The Barthel Index and its relationship to nursing dependency in rehabilitation.

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 (CI 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.