A. Lynn Snow, PhD

The University of Alabama

A Systems Learning Partnership for Dementia Care Co-Design

Health Care System Partner

Caraday Healthcare

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Dr. Snow is a professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of Alabama and a senior clinical research psychologist at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.  Her research program focuses on partnering with health care systems to develop, implement, and evaluate practical, evidence-based approaches that improve care and quality of life for people living with dementia. Dr. Snow’s current research emphasizes embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs), implementation science, and stakeholder-engaged intervention development to improve dementia care in nursing homes through approaches that are feasible, scalable, and responsive to real-world care environments. This award will provide the opportunity to co-design a dementia care intervention with Caraday Healthcare that is shaped by the real-world knowledge, experiences, needs, and priorities of frontline staff, residents, families, and organizational leaders, laying the foundation for a future ePCT

Dr. Snow will partner with Caraday Healthcare to build an embedded research collaboration that listens to and learns from residents, families, frontline staff, and organizational leaders to co-design dementia care innovations grounded in real-world care experiences and operational priorities. Using stakeholder engagement, experience-based co-design, systems learning, and implementation science approaches, this partnership aims to: 1) deepen understanding of the experiences, priorities, workflows, and operational realities shaping dementia care within Caraday Healthcare; 2) work alongside residents, families, frontline staff, and organizational leaders to co-design a stakeholder-informed dementia care intervention and implementation strategy; and 3) lay the foundation for a future embedded pragmatic clinical trial (ePCT). The Scholar Year will strengthen a long-term embedded partnership between the University of Alabama and Caraday Healthcare while advancing stakeholder-informed approaches to developing dementia care interventions that are meaningful to nursing home communities, feasible to implement, and ready for future ePCTs.

Health Care System Partner

Caraday Healthcare is a Texas-based long-term care corporation providing skilled nursing and memory care services through a network of skilled nursing facilities committed to strengthening dementia care through quality improvement, workforce development, and innovation.