Validity and reliability of the barthel index administered by telephone

Background and Purpose- We aimed to evaluate validity and reliability of the Barthel Index administered telephonically compared with face-to-face assessment in clinically stable patients with stroke. Methods- One hundred thirty-one patients were interviewed twice by 2 registered nurses with identical training. Half of the patients were randomized to receive the telephone interview followed by the face-to-face interview and half the contrary. The sequence of interviewers was randomized. Results- The median value of the Barthel Index score was 30 (first to third interquartile range, 15 to 80) by telephone and 35 (15 to 75) by face-to-face (P=0.29). The weighted κ was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.94); κ values ranged from 0.70 (0.58 to 0.82) for bowel control to 0.91 (0.83 to 0.99) for bathing. Conclusions- Telephone assessment of stroke disability with the Barthel Index is reliable in comparison to direct face-to-face assessment.