Home care is a general term representing a wide range of community-based services, from supporting someone who is recuperating from an acute situation, such as a hip fracture, to a chronic condition, such as Alzheimer’s disease Cerebral Palsy.

Non-medical home care often revolves around activities of daily living (ADLs) and the instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). ADLs are basic activities and functions performed on a daily basis. Common ADLs include feeding, bathing, toileting, dressing, grooming, homemaking, walking, and transferring. For each ADL, people can vary from needing just a little help to full dependency, which requires others to do the task.

On the other hand, IADLs are activities instrumental to our daily routines requiring complex thinking skills such as managing communication, managing medications, home maintenance, shopping and meal preparation, managing transportation, and managing finances.