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Barthel's index of activities of daily living (BAI)


Although used fairly universally in hospitals for assessing patients with severe disabilities, more sensitive indices (e.g. AMPS) are required in the community1,2.
1. Bowel status
(Question 1 of 10)
2. Bladder status
(Question 2 of 10)
3. Grooming
(Question 3 of 10)
4. Toilet Use
(Question 4 of 10)
5. Feeding
(Question 5 of 10)
6. Transfer
(Question 6 of 10)
7. Mobility
(Question 7 of 10)
8. Dressing
(Question 8 of 10)
9. Stairs
(Question 9 of 10)
10. Bathing
(Question 10 of 10)
Barthel Score (max 20):
Click on the appropriate option and click on "calculate" button to add up score.
NB: the aim is to establish the degree of independence from any help.

Modified Barthel Score3
This modification further increases the sensitivity of the score (maximum 100), without increasing difficulty undertaking test or time involved

Items Unable to perform task Attempts task but unsafe Moderate help required Minimal help required Fully independent
Personal Hygiene 0 1 3 4 5
Bathing Self 0 1 3 4 5
Feeding 0 2 5 8 10
Toilet 0 2 5 8 10
Stair Climbing 0 2 5 8 10
Dressing 0 2 5 8 10
Bowel Control 0 2 5 8 10
Bladder Control 0 2 5 8 10
Ambulation
(wheelchair) 		0
(0) 		3
(1) 		8
(3) 		12
(4) 		15
(5)
Chair-Bed Transfers 0 3 8 12 15

Barthel’s paradox The more we contemplate Barthel’s eulogy of independence the more we see it as a mirage reflecting a greater truth about human affairs: there is no such thing as independence* - only interdependence, and in fostering this interdependence lies our true vocation.

*No man is an Island, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were. Any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls: It tolls for thee. *John Donne 1572-1631 (meditation XVII) Selected Prose, page 101, OUP.

References

  1. Joint report of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) 1992, London, RCG and BGS
  2. D Wade 1992 Measurement of Neurological Rehabilitation, OUP
  3. Shah S, Vanclay F and Cooper; Improving the sensitivity of the Barthel Index for Stroke rehabilitation; J Clin Epidemiol (1989) 42:703-9

Last issued 06 Jun 2005









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PS - Health and Poverty

Perhaps the biggest cause of ill health in the world is poverty. Help to Make Poverty History. For example, why not lend some of your money to disadvantaged communities to enable them to trade their way out of poverty through schemes such as Shared Interest.

See also MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY North East for details and links to campaigns against poverty.

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