What is wellness and reablement?

Famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said, ‘The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.’

This quote perfectly captures the essence of wellness and reablement. Wellness and reablement is an approach to aged care. It empowers older people to continue growing and finding joy in their daily lives.

Sounds wonderful, right? You might be wondering why this approach isn’t more widely used.

Well, wellness and reablement can be challenging concepts to grasp. That’s why we created this page, to introduce you to these ideas. Ideal for coordinators and support workers, this page also covers:

  • The benefits of wellness and reablement for clients and providers
  • How to overcome common barriers to wellness and reablement
  • Practical tips for incorporating wellness and reablement into your work
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Learn how to empower your clients with opportunities for independence. Show society that age doesn’t diminish a person’s potential. Instead, it can open new paths for growth, learning, and experiencing a more beautiful life.

Before we look at the benefits of wellness and reablement, let’s first understand what these terms mean.

What is wellness and reablement?

The concepts of ‘wellness’ and ‘reablement’ can be confusing. Depending on the situation, these 2 words can be used separately and together to mean one thing.

When concepts are confusing, it can be difficult to take meaningful action. That’s why Keep Able aims to simplify these concepts.

In the next 3 sections, we include easy-to-understand explanations and definitions from the Department of Health and Aged Care (the Department) for:

That way, you can see how our information lines up with industry standards.

Defining wellness

Let’s first explain what ‘wellbeing’ means. This will help us understand wellness better.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines wellbeing as ‘the state of being healthy, happy, or prosperous’.

Wellbeing is a personal experience. It includes a person’s:

  • Physical heath
  • Mental health
  • Social connections
  • Sense of purpose

The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as the pursuit of activities and lifestyle choices that lead to wellbeing.

An older man happily playing chess with another man outside

The wellness approach in aged care supports older people in achieving wellbeing by:

An older man happily talking with his adult grandson outside

Viewing them as active participants in their care, not just passive recipients

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Identifying and building on their strengths to promote independence

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Supporting them to lead safe, dignified, and meaningful lives

Here’s how the Department defines the wellness approach in the Commonwealth Home Support Programme Manual 2024-2025

‘A wellness approach involves the assessment, planning and delivery of support that builds on individuals’ strengths, capabilities, and goals. It encourages actions that promote independence in tasks of daily living, and reduce risks associated with living independently at home.’

Defining reablement

Reablement is a process that can help older people get back, keep, or improve the skills to be independent. It’s similar to wellness, with a few key differences.

An older woman preparing food in the kitchen with a younger counterpart

Reablement programmes are short term, lasting between 4-12 weeks. They use 1 or more strategies to help people achieve specific goals for independence.

During the reablement period, providers may use various services and supports to achieve the client’s goals.

Here’s how the Department defines reablement in the Commonwealth Home Support Programme Manual 2024-2025:

‘Reablement services are short-term or time-limited interventions that target a person’s specific goal or desired outcome. This approach to service delivery allows clients to address a specific barrier to independence, adapt to functional loss, regain confidence and enhance their capability to resume activities.’

Defining wellness and reablement

What about when wellness and reablement are spoken about together? In this case, ‘wellness and reablement’ means an overarching approach to aged care.

It combines long-term support with short-term interventions to:

  • Recognise the abilities and potential of older people
  • Boost the physical, mental, and social health of older people
  • Enable older people to live well in their home and chosen community

Here’s how the Department defines wellness and reablement in the Commonwealth Home Support Programme Manual 2024-2025:

‘Wellness and reablement approaches work with older people to maximise their independence and enable them to remain living safely in their own homes and communities. Reablement services apply a wellness approach and aim to get a client ‘back on their feet’, and able to resume previous activities either without needing ongoing service delivery or with a reduced need for services.’

An older man happily driving his car

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Why is wellness and reablement important?

To understand the importance of wellness and reablement (W&R), let’s explore the benefits for clients and providers:

The benefits of W&R for clients

The wellness and reablement approach has several benefits for older people. It can help them be independent in cooking, cleaning, and maintaining the home.

It can also help them pursue leisure activities and stay connected with the community. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says these daily activities can help people be and do what they find meaningful.

And feeling a sense of meaning is crucial for good health. You can find out more about the health and wellbeing benefits of cooking, cleaning, and socialising with friends on our website.

The wellness and reablement approach also helps older people:

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Delay or minimise their decline and reduce their dependence on loved ones

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Have control over their circumstances and live with dignity

Older man happily walking by a lake using a walker

Have access to resources that fulfil their potential

It’s important to note that this approach also upholds human rights. It enables older people to lead safe, dignified, and independent lives. And this forms the basis of the United Nations Principles for Older Persons.

The benefits of W&R for providers

The wellness and reablement approach also has many benefits for people like you, those providing care to older people.

Older woman smiling at a younger woman using a laptop

It can enable you to:

  • Uphold and promote the rights of older people
  • Support and share in your client’s successes
  • Feel more fulfilled and satisfied in your work

Plus, wellness and reablement can help you fight against ageism.

COTA For older Australians describes ageism as ‘discrimination based on age, without any evidence base’.

Ageist attitudes reduce older people to a stereotype. They dismiss older people as incapable and in need of protection. This leads to older people’s rights and contributions going unrecognised.

