Functional Assessment in the Older Adult

There is an ever-growing need to educate families, patients and staff on functional decline in the older adult.  With the aging population rising, this has substantially increase the numbers and proportion of older adults.  We all will experience functional decline as it is an expected outcome of aging.  Older adults many consider the capacity to carry out activities of daily living (ADL) such as functional independence, to be of great concern than prevention of disease (Patterson & Warburton, 2010).  With this is mind, education and nursing interventions should focus on improving functional independence and promotion ways to prevent or lessen decline in the older adult.  Including functional assessmenst as part of nurse care can help reduce the risks associated with functional decline.