The Classic Measure of Disability in Activities of Daily Living Is Biased ...

Policy makers desire a uniform assessment tool that works well for adults of all ages, but disability assessment can only be as uniform as the underlying measurement is. If ADL or IADL/ADL measures are biased by age, their use with adults of different ages could be misleading. Findings of this study indicate that as demand for community services increases among adults of all ages, an expanded IADL/ADL measure is more useful than ADL.