Assessment of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in elderly population

Abstract

Introduction: Most of the developing country facing growing number of elderly population because of decrease in fertility and increase in longevity. Elderly age (? 60 years) is a period in which people are prone to chronic diseases and their functional independency is probably restricted by physical and mental disabilities. Aim & Objectives: To find out the prevalence of physical dependency among elderly in Uttarakhand, India. Material & Methods: Activities of daily living (ADL) comprise the basic actions that involve caring for self and body, including personal care, eating and mobility. Results: In the present study population of 400, 112 (28%) study population were found to be physically dependent for their daily activities and out of them 63.39 % had moderate to severe dependency. Conclusion: High level of physical dependency in this study population need urgent attention towards good quality home care and geriatric health care services in India at primary, secondary and tertiary level.