Unravelling the dichotomisation of care and reablement: an ethnographic exploration of contradictions between policy rhetoric and practice in Danish and Norwegian eldercare

Abstract

Reablement has been positioned as a superior care ideal distinct from home care. Drawing on cross-national ethnographic data, this article instead demonstrates how the continuity and interdependency between reablement and conventional home care is more significant than suggested by policy rhetoric. Findings highlight the continuities and overlaps between activating and compensatory care, for example, how compensatory care might take the form of psychosocial reablement, activating and enabling even the frailest clients to age in place. The article concludes by pointing to the dangers of a narrow conception of reablement and argues for the benefits of more focused attention on clients’ psychosocial well-being.