Activities of daily living

Activities of daily living (ADLs or ADL) is a term used in healthcare to refer to people's daily self-care activities. The concept of ADLs was originally proposed in the 1950s by Sidney Katz and his team at the Benjamin Rose Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio and has been added to and refined by a variety of researchers since that time. Health professionals often use a person's ability or inability to perform ADLs as a measurement of their functional status, particularly in regard to people post injury, with disabilities and the elderly. Younger children often require help from adults to perform ADLs, as they have not yet developed the skills necessary to perform them independently.Katz et al. (1963) made a claim that became the basis for the ontological assumptions of the ADL research tradition. In their suggestion that there was an 'ordered regression as part of the natural process of aging' (p. 918), there was an implicit generalization, from their sample of older persons with fractured hips, to all older persons. Activities of daily living (ADLs or ADL) is a term used in healthcare to refer to people's daily self-care activities. The concept of ADLs was originally proposed in the 1950s by Sidney Katz and his team at the Benjamin Rose Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio and has been added to and refined by a variety of researchers since that time. Health professionals often use a person's ability or inability to perform ADLs as a measurement of their functional status, particularly in regard to people post injury, with disabilities and the elderly. Younger children often require help from adults to perform ADLs, as they have not yet developed the skills necessary to perform them independently. Common ADLs include feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, cleaning oneself after defecating and leisure. A number of national surveys collect data on the ADL status of the U.S. population. While basic definitions of ADLs have been suggested, what specifically constitutes a particular ADL for each individual may vary. Adaptive equipment and devices may be used to enhance and increase independence in performing ADLs. Basic ADLs consist of self-care tasks that include: