The Physical Functioning Inventory: A procedure for assessing physical function in adults

The Physical Functioning Inventory, an instrument designed to assess change s in how and how often activities are performed in persons reporting diffic ulty with a task as well as in those who do not, is described. The measure is designed for adults. Interrater and test-retest reliability were assesse d with active participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BL SA). Percentage agreement ranged from 63% to 100%. The instrument was also given to 392 inactive BLSA participants as part of a follow-up telephone in terview. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents reported no difficulty in p er-forming a task, yet reported a change in how or how often they performed that task. The results indicate that the instrument is reliable and effect ive in detecting early stages of disability in activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and mobility. The instrument is so mewhat less reliable for moderate and strenuous physical activities.