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What Is Activities Of Daily Living (ADL) And Its Importance For The Elderly
When it’s obvious that a senior can’t make it through a day without help, the next step is to look for resources that can give them the help they require. One of the first things a home care company assisted living facility, or adult day care center will ask is if the senior can do activities of daily living. But what are ADLs, and why do they matter?
What Are Activities Of Daily Living
These are the fundamental skills of personal hygiene that we are taught at the beginning of our childhood [1]. They are frequently referred to as “Basic Activities of Daily Living. These are as follows.
Walking
Walking around the house or yard. This action is referred to in the field as “ambulating.”
Feeding
Feeding refers to the ability to get food from a plate to one’s mouth, as well as to chew and swallow it.
Dressing
Putting on clothes and taking care of one’s personal appearance, which includes choosing clothes, putting them on, and maintaining a presentable appearance.
Toileting
The toileting includes going to and from the toilet, using it in a suitable manner, and cleansing oneself afterward.
Why ADLs Are Important for The Elderly?
A senior’s quality of life is greatly affected by how well they can function and take care of themselves. For example, different underlying conditions can cause changes in ADLs but ignoring these growing needs can cause frequent mental and physical health problems.
When people don’t get the help they need with daily tasks, they can become malnourished, have bad hygiene, be left alone, can develop infections like urinary tract infections. In fact, researchers have shown that problems with ADLs are linked to a higher risk of death [2].
On the other hand, making sure an older person gets the daily care they require can help prevent health problems from starting or getting worse, reduces expenses, and suspend or terminate the need for care in a facility. Therefore, along with a senior’s more basic medical needs, their “functional abilities” are often taken into account when making important care decisions.
Additionally, a person’s ability to perform ADLs is frequently taken into consideration when determining the optimum standard of treatment and living arrangement for them. For instance, independent living facilities cannot assist with ADLs.
This type of care is frequently referred to as personal or custodial care. Residents who require this type of assistance must obtain it from a family caregiver, seek in-home care, or transfer to a higher level of care where ADL assistance is offered (e.g., a memory care unit, a nursing home, or an assisted living facility).
Furthermore, ADLs are also used to decide who is eligible for services, benefits, and even insurance coverage for seniors. For example, to qualify for long-term care Medicaid programs, a senior must have proof that they need “nursing home level of care,” which often means they can’t do a certain number of ADLs [3].
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References
- Edemekong PF, Bomgaars DL, Sukumaran S, et al. Activities of Daily Living. [Updated 2022 Jul 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470404/
- Ishidou, Y., Koriyama, C., Kakoi, H., Setoguchi, T., Nagano, S., Hirotsu, M., … & Komiya, S. (2017). Predictive factors of mortality and deterioration in the performance of activities of daily living after hip fracture surgery in Kagoshima, Japan. Geriatrics & gerontology international, 17(3), 391-401.
- Mehta, J. (2021). Government enforcement and review of managed Medicare programs: A glimpse of historical practice and forthcoming trends. Public Policy & Aging Report, 31(2), 53-56.
