Assessment of older people 3 : assessing the functional domain

Many older people experience a gradual loss of ability to perform activities of daily living, which reveals a decline in function. The functional domain is, therefore, one of the five key domains that need to be explored when assessing the health of older people (the other four being physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains). This third article in a six-part series explains why function is such an important aspect of health, describes tools used to assess it and explores interventions used to maintain or improve it. Ongoing, multidisciplinary and holistic assessment of function allows health professionals to draw up care plans tailored to the individual person's needs