The Competence of Fieldwork Students in Administering the Barthel Index

ObjectivesThis study evaluated the competence of level-II occupational therapy students in assessing activities of daily living by examining student—therapist reliability using the Barthel Index (BI).MethodsA convenience sample consisted of 14 students, seven licensed occupational therapists, and a convenience sample of 30 patients receiving occupational therapy services. The intraclass correlation coefficient and the weighted kappa were used as indicators of the student—therapist agreement of the BI.ResultsWhile satisfactory agreement was obtained between students and therapists in both total and individual item scores, students tended to score higher than therapists.ConclusionsRecommendations to improve students' rating performances in administering the BI are proposed.