The Gerontologist, Vol 38, Issue 1 113-121, Copyright © 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America
The Direct Assessment of Functional Abilities (DAFA): a comparison to an indirect measure of instrumental activities of daily living
H Karagiozis, S Gray, J Sacco, M Shapiro and C Kawas
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Asthma and Allergy Center, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. pdavid@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu
The Direct Assessment of Functional Abilities (DAFA) was designed as a
direct measure of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) that
could be compared with an indirect assessment of IADLs by the Pfeffer
Functional Activities Questionnaire (PFAQ). The DAFA (28 demented and 15
control subjects) and PFAQ (subjects and informants) were administered
twice, together with a brief cognitive battery. Demented subjects performed
significantly worse on direct assessment (DAFA) than predicted by
self-report (PFAQ), and overestimation of abilities increased with severity
of dementia. In contrast, informants tended to underestimate abilities of
demented subjects, but not to a significant degree. Control (nondemented)
subjects had comparable results with the two methods. The DAFA may provide
a more objective measure of functional status in demented subjects than do
indirect methods of assessment.
