Validity of a self-administered version of the Barthel Index in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The Barthel Index (BI) in its original format must be completed by a therapist. To overcome this disadvantage a self-administered version of the BI was designed, the modified Barthel Index (MBI). In the present study the MBI was validated against the original BI and also the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) in 33 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There was a close correlation between BI and MBI in eight out of the 10 items of the scale and in the overall score. Similarly, there was a good correlation between MBI and HAQ but only in patients with mild disability. Further analysis of data showed that the HAQ overestimated the degree of disability in patients with RA and may be less reliable than the MBI in measuring functional independence in these patients.