The competence of fieldwork students in administering the Barthel Index

Objectives: This 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). Methods: A 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. Results: While satisfactory agreement was obtained between students and therapists in both total and individual item scores, students tended to score higher than therapists. Conclusion: Recommendations to improve students' rating performances in administering the BI are proposed.