The reablement approach is becoming a popular social and health-care model in many Western countries, providing support strategies for older people experiencing impairment. Reablement programmes have been criticised for a lack of theories, explicating the understanding of the problem that it is intended to address, i.e. ageing and impairment in old age. We need to discuss the inherent theories in intervention programmes to question taken-for-granted assumptions about not only what works, but also how these assumptions affect the sociocultural models of ageing. Theories on successful ageing have been suggested as underpinning reablement. This article aims to present and discuss theories of successful ageing compared to key principles, components and outcomes in reablement. A medical and epidemiological, a psychological and a sociocultural theoretical approach to successful ageing are included. Contemporary reablement programmes mirror medical and psychological theories of successful ageing, including models of ageing that are associated with continuity, optimisation, selection, individuality and goal orientation. Most reablement programmes do not address sociocultural perspectives on ageing. As older people experience impairment in a pertinent liminality within and between the sociocultural values of the third and fourth age, it is important for reablement programmes and practice to consider the theoretical assumptions and underpinning theories of ageing and how to help older people balance between optimising capacity and accepting losses in their everyday life.

This paper explores how dignity is articulated and pursued by care workers in two currently prominent policy initiatives seeking to reform Danish care services for older people. Based on ethnographic case studies of ‘reablement’ practices and the use of ‘welfare technologies’, the paper shows how these attempts to create dignified care services transform interactions between care recipients and care workers. The analysis is inspired by a socio-material perspective on dignity as ‘crafted’ and ‘co-laboured’ in daily practices, in an interplay between multiple human and non-human actors. In the cases studied, dignity is articulated as closely related to older people's increasing autonomy and independence of formal care, and is pursued through enhancing care recipients’ self-care ability, and through technological automation of care tasks. However, these articulations and pursuits of dignity do not stand alone. When everyday care practices are closely examined, dignity is also pursued by care workers as increased co-operation and equality between care workers and care recipients, as de-objectification, and as promotion of enjoyment and quality of life. In these practices, care is ambivalently positioned as both a potential threat to dignity, and as a prerequisite to achieving it. The paper concludes by discussing the risks of policy agendas pursuing a narrow understanding of dignity as simply independence of care.

With an ageing society, the demand for health and social care is increasing. Traditionally, staff provide care for their clients rather than with them. In contrast, reablement aims to support people to maximise their competences to manage their everyday life as independently as possible. There is considerable variation between and within countries regarding the conceptual understanding of the approach. This variation affects the ability to evaluate reablement approaches systematically, compare and aggregate findings from different studies, and hinders the development of a robust evidence. Therefore, a Delphi study was conducted in 2018/9 with the aim of reaching agreement on the characteristics, components, aims and target groups of reablement, leading towards an internationally accepted definition of reablement. The study consisted of four Web-based survey rounds. In total, 82 reablement experts from 11 countries participated, reaching agreement on five characteristics (e.g. person-centred), seven components (e.g. goal-oriented treatment plan) and five aims (e.g. increase clients’ independency). Furthermore, most experts agreed that reablement is an inclusive approach irrespective of the person's age, capacity, diagnosis or setting. Based on these features, a definition of reablement was developed, which was accepted by 79 per cent of participating experts. This study is a significant step towards providing conceptual clarity about reablement. Future research should focus on evaluating the implementation of agreed reablement components to inform practice, education and policy.

User involvement is increasingly common in health-care research, and the ideal is user participation and influence during all research stages. Here we describe and reflect on the processes and outcomes associated with advisory group–researcher collaboration from a person-centred perspective. When planning a study in which older adults’ experiences of reablement were investigated, older adults with previous first-hand experience of reablement participated in an advisory group. We found that the fostering of healthful relationships, in which experiential and research knowledge are considered complimentary and equitable, and all members have the power to exercise their unique roles, seems to be a prerequisite for the co-creation of knowledge. Also, practical arrangements and social relationships constitute important details that are crucial to ensuring contribution from older adults with health-related conditions. While such individuals may be unable to participate during all stages of a research project, their involvement on an advisory level during the initial stages can increase study quality and relevance. Input from the advisory group members contributed to the improvement of the language in the study information sheet, improvement of the study design, development and validation of the interview guide, and insight into how the interviews should be conducted. The personal knowledge and expertise of the advisory group members, which emanated from their immediate sensitivity, contributed to the person-centredness in the study.

