Gender differences in the performance of activities of daily living

Abstract

Merritt BK, Fisher AG. Gender differences in the performance of activities of daily living. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2003;84:1872–7. Objectives To verify that the activities of daily living (ADL) motor and process skill items and tasks in the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) are free from gender bias, and to compare mean differences in ADL motor and process ability between men and women. Design Descriptive comparison; convenience sample. Setting Existing data from the AMPS database. Participants Potential participants included nonwell persons (age range, 18–99y) matched within 3 age groups, first by functional level and then by diagnostic category. The resulting sample included 9250 men and 9250 women. Interventions Not applicable. Main outcome measure The AMPS, a standardized observational assessment of the quality of ADL task performance. Results None of the AMPS task calibrations and 1 motor skill item calibration (Lifts) demonstrated an observable difference between men and women. Men had higher ADL motor ability (F 1,18494=11.58, P<.01) and women had higher ADL process ability (F 1,18494=76.18, P<.01). Conclusion The results suggest that the AMPS is free of gender bias. Although differences were found between men and women in mean ADL motor and process ability, they were not considered clinically detectable differences.