The Cardiovascular
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Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living

Functional independence across six basic self-care activities.

Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living
Bathing (self, or needs help with only one body part)
Dressing (gets clothes and dresses without help)
Toileting (goes and cleans self unassisted)
Transferring (in and out of bed/chair unassisted)
Continence (complete bladder and bowel control)
Feeding (self, except help cutting or preparing)
Result6 points

Full function (independent in all six activities). Higher scores indicate greater independence (range 0-6).

Independent activities
6 of 6

When to use

  • Documenting baseline and change in basic self-care ability in older adults.

Formula

One point for independence in each of bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence and feeding. Range 0-6.

Pearls and pitfalls

  • 6 = independent, 4 = moderate impairment, <=2 = severe impairment.
  • Assesses only basic ADLs; use an IADL scale for higher-order tasks.

References

  1. Katz S, et al. JAMA. 1963;185:914-919.