Disability in older adults. 3: Policy implications

Several models of disability proposed in recent years share many common elements and are helping to direct research and inform practice. One new development is that disablement, a concept that emphasizes the impairments--handicap continuum, is now being implemented by concepts related to enablement. Enablement focuses attention on the capacity for rehabilitation. Coincidentally, a new generation of functional assessment measures has evolved that allow greater sensitivity not only to levels of disability but also to levels of ability. Together, the new models and tools hold promise of providing a more sensitive evaluation of rehabilitation efforts and a more accurate forecasting of future needs.