Time use and importance of instrumental activities of daily living

Abstract

This study investigated time use and the importance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) tasks to an older community‐dwelling population. In addition, the study compared occupational therapists’ and older people’s perception of importance of IADL tasks for maintaining community living. Thirty‐three subjects completed a time diary and an interview‐based questionnaire to ascertain their time use and the importance of IADL tasks. It was found that older people living in the community spent most of their time at home and alone, with nearly half the day being spent on IADL tasks. The subjects indicated that the three most important tasks were use of the telephone, use of transportation (including driving) and reading. Differences were found when the results from an earlier study of occupational therapists were compared with results from the present study of older people. The occupational therapists also considered use of the telephone as most important but then rated medication management and snack preparation as the most necessary activities for continued community living. These results emphasize the differences in the perception of ‘important’ between the two groups studied. The results from this research confirm the importance of IADL to both the occupational therapy profession and older people living at home in the community. Further, these results confirm the need for client‐centred practice and collaborative intervention planning for occupational therapy.

Intelligent transport systems and occupational therapy practice

“…Older individuals living in the community have identified driving as one of their most important instrumental activities of daily living tasks (Fricke and Unsworth, 2001). As people age, their licence to drive -and driving itself -becomes a symbol of their continuing autonomy and mastery over their environment.…”

A new category of “future planning” in the activity card sort: Continuity versus novelty in old age

“…A possible explanation might be that IADL are complex daily activities (such as preparing meals or doing household chores). These activities are vital to daily functioning at all ages [36]; hence healthy older people plan to maintain doing them throughout their ageing [48].…”

O uso do tempo nas atividades cotidianas de crianças de classe popular de 9 a 12 anos

“…In Occupational Therapy, although time is a dimension considered to prepare and manage activities, there are few studies that put it as a central axis of investigation. In some countries in Europe and in countries such as Canada, the USA and Australia, Occupational Therapy already uses time as an important dimension in the comprehension of the nature and quality of people's life 12,[23][24][25][26] . In Brazil, the study group about Time Use and Occupational Therapy, * has tried to achieve this dimension in studies that relate time use with everyday occupations.…”

“…Studies about the time use have been contributing to the knowledge regarding frequency and duration of human activities 11 and are a source for the analysis and knowledge of behaviors of various social groups, since these studies allow data collection about the habits of a population, as well as about the changes that occur in it, in addition to contribute to the orientation of public policies and social planning [12][13][14][15] . Although the first studies about the time use started in the social sciences field, they were incorporated by several areas of knowledge, such as sociology, education, economics and health sciences -areas that, within their own specificities, seek to understand the relationship of human beings with time.…”