July 18, 2026
A new article from members of the IMPACT Collaboratory’s Design and Statistics Core describes how the core has helped advance methods for embedded pragmatic clinical trials focused on people living with dementia and their care partners.
The article highlights methodology and lessons learned from the first five years of the National Institute on Aging-funded IMbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease and AD-Related Dementias Clinical Trials Collaboratory.
The Design and Statistics Core assembled a multidisciplinary team to support the design, analysis, and implementation of pragmatic trials testing non-pharmacological interventions for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their care partners.
Over its first five years, the core developed and disseminated methods and guidance for cluster randomized designs with complex correlation structures, pilot embedded pragmatic clinical trials, patient–care partner study designs, health-equity-relevant hypotheses, and training for quantitative and clinical scientists developing pragmatic trials.
The authors note that important methodological gaps remain, including how best to apply dyadic designs and study differences in treatment effects across groups. These areas are expected to be priorities for the Collaboratory’s next funding cycle.
Access the full journal article in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.