Glossary
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Also called: ADLs
Activities of daily living are the basic self-care tasks, usually listed as bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (getting in and out of a bed or chair), continence and eating.
How many ADLs a person needs help with, and how much help, is how communities set the level of care and how insurers decide when benefits begin.
Related terms
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
Instrumental activities of daily living are the tasks of running a life rather than caring for a body: managing medications and money, cooking, shopping, housekeeping, transportation and using the phone.
Level of care
Level of care is a community’s rating of how much personal assistance a resident needs, used to set the monthly care fee on top of base rent.
Care assessment
A care assessment is the evaluation a community performs before move-in, and periodically afterward, to determine what help a resident needs and whether the community can safely provide it.
Definitions reviewed September 5, 2026. Rules vary by state and change over time; confirm specifics with the community and the licensing agency.