are participating in rehabilitation. This helps the health officials make a better care plan for the patients so that the improvement process in the patients can be accelerated. This ordinal scale has been proven powerful and effective to improve the health improvement process in patients.
How Does Barthel Index Work? The performance measurement of the patients in ADL and mobility using the Barthel scale is conducted by certified health officials. They give a numerical number to patients for each of the tasks they perform. Here is the scoring pattern: