Reablement in a community setting

Abstract

Purpose: When older adults experience a decrease in functional independence including decreased ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) tasks, rehabilitation services are required. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate if a home-based reablement program influenced the ADL ability of older adults. Methods: Ninety-one older adults (80 ± 9 years) were allocated to a 12-weeks home-based reablement program consisting of ADL task performance training by a home carer supervised by an occupational therapist. ADL ability was measured at baseline, at 12 weeks and at follow-up (range: 310–592 d) using the ADL-Interview (ADL-I). Results: Overall, ADL ability improved significantly over time (p = 0.041). Post-hoc t-tests indicated that the improvements occurred between baseline and end of intervention (p = 0.042) and were maintained at follow-up 10 months after intervention (p = 0.674). There were no effects related to age (p = 0.787) or to whether the older adult had received help previously (p = 0.120). Conclusion: A 12-weeks home-based reablement program was found to improve ADL ability among older adults regardless of whether they previously received help. This implies that receiving home care services should not be considered a barrier to participation in a reablement program.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Older adults, motivated for obtaining independence within performance of ADL tasks, will potentially benefit from participation in the reablement program.

• Older adults, already receiving home care services, will also have the potential to benefit from participation in the reablement program.

• Activities of daily living
• home rehabilitation
• older adults
• reablement program

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank participants, officials and staff in the municipalities of Health and Care of Copenhagen. Special thanks to the Department of Rehabilitation in the Health and Care Administration in Copenhagen for making this research possible. Finally, thanks to the TRYG foundation for financial support.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no declaration of interest, as there were not any financial or personal relationships that could influence the results of this study. The corresponding author was employed in the Health and Care Administration, the coauthors in departments of the University of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen University Hospital.