Cross-cultural ranking of IADL skills

Although causal theories of aging differ considerably across disciplines, the common denominator in published papers on the health and function of the aged is to be found in the methods section. The instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), used to determine the independence of the aged living in the community, are utilized both at a clinical and population level. While there has been a cross-disciplinary need for a scale to measure sub-populations, many scholars have been reticent to use the existing IADL items across geographical backgrounds. The results of this study, which surveys 236 physicians from 11 different cultures on the importance of individual IADL items, suggests the IADL may be useful as a universal measure of function.