Objectives: To investigate the clinical application of the Barthel Index as an indicator of nursing dependency in a younger disabled unit.
Design: A prospective study of 132 patients (mean age 49) with chronic neurological problems.
Setting: A younger disabled unit at a District General Hospital, Oxford.
Main outcome measures: The Barthel Index, and total nursing hours.
Results: The Median Barthel Index was 7 (95% confidence interval 6-9). The mean nursing hours were 2.7 ± 1.7 (Cl 2.41-2.99). Spearman rank order correlation coefficient between the Barthel Index and nursing hours was r = -0.69 (CI -0.79 to -0.59).
Conclusions: Regression analysis showed that it was possible to use the Barthel Index as an indicator of nursing dependency particularly in physical care, and that it was independent of age and diagnosis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Wade DT, Collin C.The Barthel index: a standard measure of physical disability? Int Disabil Stud1988; 10: 64-67.
2.
Collin C., Wade DT, Davies S., Horne V.The Barthel ADL index: a reliability study. Int Disabil Stud1988; 10: 61-63.
3.
Stone S., Herbert Christostomou, Vessy C, Harwood C.The measurement of disability in patients on an acute medical ward for elderly people. Disabil Rehabil1993 ; 15: 35-37.
4.
Stone SP, Ali B., Auberleek I., Thompsell A., Young A.The Barthel index in clinical practice: use on a rehabilitation ward for elderly people. J R Coll Physicians (Lond) 1994; 28: 419-23.
