The Impacts of Difficulty on Daily Activities, Grip Strength, and Activities of Daily Living on Perceived Health in Community-living Older Adults

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the predictive relationships between predictors [(difficulty on daily activities due to arthritis, falls, and pain, grip strength, and activities of daily living (ADLs)], and perceived health in community-living older adults in Korea. Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was used. Data were obtained from Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing conducted in 2006. A stratified sample was selected of 5,545 older adults who were over 60 years old for analysis of this study. Descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson's correlations, and multiple regressions were used. Result: Mean age was 70.27 years (SD=7.27) ranged from 60 and 105 years old. Perceived health was significantly associated with grip strength, and ADL. With multiple regression, all main variables explained 22.1% for perceived health. Difficulty on daily activities due to pain was the strongest predictor on perceived health. Grip strength, ADLs, gender, and difficulty on daily activities due to arthritis and falls were also significant predictors on perceived health. Conclusion: When developing nursing intervention to improve perceived health in older adults, their difficulties on daily activities, grip strength, and ADLs should be assessed.