Senior staff experiences of implementing a reablement model in community care

Background: In 2018, a community care organisation in Northwest Tasmania collaborated with University of Tasmania researchers to develop and implement a strategy for incorporating a reablement-based model of care into their service delivery model as a core organisational approach to care. This study aimed to investigate the long-Term outcomes from the initial reablement education to improve our understanding of the needs of staff and clients of community care organisations. Methods: The research explored the impact of reablement on client outcomes and how reablement can be translated across organisations. A qualitative research method was utilised to explore experiences of senior staff 2 years after the first reablement education sessions. Two focus groups were held 4 weeks apart. Nine senior staff participated in focus group one and seven in focus group two. Results: Three key themes emerged; reablement needs an appropriate governance and organisational strategy; reablement is a beneficial practice; and strong organisational culture supports reablement. Achieving long-Term outcomes involves integrating reablement into working practices and this remains challenging due to organisational constraints. Conclusions: This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that shifting underlying practices in community care from 'doing for' to 'doing with' involves a major change of behaviour and practice for individuals and organisations.