Activities Of Daily Living
The basic tasks that a person performs during the day are known as the activities of daily living. If a person is unable to perform these tasks properly, measures need to be taken in order to help them.
Activities of daily living (ADL's) is a term that is commonly used in the medical industry, especially when the nursing of an elderly person is involved. Any activity or task that an individual undertakes throughout the course of the day, constitutes the instrumental activities. Eating, walking, personal grooming and hygiene all come under the list of activities.
Many medical institutions and even medical insurance companies conduct a study of these activities of certain individuals that require their attention. Elderly people, people with mental illnesses, handicapped people or people suffering from some crippling disease are usually put through this study. The reason for carrying out this study is to assess the functionality of a person. Once this has been ascertained, the health professionals can determine what type of treatment and nursing conditions the individual in question requires.
Activities List
As mentioned earlier, there are basically 6 ADL's that any health professional will consider a part of this list. These activities are as follows.
Eating
Personal grooming and hygiene
Dressing and undressing
Toilet activities
Moving from one place to another
Elimination
These activities need to be performed independently in order for an individual to take care of himself/herself. The most common cases where people are unable to independently perform their ADL's, is in the case of elderly people. Therefore, the analysis of these activities for elderly people is of utmost importance. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be decided what sort of nursing conditions a particular individual will require.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
Apart from the fundamental ADL's which a person needs to perform, there is a list of instrumental ADL's that determine if a person is capable of living in a community independently, or if they must do so with the aid of somebody.
Cooking
Taking medicines
Shopping for groceries
Using the telephone
Managing money
Care of others
Care of pets
Doing housework
Mandatory safety procedures and regulations
Knowledge of emergency hotlines
If it is found that a person can perform their fundamental ADL's, but are unable to perform their instrumental ADL's, it is probably best to assign someone to look after or nurse that particular individual.
The most common use of studying these activities is felt by medical insurance companies. Since they are mostly the ones who will foot the bills for the treatment of a lot of conditions, they wish to ensure that the individual genuinely require the treatment. Some people may try to con these companies in order to get the insurance money, so these companies carry out these tests very carefully to ascertain the true functionality and mobility of the individual.
Before a person is actually admitted into a nursing home for treatment, everyone must be made well aware of what activities of daily living they can and cannot perform. Elderly people and people with chronic illnesses are likely to be more susceptible to these tests more often than other people. Monitoring their functionality can only benefit their family members and friends in the long run.
Activities of daily living (ADL's) is a term that is commonly used in the medical industry, especially when the nursing of an elderly person is involved. Any activity or task that an individual undertakes throughout the course of the day, constitutes the instrumental activities. Eating, walking, personal grooming and hygiene all come under the list of activities.
Many medical institutions and even medical insurance companies conduct a study of these activities of certain individuals that require their attention. Elderly people, people with mental illnesses, handicapped people or people suffering from some crippling disease are usually put through this study. The reason for carrying out this study is to assess the functionality of a person. Once this has been ascertained, the health professionals can determine what type of treatment and nursing conditions the individual in question requires.
Activities List
As mentioned earlier, there are basically 6 ADL's that any health professional will consider a part of this list. These activities are as follows.
Eating
Personal grooming and hygiene
Dressing and undressing
Toilet activities
Moving from one place to another
Elimination
These activities need to be performed independently in order for an individual to take care of himself/herself. The most common cases where people are unable to independently perform their ADL's, is in the case of elderly people. Therefore, the analysis of these activities for elderly people is of utmost importance. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be decided what sort of nursing conditions a particular individual will require.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
Apart from the fundamental ADL's which a person needs to perform, there is a list of instrumental ADL's that determine if a person is capable of living in a community independently, or if they must do so with the aid of somebody.
Cooking
Taking medicines
Shopping for groceries
Using the telephone
Managing money
Care of others
Care of pets
Doing housework
Mandatory safety procedures and regulations
Knowledge of emergency hotlines
If it is found that a person can perform their fundamental ADL's, but are unable to perform their instrumental ADL's, it is probably best to assign someone to look after or nurse that particular individual.
The most common use of studying these activities is felt by medical insurance companies. Since they are mostly the ones who will foot the bills for the treatment of a lot of conditions, they wish to ensure that the individual genuinely require the treatment. Some people may try to con these companies in order to get the insurance money, so these companies carry out these tests very carefully to ascertain the true functionality and mobility of the individual.
Before a person is actually admitted into a nursing home for treatment, everyone must be made well aware of what activities of daily living they can and cannot perform. Elderly people and people with chronic illnesses are likely to be more susceptible to these tests more often than other people. Monitoring their functionality can only benefit their family members and friends in the long run.
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