Determining readiness for a reablement approach to care in Australia: Development of a pre-employment questionnaire

Sarah J Prior; Anne Heath; Nicole S Reeves; Steven J Campbell; Hazel Maxwell; Marguerite Bramble; Annette Marlow; Douglass Doherty

doi:10.1111/hsc.13150

Determining readiness for a reablement approach to care in Australia: Development of a pre-employment questionnaire

Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Feb;30(2):498-508. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13150. Epub 2020 Sep 2.

Authors

Sarah J Prior¹, Anne Heath², Nicole S Reeves¹, Steven J Campbell³, Hazel Maxwell⁴, Marguerite Bramble⁵, Annette Marlow³, Douglass Doherty⁶

Affiliations

¹ Tasmanian School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.
² University College, University of Tasmania, Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.
³ School of Nursing, University of Tasmania, Newnham, Tasmania, Australia.
⁴ School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Family Based Care Tasmania, Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.

PMID: 32877000
DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13150

Abstract

Reablement is described as a goal directed intervention with a view to maintain or improve the independence of clients through "doing with, rather than doing for". As a relatively new concept in care, lack of specific skills in reablement is not uncommon, however, intrinsic values aligned with reablement are beneficial to organisations providing care and support to clients. The aim of this study is to develop a pre-employment questionnaire to assess readiness for a reablement approach to care as a step towards developing a reablement culture across organisations. A questionnaire based on activities of daily living (ADL), developed by the research team in consultation with a local community-based care organisation, was completed by 166 staff members at a community-based care organisation in Tasmania across several timepoints during and following reablement education sessions in 2018. The scores from these questionnaires were utilised to develop a questionnaire appropriate for determining readiness for reablement prior to employment within the organisation. Over a period of twelve months, a total of 407 Reablement Readiness Questionnaires were submitted by staff, indicating high levels of willingness to engage in reablement prior to and following the education sessions. Exploratory factor analyses were performed, and the construct validity and internal consistency of the emerging factors were assessed. An exploratory factor analysis indicated that ADL, in relation to reablement, consist of three dimensions-Lifestyle, My body and Connecting. The corresponding questions were subsequently built into an online questionnaire for pre-employment use. This questionnaire also has potential benefit in recruitment of staff to other community service organisations, to ascertain their readiness for reablement prior to beginning a variety of different roles within client care and support.

Keywords: community care; community-based research; evidence-based change; health and social care; health services research; patient-centred care.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Activities of Daily Living*
Employment
Home Care Services*
Humans
Motivation
Surveys and Questionnaires