Assessing functional ability in persons with dementia: using family caregivers as informants.

More than one in five community-dwelling older individuals is unwilling or unable to provide information on functional abilities. In such situations the standard procedure is to augment self-reports with those of family members or other close informants. However, when these reports differ, it often is difficult to determine whether the older individual is overly optimistic about his or her functional abilities or the family informant is unduly pessimistic. This article explores factors that influence family caregiver assessments of functional abilities in older individuals with some degree of cognitive loss or impairment and presents suggestions for enhancing the accuracy and dependability of functional assessments by family informants.