The wellness and reablement approach doesn’t focus on the limitations of older people. It focuses on their potential for growth, which is the opposite of ageism.

As well, this approach involves personalised care plans and services that improve quality of life. This not only demonstrates outcomes related to the Aged Care Quality Standards. It also shows that your organisation is committed to client-centred care.

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What does W&R look like in real life?

Wellness and reablement is real life because it’s about having a life. It’s about more than helping older people feel safe and competent at home.

It’s about helping them feel engaged with the activities and communities they love.

For an older person, wellness and reablement could look like:

  • Learning how to communicate with loved ones using social media
  • Finding a new hobby or returning to an old one
  • Building the confidence to go out and watch their grandchildren play sport
  • Learning how to cook one of their favourite meals after the death of their spouse
  • Going for a walk on the beach again

Implementing wellness and reablement may seem complicated. But keeping these tips front of mind can help you on your journey:

Older man happily playing a stringed instrument while seated inside

Know the value of everyday activities

Exercise programs aren’t the only source of health and wellbeing benefits.

Everyday activities help people stay physically fit, mentally stimulated, and emotionally satisfied. These activities include:

  • Cooking
  • Cleaning
  • Laundry
  • Gardening
  • Leisure

Encourage your clients to keep doing these activities. Even if they can only do part of a task, each opportunity for independence is important.

You can learn more about the link between healthy ageing and independence in daily life by completing our free eLearning module, ‘Everything you do for me, you take from me.’

Know the difference between can do, might do, or can’t do

When you see that your client can do something, encourage them to keep doing it! This is how you apply a wellness approach.

Older man happily using a sewing machine on a piece of clothing

Is there a chance your client might be able to do something with some extra support? Then this is an ideal opportunity for reablement. Here’s a hypothetical situation to demonstrate.

You have a client who loves sewing but has given it up recently. This is because they can no longer make precise movements with their fingers. As a result, you recommend the use of threaded needles so they can start sewing straight away. More examples of low-risk assistive technology for leisure can be found on our website.

When your client can’t do something, it might be because it’s too difficult or dangerous. At this point, it’s often best to consult a health professional for advice.

A little bit, often

People often confuse wellness and reablement with rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is an intensive service. It involves a specialised team of health professionals.

Wellness and reablement, meanwhile, is simply an approach to supporting older people. Small changes over time can make a big difference in boosting a person’s confidence and abilities.

Encourage your client to practice one small hobby each day. Help them use their mobile phone to call their friends more often. Every opportunity for independence matters.

Be strengths focused

Focus on your client’s strengths rather than trying to fix their problems.

For example, you may have a client who can walk within their home but lacks the confidence to walk outside.

Rather than doing all their outdoor chores for them, accompany them on walks outside. You could start with a small walk to the letterbox. This will help improve their fitness and confidence in a safe way.

At the end of the day, it’s about knowing your client, what’s important to them, and focusing on their strengths. The more confident your client becomes, the more they’ll want to do without your help!

Are you interested in more guidance on applying these ideas? Visit our page, 5 Reablement strategies, for practical tips and examples.

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Overcoming the barriers to W&R

Still feel like wellness and reablement is too hard to deliver? That’s understandable. The 2023 Wellness and Reablement Report showed that providers face many barriers to delivery, such as:

  • Issues with hiring and training staff to support wellness and reablement. This includes difficulty finding allied health professionals.
  • Resistance from clients. They may not see the value of this approach. They may prefer that you do everything for them. Our one-page information sheet can help you explain the value of wellness and reablement in plain language. Download and share it with your clients.
  • Lack of time. Planning for and delivering wellness and reablement interventions can be time consuming.

These challenges may seem daunting. But, Keep Able has lots of solutions to help you overcome them.

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This includes free flexible learning options. For example, we offer self-paced eLearning modules and downloadable training resources. We can also deliver tailored presentations.

These resources can support you in understanding:

  • The core ideas guiding reablement
  • Strategies for delivering reablement
  • How to navigate reforms and quality standards related to wellness and reablement

Our resources are growing all the time. Contact us at keepable@ilaustralia.org.au to ask questions and request resources.

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Conclusion

As you can see, wellness and reablement is a powerful approach to aged care. At its core, this approach aims to assist older people in doing things for themselves.

This not only helps lighten the load for family members and caregivers. It also invigorates older people with purpose, dignity, and independence.

Whether you help your client reorganise their kitchen for easier cooking or show them how to break their cleaning tasks into more manageable chunks – each opportunity for independence is valuable.

If you have any questions about wellness and reablement or would like us to create a specific resource, contact us by:

We can also present to your organisation, virtually or in person, on a wellness and reablement topic of your choice. Ask us about it through email or by submitting the contact form below.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about wellness and reablement with us. With this approach, we can support older people in living better for longer.

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Connect with Keep Able

Sign up here for Count Me In membership to access our free resources and to connect with our team of professionals. You can leave a message, give us feedback, ask a question or request a presentation on reablement by submitting this form.

Disclaimer: By submitting this form, you are agreeing to be added to the Count Me In hub, and receive our monthly newsletter. We might also ask for your input and feedback on aged care-related topics, and on new KeepAble resources. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time, and your details will be held by KeepAble only.

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