Personal grooming activity means taking care of skin, nails and hair (and beard or mustache, if applicable). This is a part of self-care. Limitations in this ability indicate a reduced ability to cope for oneself. Washing hair does not fall into this category; it falls under the ability to wash oneself. This activity and activities such as those including eating, getting dressed and bathing are also known as activities of daily living (ADL). These are the activities people go through in daily life. The extent to which a person is able to do all these activities by themselves is a measure for their total ability to do things independently.

Purpose

Information on a patient’s ability to perform activities of personal grooming is important in determining the nature and intensity of the care the patient needs. In a transfer situation, it offers the receiving organization the ability to anticipate the intensity of the care to be given to the patient, enabling continuity in healthcare for the patient. If policy has been implemented to improve a patient’s ability to do things independently, the entered extent of independence helps to determine the efficiency of the treatment.

Evidence Base

The definitions of the concepts were (partially) taken from the ICNP (International Classification for Nursing Practice). In addition to this information model, there are more tools for entering the extent of independence, such as the BarthelIndex. The BarthelIndex is mainly used for patients who have had a stroke. This information model evaluates the ability to perform personal grooming activities on a three-point scale.