title: Assessment of function: critically important to acute care of elders. The NICHE Faculty.
abstract: Assessment of functional status in hospitalized elders provides essential information that can assist maintenance or restoration of self-care. Nurses in acute care settings are in a pivotal position to assess function and target interventions to prevent loss of function and maintain an individual's self-care ability. This article discusses critical issues in the functional assessment of hospitalized elders and provides a clinical practice protocol that includes nursing care strategies to prevent functional decline during hospitalization and assist with discharge planning.
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kresevic
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mezey
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000208:Acute Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D000368:Aged; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010351:Patient Discharge; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic