FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE OF INNER-CITY AFRICAN-AMERICAN OLDER PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA

The functional performance of 60 minority inner city older persons wit h dementia was studied as part of a comprehensive multidisciplinary pr ogram designed to evaluate the health, function, cognitive, and social status of African-American older persons with memory problems. All su bjects were evaluated in their own homes using a combination of perfor mance and caregiver report measures such as the Blessed Dementia Scale and Zarit's Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist. Despite multiple m edical and social problems related to low socioeconomic status, most s ubjects performed basic self-care activities, although the quality of performance was affected. Complex tasks such as cooking, laundry, medi cation management, and transportation were more severely impaired. The functional performance of study participants living alone was compare d with those living with others. Clients living alone demonstrated sig nificantly higher levels of function, despite similar levels of cognit ive impairment. The role of the environment in supporting the function of these clients was discussed from the perspective of Person-Environ ment fit models.