Reablement

This pre-conference workshop brings together practitioners, policymakers, and researchers with a shared commitment to advancing reablement in long-term care. Reablement is a holistic, goal-oriented approach that supports older adults in maintaining or regaining their independence and participating in meaningful daily and social activities—ultimately enhancing their quality of life. This 4-hour interactive workshop offers participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the core principles and evidence base of reablement. In the first part of the workshop international case studies from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Australia will illustrate how reablement is being developed and implemented across diverse contexts. A dedicated part of the session will focus on reablement in dementia care, drawing on emerging insights from the international ReAbleDEM project. In the second part of the meeting, participants will explore current research and implementation gaps through interactive group work and collaborate to generate ideas for future research initiatives. The workshop concludes with a hands-on “72-hour challenge,” prompting each participant to identify one concrete step they will take to advance reablement research in their own context.

Objectives

• After the pre-conference workshop, participants will have a deeper understanding of the principles and evidence base of reablement.
• After the pre-conference workshop, participants will be able to identify key research and implementation gaps in reablement, have generated ideas for reablement research.
• After the pre-conference workshop, participants will have formulated one concrete, context-specific action to advance reablement research within their own setting.