Iranian Version of Barthel Index: Validity and Reliability in Outpatients' Elderly

BACKGROUND: Validation study of Barthel Index for elderly patients being attended in outpatient and rehabilitation clinics in Iran. METHODS: Face-to-face interview with 395 out patients geriatric 60+ years was done in a cross-sectional study. The internal consistency Barthel-ADL was used to approve reliability. Criterion validity and factor analysis were used to verify validity. RESULTS: Reliability the Iranian version BI was significant at 0.938. In criterion validity analysis, the high correlation tools included Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM-subscales ADL) at 0.947 and –0.945, respectively. In factor analyses, two domains obtained, the variance of 10 items achieved 69.79%; also, the Item Total Correlation (ITC) of each item was measured. CONCLUSIONS: The Barthel Index shows a good validity and reliability, and recommended to use in the Iranian geriatric outpatients in evaluating physical ability.