TY - JOUR
T1 - Multidisciplinary Allied Health Reablement Model of Care for Older People in Residential Aged Care and Community Settings
T2 - Mixed-Methods Evaluation
AU - Mo, Laura
AU - Scrivener, Katharine
AU - Pashley, Alice
AU - Gibson, Diane
AU - Bail, Kasia Siobhan
AU - D'Cunha, Nathan Martin
AU - Isbel, Stephen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
PY - 2026/4
Y1 - 2026/4
N2 - This study aimed to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical outcomes of a best practice–aligned multidisciplinary allied health reablement model of care for older people. A mixed-methods pre-post-intervention study was conducted in two nursing homes and the community. Quantitative measures were collected for frailty, physical function, and quality of life for all participants pre-implementation and 12 weeks post-implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sub-group of participants and allied health professionals involved in the intervention. Participants’ (n = 50) physical function increased (SPPB 4.2 vs. 4.9) while frailty (FRAIL-NH 6.0 vs. 5.5) and quality of life (16 vs. 16) were maintained. There was a high retention (93%) and attendance rate (84%), indicating acceptability. Participants received a daily median of 16 allied health minutes, costing $26AUD. Findings confirm acceptability and feasibility of the model with potential to maintain or improve clinical outcomes. Future work is needed to define long-term outcomes, scalability and sustainability. The study was registered with the ANZCTR [Trial ID: ACTRN12623000915651; Registration Date: 12/1/2024].
AB - This study aimed to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical outcomes of a best practice–aligned multidisciplinary allied health reablement model of care for older people. A mixed-methods pre-post-intervention study was conducted in two nursing homes and the community. Quantitative measures were collected for frailty, physical function, and quality of life for all participants pre-implementation and 12 weeks post-implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sub-group of participants and allied health professionals involved in the intervention. Participants’ (n = 50) physical function increased (SPPB 4.2 vs. 4.9) while frailty (FRAIL-NH 6.0 vs. 5.5) and quality of life (16 vs. 16) were maintained. There was a high retention (93%) and attendance rate (84%), indicating acceptability. Participants received a daily median of 16 allied health minutes, costing $26AUD. Findings confirm acceptability and feasibility of the model with potential to maintain or improve clinical outcomes. Future work is needed to define long-term outcomes, scalability and sustainability. The study was registered with the ANZCTR [Trial ID: ACTRN12623000915651; Registration Date: 12/1/2024].
KW - allied health occupations
KW - home care services
KW - multidisciplinary
KW - nursing home
KW - reablement
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105032802851
U2 - 10.1177/07334648251351690
DO - 10.1177/07334648251351690
M3 - Article
C2 - 40552979
AN - SCOPUS:105032802851
SN - 0733-4648
VL - 45
SP - 818
EP - 830
JO - Journal of Applied Gerontology
JF - Journal of Applied Gerontology
IS - 4
ER -