Skip to content


Functional Assessment


Barbara Cochrane, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA

School of Nursing, Department of Family & Child Nursing

University of Washington

School of Nursing
University of Washington



Learning Objectives

By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:

  • Explain the differences among activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and physical performance.
  • Identify at least one way that ADLs, IADLs, and physical performance can be assessed and whether the assessments are subjective or objective.
  • Describe risk factors for and potential outcomes of functional decline in older adults.

[From the Winter 2020 Geriatric Healthcare Lecture Series]