Daily living and health
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Activities of daily living (ADLs) are the basic self-care tasks people do each day. The common list is bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, toileting, and continence. Care teams use difficulty with these tasks to judge how much help a person needs.
Why it matters for your family
ADLs are the common language of care planning. A doctor, a nurse, an insurer, or a family can say, for example, that a person needs help with bathing and transferring. That makes needs clearer than saying the person is frail. Long-term care insurance policies and Medicaid programs often use ADLs to decide who qualifies, so details matter. A common mistake is guessing instead of watching. Notice which tasks take a long time, need reminders, or put a person at risk. Lists vary slightly by tool, so ask which list an insurer or agency uses.
Source: acl.gov
Read more: Personal and advanced care
Related terms
- Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are tasks needed to live on your own, such as managing money, taking medicines, cooking, housekeeping, shopping, and using transportation or a phone.
- BathingBathing, as an activity of daily living, means washing the body by sponge bath, tub, or shower, and getting in and out safely.
- DressingDressing, as an activity of daily living, means choosing clothes, putting them on and taking them off, including fasteners and shoes.
- ToiletingToileting, as an activity of daily living, means getting to and from the toilet, using it, and cleaning up afterward.
- TransferringTransferring, as an activity of daily living, means moving between surfaces, such as bed to chair, chair to standing, or wheelchair to toilet.
- Level of care assessmentA level of care assessment is an evaluation that decides whether a person needs the level of care that a nursing facility provides.
