Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Instrumental
activities of
daily living are activities related to independent living and
include preparing meals, managing money, shopping for groceries or
personal items, performing light or heavy housework, and using a
telephone. In the Medicare
Current Beneficiary Survey if a sample person had any
difficulty performing an activity by him or herself and without special
equipment, or did not perform the activity at all because of health
problems, the person was categorized as having a limitation in that
activity. The limitation may have been temporary or chronic at the time of
the interview. Sample persons in the community answered health status and
functioning questions themselves, if able to do so. For sample persons in
a long-term care facility, a proxy such as a nurse answered questions
about the sample person's health status and functioning. In
the National Health
Interview Survey
(NHIS) respondents are asked about needing the help of another
person for handling routine IADL needs due to a physical, mental, or
emotional problem. Persons are considered to have an IADL limitation in
the NHIS if any causal condition is chronic. SOURCE: Health, United States Related
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This page last reviewed
September 11, 2008
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