{"id":2151,"date":"2025-09-27T11:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T09:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.caregiving-tests.de\/?page_id=2151"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:55:11","slug":"aktivitaeten-des-taeglichen-lebens","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.caregiving-tests.de\/en\/aktivitaeten-des-taeglichen-lebens\/","title":{"rendered":"Activities of Daily Living"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dementia is characterized by a decline in performance in two areas: cognitive abilities<\/strong> and practical<\/strong> everyday<\/strong> skills<\/strong>. These impairments affect the quality of life of the affected person and place a significant burden on the healthcare system (Boccaccio et al., 2021; Jefferson et al., 2006).<\/p>\n

Activities of daily living (ADLs)<\/strong> can be divided into basic<\/strong> and instrumental<\/strong> ADLs<\/strong>. Instrumental ADLs include more complex practical everyday skills, such as preparing meals and making phone calls (Lawton & Brody, 1969). However, as dementia progresses, basic everyday practical skills, such as independent eating and personal hygiene (e.g., brushing teeth), also decline (Katz, 1963).<\/p>\n

To assess limitations in ADLs, external assessment methods<\/strong> are most commonly used (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study \u2013 Activities of Daily Living Scale by Galasko et al., 1997). Although external assessment methods are easy to use, they do not reflect the actual limitations in the performances of affected individuals. For example, such a lack of correspondence may occur because family members tend to overestimate the affected individuals\u2019 performances (Davis et al., 2006). This error and other assessment errors can largely be avoided by using a performance test.<\/p>\n

Performance tests are based on the \u201cobjective\u201d performance of the person in question and are therefore independent of assessments by relatives or professional nursing staff. Performance tests can cover basic ADLs, instrumental ADLs, or both. Performance tests that tend to measure basic ADLs include the Erlangen Test of Activities of Daily Living (E-ADL<\/strong><\/a>;<\/span> Graessel et al. 2009), whereas the Erlangen Test of Activities of Daily Living in Persons with Mild Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment (ETAM<\/strong><\/a>; Luttenberger et al., 2016) measures more instrumental ADLs.<\/p>\n

Whereas the E-ADL<\/strong>\u00a0is best suited for moderate and severe dementia<\/strong>, the ETAM<\/strong> is used for mild dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n