Reliability of the Barthel Index when used with older people.

Objective: the Barthel Index (BI) has been recommended for the functional assessment of older people but the reliability of the measure for this patient group is uncertain. To investigate this issue we undertook a systematic review to identify relevant studies from which an overview is presented.

Method: studies investigating the reliability of the BI were obtained by searching Medline, Cinahl and Embase to January 2003.