A Prevalence Study of the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Dependency among the Elderly in Four Districts in Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction: Similar to many other developing countries worldwide, Malaysia is currently experiencing a demographic transition towards an ageing population. This situation leads to an increasing number of disabled individuals in the population. The present study investigated the epidemiology of activities of daily living (ADL) dependency among the elderly in one of the highest urbanized state in Malaysia i.e. the state of Selangor.

Assessment of Dependency in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and its Predictors: A Cross-Sectional Study among the Elderly Rural Population in a Sub-Himalayan UT of India

“…In our study, we observed that the level of dependence rate was 43.3% with severe dependency at 2.5% which is consistent with the findings of Puteh et al . [ 1 ] in Malaysia where the prevalence of severe and total dependency was at 1.1% each. According to a study carried out in two randomly selected urban wards of Dibrugarh city, Assam, 34.7% of participants had limitations in one or more ADL items.…”

“…This being a natural process of dynamic biological changes, is influenced by variables other than chronological aging such as social construction, which defines its reality and meaning. [ 1 ] It is a known fact that elderly people in India are growing rapidly as life expectancy is increasing. According to the 2011 census, elderly population constitute about 8.6% of the total Indian population which is likely to grow further to about 20% by 2050.…”

The effectiveness of the buddy program training module to enhance the daily living function, social participation and emotional status of older adults in residential aged care homes

“…However, this leads to reliance on the healthier older adults to carry out activities. Studies conducted in Malaysia on the prevalence of daily activities among seniors in four districts in Selangor indicated that good social support from good partners is associated with a high risk of dependency [ 7 ].…”

“…In Malaysia, Act 685, which is the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008, defines a person with a disability as an individual who has a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment that interacts with various limitations that may affect participation in the community [ 6 ]. People with disabilities often require support and may have a greater need for assistance with household tasks, as well as increased levels of care if they reside in residential aged care homes or hospitals [ 7 ].…”

“…Prevalence studies showed that approximately one-third of older adults (34.6%) exhibit dependence in basic activities of daily living (BADL), while over half of the older adult population (53.5%) are classified as having limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) [ 14 ]. The prevalence rate for older adults’ dependency in BADL showed that as many as 24.2% of the older adults reported that they needed help with at least one of the 10 items in the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) score [ 7 ]. These findings indicated that older adults require assistance with their daily routines, particularly with BADL and IADL.…”