The neuromental index - an additional Barthel Index assessment scare for measuring disability in basic psychological and cognitive functions in neurorebabilitation patients

The Barthel Index (BI) is the most commonly used scale for assessing impair ment of activities of daily living (ADL). For a global view of patients' ab ilities and the care needed in everyday neurorehabilitation practice, addit ional information about basic psychological and cognitive functions is esse ntial. We therefore designed a new disability scale com prised of assessmen ts of consciousness, approachability, orientation, memory, behaviour, emoti ons, communication, problem solving, perception, a nd behaviour at night. T he scale shows exactly the same inner structure as the BI, with ten items a nd a score of up to 20 in steps from 0-100% (or 0-20 points). By a careful weighing of the items,the final score of the neuromental index (NMI) should create a clearer picture of both the disabilities and the needed resources . A second aim was to cover a broad range of patients including those in co ma and coma remission states and those with only slight neuropsychological or behavioural symptoms. The NMI was examined with a group of 179 neurorehabilitation inpatients and proved to be highly valid, reliable, and practicable. It was designed to e nable a global assessment of disability as well as the care resources neede d, even in patients with different disability levels in ADL and psychologic al I and cognitive functions.