Validity and Reliability of Thai Version of Barthel Index for Hip Fracture Patients

Since an increasing in population age, there was an increasing in geriatric patients. Most of elderly patients needed rehabilitation programs to regain their quality of life during their medical treatments. Barthel index is a functional measurement to evaluate rehabilitation improvement in chronically-ill patients and also used for evaluation of patient's self-care. This index had initially developed to evaluate the self-care of stroke patients which comprised of 10 questions about their basic activity of daily living. Barthel index had been well-accepted and widely used. Barthel index had been translated into many languages and validated in many medical conditions such as spinal cord injury, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, etc. However, Barthel index had not been translated into Thai language and validated to use in hip fracture patients.

Hip fractures was usually occured in geriatric patients and there was a trend to increase every year. Most of the hip fractures were treated by surgical methods which needed postoperative rehabilitation programs to regain their functions. Less than half of the patients with hip fracture could regain their functions to preoperative level. Therefore, these patients needed a specific questionnaire to evaluate their functions. Barthel index is an uncomplicated questionnaire and can be used to evaluate treatment outcome of the patients.

The purposes of this study were to translate the Barthel index into Thai language and to assess validity and reliability of Thai version Barthel index in hip fracture patients.

Inclusion criteria

• Age at least 50 years old
• Hip fractures within 2 weeks since injury

Exclusion criteria

• incommunicable patients
• pathological fractures
• multiple fractures or multiple trauma
• postoperative complications which change postoperative rehabilitation protocols