FUNCTIONAL HEALTH-STATUS AND INSTRUMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING PERFORMANCE IN NONINSTITUTIONALIZED ELDERLY PEOPLE

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the relationship between functional health status and the performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in a group of noninstit utionalized elderly people, A convenience sample of 47 subjects who we re 70 years of age or older participated by completing three questionn aires: the Health Status Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Functiona l Assessment IADL Scale and a demographic questionnaire. Lawton's (198 5) theoretical model of person-environment interaction provided the co nceptual framework for the study. Three functional status variables re ached statistical significance (0.001) with IADL performance: social f unctioning (r=-0.6045); health perception (r=-0.6984); and physical fu nctioning (r=-0.6635) suggesting that these are important indicators o f overall health status, and that a decline in each could contribute t o increased IADL dependency. The IADLs of housekeeping, shopping, and transportation correlated significantly (0.001) with functional health status, implying that, as health declines in elderly people, they may require more assistance with IADLs, in order to remain more independe nt in the community, The results have implications for nursing adminis trators and nursing educators with regard to developing health promoti on strategies related to independence of elderly people, community hea lth and social policy.