Cid-Ruzafa J, Damián-Moreno J
Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA.
Rev Esp Salud Publica. 1997 Mar-Apr;71(2):127-37.
In Public Health exists a growing tendency to evaluate the impact of health problems both on the quality of life of the persons involved as well as the use of health services. In this sense, the evaluation of incapacity is acquiring ever greater relevance. The Barthel Index is an instrument widely used to this end and measures the capacity of the person for the execution of ten basic activities in daily life, obtaining a quantitative estimation of the subject's level of dependency. The Barthel Index has been used, since its introduction in 1955, resulting in numerous versions, as well as serving as a standard of comparison with other scales. It is an easily applicable method, with a high level of reliability and validity, capable of detecting changes, easy to interpret and the application of which is not problematic. On the other hand, its adaptation to different cultural environments is almost immediate. Although it has a few limitations, the Barthel Index may be recommended as a selection method for measuring physical incapacity, both in clinical practice as well as in epidemiological investigation and Public Health.
在公共卫生领域，评估健康问题对相关人员生活质量以及卫生服务利用的影响已成为一种日益增长的趋势。从这个意义上讲，失能评估正变得越来越重要。巴氏指数就是为此广泛使用的一种工具，它衡量个体执行日常生活中十项基本活动的能力，从而对受试者的依赖程度进行定量评估。自1955年推出以来，巴氏指数被广泛应用，衍生出众多版本，还可作为与其他量表进行比较的标准。它是一种易于应用的方法，具有高度的可靠性和有效性，能够检测变化，易于解读，应用过程也不存在问题。另一方面，它几乎能立即适应不同的文化环境。尽管巴氏指数存在一些局限性，但无论是在临床实践、流行病学调查还是公共卫生领域，都可推荐将其作为测量身体失能的一种选择方法。