The social needs of frail or isolated older people are sometimes aided by referrals to day centres in the United Kingdom. Since the late 1940s, day centres have had a role to play promoting socialisation in later life. Additionally, attendance at day centres is often open ended, with participants only leaving due to moving to a nursing home or dying. In this study, the views of those attending time-limited day centre programmes in seven day centres in Northern Ireland have been sought in relation to their thoughts about the service as well as how they feel when it ends. Seventeen participants completed diaries for the programme duration and/or engaged in an interview process. Participants reflected on the social and educational benefits of attending but also recognised impositions in the centres that impinged upon individual choices and also the length of time they could remain. This study reveals that, in order to maintain socialisation, time-limited programmes must have clear follow-on strategies for participants. Additionally, respondents’ experiences reflect that a paternalistic model of care delivery remains in place that, whilst restrictive, reveals that access to the service is more specialised and not universal. Nevertheless, should day centres wish to remain relevant, it is important that service users are fully consulted about their desires and choices within the setting.

In this paper we tell of our critical review of reablement – an emerging global practice model in community- and home-based care for older people. Whereas the reablement approach is gaining global acceptance, there are questions and concerns among researchers and policy makers about what reablement means and how it is used in practice. We examined the literature on reablement between 2005 and 2017 using clearly defined inclusion criteria. We focused on identifying within authors’ accounts its essential features and how it is practised. In our examination of conceptualisation, we found nine essential features of reablement, the most predominant being the wish to improve the functionality of clients so they can continue to live in their own homes. Of course, we found variability in policy and geographic contexts, but we were not perturbed by this. Rather, we found the under-representation of social connectivity for clients to be regrettable. We constructed a typology of four theoretical types of reablement to help us reflect on the current state of research and practice, and we tentatively offer this for the consideration of the research, practice and policy communities.

In the face of population ageing, Western health-care systems are currently demonstrating an immense interest in mobilising older people's potentials. With this agenda in mind, several countries have introduced reablement: a type of home care aimed at mobilising older people's potentials for independence by means of short-term training programmes. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Denmark's home care sector, this paper explores how elder-care professionals translate the abstract notion of ‘potentiality’ into practice. Theoretically, the paper draws on Annemarie Mol's term ‘logic of care’. I demonstrate that professionals draw on two co-existing logics of care: a logic of reablement encapsulating ideals of successful ageing and life-long development; and a logic of retirement, which in contrast allows people at the end of life to retreat and engage in enjoyable activities. Professionals manage to balance these logics in order to live up to policy obligations while at the same time complying with moral standards of good care. However, very little is achieved in terms of increased independence. I argue that by narrowly focusing on bodily and quantifiable potentials, the ‘potentiality paradigm’ holds the risk of deeming older people to lack potential. In conclusion, I therefore encourage a more inclusive approach to elder-care and ageing that recognises the complexities of ageing, including older people's potentials for retreat and leisure.

Psychological, neurological, and social impairments caused by dementia may limit the person's everyday living and experiences, but their capacity to enjoy a meaningful life is still retained. Increasingly, evidence has been shown the importance of reablement approaches to care in maximizing the older person's independence, health, and well-being through increased engagement in their daily, physical, social, and community activities. However, there is a major knowledge gap in providing reablement for people living with dementia. We describe one case of a client with moderate dementia and her daughter carer who participated as a dyad in a person centered, interdisciplinary, and reablement program called I-HARP (Interdisciplinary home-based reablement program). I-HARP is designed to improve functional capacity of those community dwelling, older people living with dementia, and other health conditions. In this paper, we discussed key contributions that such a reablement approach to care can make to optimizing the social health of people living with dementia.