Activities of Daily Living - Instrumental ADLs

Instrumental ADLs

Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are not necessary for fundamental functioning, but they let an individual live independently in a community:

  • Housework
  • Taking medications as prescribed
  • Managing money
  • Shopping for groceries or clothing
  • Use of telephone or other form of communication
  • Using technology (as applicable)
  • Transportation within the community

A useful mnemonic is SHAFT: shopping, housekeeping, accounting, food preparation/meds, telephone/transportation.

Occupational therapists often evaluate IADLs when completing patient assessments. Assessments may include 9 types of IADLs that are generally optional in nature and can be delegated to others:

  • Care of others (including selecting and supervising caregivers)
  • Care of pets
  • Child rearing
  • Use of communication devices
  • Community mobility
  • Financial management
  • Health management and maintenance
  • Meal preparation and cleanup
  • Safety procedures and emergency responses

Read more about this topic:  Activities Of Daily Living

Famous quotes containing the word instrumental:

    “All history attests that man has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to promote his selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual pleasures, to be instrumental in promoting his comfort; but never has he desired to elevate her to that rank she was created to fill. He has done all he could to debase and enslave her mind; and now he looks triumphantly on the ruin he has wrought, and say, the being he has thus deeply injured is his inferior.”
    —Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)