Organization-Wide Coaching Intervention of Dementia Care Practice Recommendations: A Cluster Randomized-Control Trial

Over a six-month coaching program period, staff members from care communities work with a coach to assess their current level of adoption of Dementia Care Practice Recommendations (DCPR) (published recommendations by Alzheimer's Association) and prioritize areas of need /focus. Teams meet with the coach virtually or in person for 1 hour each month during the six months. Through an action planning and implementation process, care communities are guided to make organization-wide, measurable changes in the areas of (1) policies and procedures, (2) education and training, and/or (3) care practices to increase and maintain person-centered care practices as outlined in the DCPR. Coaches provide ongoing support to the care community through telephone and email support between meetings. Control group will not receive any coaching intervention but receive monthly email (e.g., newsletter about Alzheimer's Association but not related to outcomes) from coaches for check-in. Alzheimer's Association (AA) hires coaches in study areas based on their skills, experiences, interests and enthusiasm. Each coach identifies and invites long-term care (i.e., nursing home and assisted living) communities using existing relationships between the AA Chapter and those communities. In addition, AA staff will work with a national and/or state-wide networking group /association, as well as the Association's Dementia Care Provider Round Tables. The investigators will also pull the list of nursing homes in the study areas from publicly available data (e.g., Definitive Healthcare). Once each care community is selected and has agreed to participate, DCPR coaches will request that the care community identify 4-6 staff members to serve on a Care Team. The consented care communities are randomly assigned to either a control or intervention group (1: 1 block randomization).