In short there is now real definition if functional disability as it is not a real medical term in the sense of international consensus 

I would suggest to use disability according to icf and refer to the capacity qualifiers at the level of activity limitations.

These are clearly defined and have international consensus

There is no real agreed upon definition of functional disability but a textbook by Graham Scambler (Sociology as Applied to Medicine) will give you formal definitions of impairment vs. disability vs. handicap. There is also an international classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/41003/1/9241541261_eng.pdf

Yes, I would go with Mark Chaper. ICF - International Classification of Functioning.

http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/

are you considering disability relative to other people or disability relative to oneself, the latter is also important and easier to examine because the individual is her/his own control. I believe that many interviews in geriatrics look at relative changes in ADLs (intrapersonal) as well as interpersonal.

Thanks Mark Scheper, Nisha, Jana, Gina for useful information but still there is no clearcut definition I was able to get from theses sources. Mr Peter, i want to assess functional disability related to older people which will give information, to some extent, on ADL also.

Maybe you should look for tools that assess function/ADLs. A good resource to search for tools is

http://www.rehabmeasures.org/default.aspx

Check out this link: http://www.terapiacognitiva.eu/cpc/dwl/dsm5/whodas.pdf

Good luck. Paul

Hi S.K. I am a gerontologist and aging expert, Jan Vinita White, PhD.  I concur with Suzanne R. O'Brien.  A positive approach is suggested and there are a number of reliable instruments.  Measure functional ABILITY instead of disability.  I think that is why you are having trouble finding an instrument because we do not measure "disability," we measure functinal abililty.  As a suggestion, the nomenclature ELDERLY has been replaced with the less pejorative OLDER ADULT, per APA6 manual, page 72.  Good luck!  

I agree that functional ability is an essential part of the issue, and a very positive one at that! At the same time, I think that due account must be taken of disability in itself, because it a real though rarely, if ever, an autonomous phenonomen. This is not about blaming or over-diagnosing the victim, so to speak, but rather taking an holistic account of disability. That includes, crucial this, structural disabilities in society that make it hard for people with disabilities to maximize their real potential. It also strikes me that there is an overuse of dichotomous language in the medical field. In that context, somatic/psychiatric distinctions can become unhelpful oxymorons if due attention is not focused on the bigger picture. After all, psychiatric phenomena, while undoubtedly affected by environmental variables - both beneficial and unhelpful - still have (some) physiological underpinnings. I would not go so far as to suggest that mind is pure physiology and brain pure anatomy, but I have concerns about psychology/psychiatry being solely categorized  under mental processes. 

Best wishes, Paul

Dear Suzane, Paul n Jan Vinita, thank you so much for valuable suggestion. Special thanks for Jan Vinita for good suggestions for using words Functional Ability and Older Adult. Thank you so much

Regards

Hi all,

I neglected to mention something that my research group just did.

We  finished a study of 240 older adults of whom 123 were spouse caregivers of persons with AD and 117 spouse non-caregivers of persons who did not have AD and who were not caregiving more than an hour per day for their spouse.

Caregivers and non-caregivers provided reports of the functioning of their spouses.

However, we also did more objective measures of the actual functioning of the caregivers and non-caregivers using three measures:

the sit-to-stand test (very well known and quite objective measure),

the speed of walking test,

and respiration test (blowing into a tube) (lung function).

These all have supporting data for validity and reliability that is interindividual, but more exciting is intraindividual data.........how do caregivers change over two years (after three repeated measures) vs. non-caregivers. This combines objective measures that can be examined inter and intra individually, with non-caregivers serving as a type of control.

Take care,

peter

Hi all,

I neglected to mention something that my research group just did.

We  finished a study of 240 older adults of whom 123 were spouse caregivers of persons with AD and 117 spouse non-caregivers of persons who did not have AD and who were not caregiving more than an hour per day for their spouse.

Caregivers and non-caregivers provided reports of the functioning of their spouses.

However, we also did more objective measures of the actual functioning of the caregivers and non-caregivers using three measures:

the sit-to-stand test (very well known and quite objective measure),

the speed of walking test,

and respiration test (blowing into a tube) (lung function).

These all have supporting data for validity and reliability that is interindividual, but more exciting is intraindividual data.........how do caregivers change over two years (after three repeated measures) vs. non-caregivers. This combines objective measures that can be examined inter and intra individually, with non-caregivers serving as a type of control.

Take care,

peter

also you can consider the The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) which is a commonly used scale for measuring the degree of disability or dependence in the daily activities of people who have suffered a stroke or other causes of neurological disability. It has become the most widely used clinical outcome measure for stroke clinical trials.

The scale runs from 0-6, running from perfect health without symptoms to death.

0 - No symptoms.

1 - No significant disability. Able to carry out all usual activities, despite some symptoms.

2 - Slight disability. Able to look after own affairs without assistance, but unable to carry out all previous activities.

3 - Moderate disability. Requires some help, but able to walk unassisted.

4 - Moderately severe disability. Unable to attend to own bodily needs without assistance, and unable to walk unassisted.

5 - Severe disability. Requires constant nursing care and attention, bedridden, incontinent.

6 - Dead.

Thanks Mohamed

You are most welcome. Any time

As the WHO says, disability is a generic term than encompass deficiency, in corporal functions, and the limitations carried by this conditions or due to environmental and personal factors. Nowadays the ICF is the document recommended to measure disability; there are also ICF core sets por specific conditions and populations. I think the core set for elderly is already available.

Thanks Amaya for your suggestion

Interesting paper just out

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-twenty-second-frailty-hospitalized-older-adults.html

Gregory Zurbay, thank you for posting that recent blurb.  I am accessing the original article in Gerontology and will post it here later . 

Please let me know if this reference/site is helpful to you:

Towards a Common Language for Functioning, Disability and Health ICF

www.who.int/classifications/icf/training/icfbeginnersguide.pdfCached

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, known ... describe changes in body function and structure, what a person with a health condition can do in

a ..... Download the ICF Introduction in PDF format for printing.

Dennis

Dennis Mazur