Title: 
Headings: Patient Name:______________________            Date:_____________ Patient ID #________________________
The
 
Lawton
 
Instrumental
 
Activities
 
of
 
Daily
 
Living
 
(IADL)
 
Scale

MORE
 
ON
 
THE
 
TOPIC:


Content: The
 
assessment
 
of
 
functional
 
status
 
is
 
critical
 
when
 
caring
 
for
 
older
 
adults. Normal
 
aging
 
changes,
 
acute
 
illness,
 
worsening
 
chronic
illness,
 
and
 
hospitalization
 
can
 
contribute
 
to
 
a
 
decline
 
in
 
the
 
ability
 
to
 
perform
 
tasks
 
necessary
 
to
 
live
 
independently
 
in
 
the
 
community. The
information
 
from
 
a
 
functional
 
assessment
 
can
 
provide
 
objective
 
data
 
to
 
assist
 
with
 
targeting
 
individualized
 
rehabilitation
 
needs
 
or
 
to
 
plan
 
for
speciﬁc
 
in
 
home
 
services
 
such
 
as
 
meal
 
preparation,
 
nursing
 
care,
 
home-maker
 
services,
 
personal
 
care,
 
or
 
continuous
 
supervision. A
functional
 
assessment
 
can
 
also
 
assist
 
the
 
clinician
 
to
 
focus
 
on
 
the
 
person’s
 
baseline
 
capabilities,
 
facilitating
 
early
 
recognition
 
of
 
changes
 
that
may
 
signify
 
a
 
need
 
either
 
for
 
additional
 
resources
 
or
 
for
 
a
 
medical
 
work-up
 
(Gallo,
 
2006). BEST
 
TOOL: The
 
Lawton
 
Instrumental
 
Activities
 
of
 
Daily
 
Living
 
Scale
 
(IADL)
 
is
 
an
 
appropriate
 
instrument
 
to
 
assess
 
independent
 
living
skills
 
(Lawton
 
&
 
Brody,
 
1969). These
 
skills
 
are
 
considered
 
more
 
complex
 
than
 
the
 
basic
 
activities
 
of
 
daily
 
living
 
as
 
measured
 
by
 
the
 
Katz
Index
 
of
 
ADLs
 
(See
 
Try
 
this: Katz
 
Index
 
of
 
ADLs). The
 
instrument
 
is
 
most
 
useful
 
for
 
identifying
 
how
 
a
 
person
 
is
 
functioning
 
at
 
the
 
present
time,
 
and
 
to
 
identify
 
improvement
 
or
 
deterioration
 
over
 
time. There
 
are
 
eight
 
domains
 
of
 
function
 
measured
 
with
 
the
 
Lawton
 
IADL
 
scale.