EASY AS PIE? OLDER ADULT´ S CHOICE AND PERFORMANCE OF ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING

Background: The number of old people in the community is constantly rising, and more and more older adults live alone. There are indications that the sufficient performance of activities of daily living (ADL) can be a problem... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The number of old people in the community is constantly rising, and more and more older adults live alone. There are indications that the sufficient performance of activities of daily living (ADL) can be a problem for many individuals in this age group.
Insufficient ADL performance can lead to a greater need of help from relatives or the community, lack of social contacts and physical problems such as malnutrition.
Research shows that ADL performance in older age may not be equally shared between men and women and little is known about gender aspects in ADL performance and it´s possible implications for occupational therapy (OT) interventions.

Method:
Data from a large cross-regional survey was used. Questionnaires were sent out and included aspects related to living conditions, choice of daily activities and use of aids. The final sample consisted of 1978 women and 1800 men aged 65-80 years. Data was analysed using non-parametric statistics.

Results:
The analysis shows that ADL performance decreases with older age, but the rate of decrease varies for different activities. Differences related to gender and marital status can be found, with women performing more ADLs than men.

Conclusion:
It is necessary to further investigate gender aspects in the domain of ADL. This knowledge could not only inform OT intervention, but also benefit preventive programs and OT education.

Application to Practice:
As a profession we need to reflect on connections between various activity problems among older men and women and patterns of gendered norms and power in society.