Mapping of Reablement Research - A Scoping Review of Reviews

Over the past two decades, "reablement" has been implemented in several countries to address older adults` ability to participate in daily activities and their preference towards ageing at home. As a result, research activity has increased, leading to a growing number of reviews exploring various aspects of reablement. However, no review to date has mapped or summarized the key findings and intervention descriptions across these reviews.

The objectives were to identify the main results in reviews on reablement and to map how reablement interventions are described in reviews.

As this is a scoping review of reviews, a scoping review approach according to JBI manual for Evidence Synthesis was conducted. Data searches were performed in nine databases and one search engine by a research librarian. Two reviewers independently screened the reviews for eligibility and extracted data using a standardized extraction form. A descriptive data analysis was performed.

Twenty-five reviews were included. While the included systematic reviews reported mixed results on effectiveness, evidence trends suggest that reablement can improve ADL, IADL, and quality of life, and reduce service costs and health service use. Reablement interventions were characterized by emphasizing self-maintenance, activity, and a person-centered, holistic approach.

This review contributes with an overview of the growing evidence base of reablement. While findings regarding effectiveness are promising, inconsistencies persist - partly due to the interchangeable use of "reablement" with other interventions, affecting internal validity of the findings. Variation in intervention components reflects differing conceptualizations across countries. While this suggests a need for standardization, it also allows for flexible adaptation to diverse policy and cultural contexts. Due to the lack of a clear conceptualization of reablement, we recommend that future research describe the concept and specify its components to enable better comparison of approaches and distinguish it from related interventions.