Functional assessment of the elderly

Functional levels, Orem's levels of self-care abilities, and need for services of 20 low income elders living in a senior housing project were assessed. The majority of the subjects were at Orem's supportive educative level in the areas of social resources and mental health, and partly compensatory in the areas of economic resources, physical health, and activities of daily living. As expected in a community setting, very few were in the wholly compensatory level. Service needs fell primarily in the partly compensatory level. The results suggest that there is a continuum of needs in this population, and that functional assessment of older adults is an important component of nursing practice in a primary care setting.