Experiences of delivering reablement to home-dwelling older persons: an interview study of community-based nursing assistants

Background The proportion of people aged over 65 years continues to grow globally and new initiatives are needed to support older persons’ independence. Reablement is a relatively new approach for older persons with reduced ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). Reablement aims to increase or maintain an individual’s independence in meaningful ADL. In many Western countries nursing assistants are members of interdisciplinary teams delivering reablement in community settings. Nursing assistants’ role in reablement is new and knowledge about their experiences is needed. This study aimed to explore community-based nursing assistants’ experiences of delivering reablement to home-dwelling older persons in a Danish setting.

Methods This is a study of nursing assistants’ experiences of delivering reablement in a Danish municipality based on an inductive approach. Individual interviewing was conducted based on a semi-structured interview guide. Data were analysed using systematic text analysis.

Results Ten interviews lasting 30 to 55 min were conducted from April to December 2022. Four categories emerged from the interviews: (1) The importance of small changes in functional ability, (2) Motivational skills and identification of reablement potential, (3) Systematic recording of activities in the medical record, and (4) Interdisciplinary meetings.

Conclusions Nursing assistants’ participation in interdisciplinary meetings and systematic recording of activities in the medical record support cooperation and alignment of strategies in the nursing assistants’ delivery of reablement activities to home-dwelling older persons. The nursing assistants’ motivational skills and attention to small changes in functional ability seams to lead to perceived improvements in home-dwelling older persons’ independence. The older persons’ expectations of home care influence the nursing assistant’s possibilities for succeeding with reablement.

Trial registration The study is not registered in a trial registry. The North Denmark Ethics Committee has stated that their approval was not needed (registration number: 2021 − 000438).