The dependency needs in the activities of daily living performance among Filipino elderly

Abstract

This study compared the dependency needs of the nursing home residents and community-dwelling elderly in the performance of Basic and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL). It was also correlated to their age, educational attainment, cognitive status, and health-related conditions. It was conducted in one community and in four (4) Geriatric Homes in Cebu, Philippines. There were 120 respondents of the study, aged 65 years old and above. To measure their cognitive status, the standardized Mini Mental Status Examination by Folstein et al. (1975) was used. The dependency needs in performing ADLs were assessed using the Katz Index of Independence (1963) and Lawton Instrumental ADL Scale (1969). The elderly from the home for the age needed assistance in basic ADL and are dependent on the performing instrumental ADL, while the community-dwelling elderly were independent in both basic and instrumental ADL. Age, educational attainment, co-morbidities and cognitive status were found to have significant relationships in the performance of basic and instrumental ADL among the Filipino elderly. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the ADL performance between the nursing home residents and community-dwelling elderly. With functional decline as person ages, it is essential to support the health needs of the elderly.

Keywords: Activities of daily living, cognitive status, community-dwelling elderly, dependency needs, Filipino elderly, functional status, health-related conditions, nursing home residents.