A significant indicator of an old person's statě of health is the level of his/her functional statě which direct-ly influences the extent of his/her self-sufficiency and independency. The evaluation of ADL and IADL is one of the most frequent functional assessments of seniors. In 2003, there has been conducted an investi-gation in 226 seniors over 65 years old - clients of home care agencies. One of the objectives of the rese-arch was the evaluation of their functional statě which was implemented through an instrument for assess¬ment MDS-HC. Seniors found the performing of physically demanding everyday activities and activities doně outside their home as the most difficult. The differences in the influence of age and sex on the level of the functional statě were not proved. There háve been found statistically significant links between seniors' decreased level of self-sufficiency (ADL, IADL) and their psychic statě, the way of habitation, sociál iso-lation, the risk of falls, and the taking advantage of lay and professional care.

        Key words: elderly - home care - functional assessment - ADL - IADL - MDS-HC.