Development and Evaluation of Reablement Literacy among Home Health Professionals in Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Background: Taiwan has introduced home health services with a focus on reablement. A structured design for studying the competencies of home health professionals (HHP) providing reablement services merits investigation. This study aimed to (1) develop an assessment scale for reablement literacy among HHP based on Sorensen and colleagues’ framework; and (2) evaluate the performance of reablement literacy among HHP in Taiwan. Methods: We employed a modified Delphi method to develop an assessment scale of reablement literacy for HHP. Initial questions were generated by a focus group of experts and then reviewed through repeated rounds of consensus from a Delphi expert panel. After developing the assessment scale, we used purposive sampling to recruit HHP working in reablement to complete the scale. Study participants also answered questionnaires regarding demographics and work experience (N = 154). Results: Following a three-round Delphi consensus process, the final assessment scale consisted of 32 questions with acceptable reliability and content validity. The results of the test revealed that HHP who had in-person experiences of co-working with home care assistants had better scores than HHP without such co-working experience. Reablement literacy was associated only with work experience providing reablement services specifically and not with clinical health care experience. Conclusions: This evidence-based study examined performance of reablement literacy among HHP providing reablement in Taiwan. In line with Taiwan’s policy of long-term care addressing reablement, there is a need to advance reablement competencies among HHP. To do so, practitioners should emphasize the unique contexts of reablement skills rather than general home health knowledge. Having HHP engage in in-person interdisciplinary collaboration with home care assistants is also likely to advance their reablement competency.