Centre for Policy on Ageing



Unmet need for personal assistance with activities of daily living among older adults
Author(s)	Mayur M Desai, Harold R Lentzner, Julie Dawson Weeks
Journal title	The Gerontologist, vol 41, no 1, February 2001
Pages	pp 82-88
Keywords	Physical disabilities ; Self care capacity ; Needs [elderly] ; Domestic assistance ; Social surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	Cross-sectional data from the 1994 US National Health Interview Survey's Supplement on Aging was analysed, to examine the prevalence, correlates and negative consequences of unmet need for personal assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) among older people. Overall, 20.7% of those needing help to perform one or more ADLs (an estimated 629,000 people) reported receiving inadequate assistance. For individual ADLs, the prevalence of unmet need ranged from 10.2% (eating) to 20.1% (transferring). The likelihood of having one or more unmet needs was associated with lower household income, multiple ADL difficulties, and living alone. Nearly half of those with unmet needs reported experiencing a negative consequence (e.g. unable to eat when hungry) as a result of their unmet need. The study demonstrates that greater, targeted efforts are needed to reduce the prevalence and consequences of older people's unmet need for ADL assistance. (KJ/RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010622206 A
Classmark	BN: CA: IK: NG6: 3F: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.