Through over 50 years of history, the Institute has developed a number of geriatric assessment tools, including several widely used instruments developed by Dr. M. Powell Lawton (1923-2001). This page is designed to facilitate the dissemination of these instruments and scales.

Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory (PELI)©

This tool is used to identify personal preferences for everyday living of nursing home residents and home care recipients. The PELI assesses a wide range of preference domains: Self Dominion, Caregivers and Care, Social Contact, and Positive Pursuits.

PELI-NH Full© - this version of the PELI includes preference importance ratings and detailed follow-up questions that further explore the specifics of resident preferences
PELI-NH Mid-Level© - this version of the PELI includes only the importance ratings for a briefer interview
PELI-AD© - this version of the PELI was designed for use in the adult day care setting
PELI-HC© - this version of the PELI was designed for use in the home care setting

Caregiving Appraisal Scale

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living​

Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing

VIDEO: The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale

Lawton's PGC Morale Scale

​Lawton's PGC Multi-Level Assessment Instrument (MAI)
-- includes full-length, mid-length, and short-length versions.

Observed Emotion Rating Scale
-- (cited in the literature as the Apparent Affect Rating Scale)

NOTE: Permission is granted to use or reproduce these scales provided that proper attribution is given. See individual documents for suggested citation format. Authors who wish to reproduce part of an article where a scale first appeared should request permission from journal publishers before doing so.

If you produce books, articles or book chapters containing translations or research using the above materials, please forward copies, reprints, or citations of same to Kimberly Van Haitsma, Polisher Research Institute, Abramson Center for Jewish Life, 1425 Horsham Road, North Wales, PA 19454-1320.

For questions about scales, please contact Kimberly Van Haitsma.

Please e-mail any problems obtaining documents on this page to ResearchStudy@abramsoncenter.org​