the Haven Assisted Living

Activities of Daily Living (ADL)

Activities of daily living are activities related to personal care and include bathing or showering, dressing, getting in or out of bed or a chair, using the toilet, and eating.

In the National Health Interview Survey respondents were asked about needing the help of another person with personal care needs because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem. Persons are considered to have an ADL limitation if any causal condition is chronic.

In the Medicare Current  Beneficiary Survey, if a sample person had any difficulty performing an activity by himself or herself and without special equipment, or did not perform the activity at all because of health problems, the person was categorized as having a limitation in that activity. The limitation may have been temporary or chronic at the time of the interview. 

In the Chartbook on Trends in Health of Americans, a sample person was categorized as having a limitation in their activities of daily living if, in addition to having any difficulty performing an activity or not performing the activity because of health problems, the sample person also received help or supervision with at least one of the following six activities: bathing or showering, dressing, eating, getting in or out of bed or chairs, walking, and using the toilet.

Sample persons who were administered a community interview answered health status and functioning questions themselves if able to do so. A proxy, such as a nurse, answered questions about the sample person's health status and functioning for those in a long-term care facility.

Beginning in 1997, interview questions for persons in long-term care facilities were changed slightly from those administered to persons in the community in order to differentiate residents who were independent from those who received supervision or assistance with transferring, locomotion on unit, dressing, eating, toilet use, and bathing.

SOURCE: Health, United States

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)

Instrumental activities of daily living are activities related to independent living and include preparing meals, managing money, shopping for groceries or personal items, performing light or heavy housework, and using a telephone.

In the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey if a sample person had any difficulty performing an activity by him or herself and without special equipment, or did not perform the activity at all because of health problems, the person was categorized as having a limitation in that activity.

The limitation may have been temporary or chronic at the time of the interview. Sample persons in the community answered health status and functioning questions themselves, if able to do so. For sample persons in a long-term care facility, a proxy such as a nurse answered questions about the sample person's health status and functioning.

In the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) respondents are asked about needing the help of another person for handling routine IADL needs due to a physical, mental, or emotional problem. Persons are considered to have an IADL limitation in the NHIS if any causal condition is chronic.

SOURCE: Health, United States

Health Condition

A health condition is a departure from a state of physical or mental well-being. 

In the National Health Interview Survey, each condition reported as a cause of an individual's activity limitation has been classified as "chronic," "not chronic," or "unknown if chronic," based on the nature of the condition and/or the duration of the condition. Conditions that are not cured once acquired (such as heart disease, diabetes, and birth defects in the original response categories, and amputee and "old age" in the ad hoc categories) are considered chronic, while conditions related to pregnancy are always considered not chronic. Additionally, other conditions must have been present 3 months or longer to be considered chronic. An exception is made for children less than 1 year of age who have had a condition "since birth," as these conditions are always considered chronic. The National Nursing Home Survey uses a specific list of chronic conditions, also disregarding time of onset. 

SOURCE: Health, United States

An acute condition is a type of illness or injury that ordinarily lasts less than 3 months, was first noticed less than 3 months before the reference data of the interview, and was serious enough to have had an impact on behavior.  (Pregnancy is also considered to be an acute condition despite lasting longer than 3 months).

SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey