Determination of post-pandemic impact on activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living factors affecting daily living activities of the elderly

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to "determine post-pandemic impact on activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living factors affecting daily living activities of the elderly." No difference was identified between the post-pandemic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living levels of the elderly in the two countries. METHODS: The descriptive study was conducted in Ghana and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus between February 16 and July 1, 2022. A total of 390 elderly volunteers aged 65 and over living at home participated in this study. The participants were administered the sociodemographic data form, Katz Activities of Daily Living Scale, and Lawton and Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Form. The Slovin formula was used in selecting the study's sample. Slovin's formula is used to calculate the sample size necessary to achieve a certain confidence interval when sampling a population. RESULTS: According to the activities of daily livings and instrumental activities of daily livings, they can continue their lives without being dependent on others, and the scale scores of women compared to men are statistically significant, and it can be said that women are less dependent than men. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the pandemic had a negative impact on activities of daily livings and instrumental activities of daily livings. Participants' physical activity since the pandemic had a negative impact on activities of daily livings and instrumental activities of daily livings. It may be recommended to develop appropriate policies so that elderly individuals can live without being dependent on others. In addition, it is recommended that a variety of scales measuring activities of daily living be adopted and adapted, which, when adapted, will provide more reliable results. Since this study was conducted as a cross-sectional study in only one region in two countries, it cannot be generalized to both countries.