Characteristics of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in Older Adults in Long-term Care Facilities Who Required Physical Care

Abstract

[Purpose] This study examined the characteristics of activities of daily living (ADL) according to the difficulty of individual component movements of older adults in long-term care facilities who required physical care. [Subjects and Methods] In total, 111 older adults requiring long-term care in hospitals or nursing home were enrolled in this study. Four activities, namely eating, toileting, transfers, and locomotion, were assessed using a previously developed assessment instrument. The instrument assesses 141 individual component movements, which are subdivisions of the four activities. The difficulty of each component was determined using a three-point scale, and the difficulties among the four activities were compared. In addition, the component movements were categorized hierarchically according to their difficulty levels in order to evaluate their characteristics. [Results] Eating was significantly easier than the other activities. Movements categorized in the “high difficulty” category required antigravity functions and standing balance. [Conclusion] Differences in the difficulties in ADL in older adults in long-term care facilities existed not only among the four activities but also within each activity.