Assessment of Basic, Instrumental, and Advanced Activities of Daily Living among Older Adults at the San Pablo de Manta Foundation for the Elderly (FUNTEMAN).

Introduction: Functional autonomy is crucial for the quality of life of older adults. Things like age, health, and the environment can make everyday life a bit harder. That’s why it’s important to check how well people can manage their daily activities. What we wanted to do: Look at how the older adults living at the San Pablo de Manta Foundation (FUNTEMAN) get on with basic, instrumental, and more advanced daily tasks. How we did it: We ran a simple study with 20 residents, chosen without random selection. To measure their abilities, we used three common tools: the Barthel Index for basic tasks, the Lawton and Brody Scale for instrumental ones, and the Mongil Scale for more advanced activities. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: It was identified that 55% of the residents had moderate dependence on BADL. In IADL, a greater limitation was observed, with 40% exhibiting severe dependence. In contrast, in AADL, 45% showed low dependence, indicating a relative preservation of these complex activities. Comparative analysis revealed that severe dependence was most prevalent in IADL, followed by BADL, and finally AADL. Conclusion: The results confirm that functional deterioration in the studied population follows the established hierarchy, with instrumental activities being the most affected. This highlights the need to prioritize interventions aimed at maintaining IADL to promote independent aging and delay the progression to dependence in basic activities.