Author: Erin Luers

Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners and Caregivers – A Way Forward

Posted on by Erin Luers

The Mission Moment for the 2024 IMPACT Annual Business Meeting was provided by the distinguished Eric Larson, MD, MPH, a professor at University of Washington, retired executive director of Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and vice president for research and healthcare innovation at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, and former Leader of IMPACT’s Health Care Systems Core. Dr. Larson began by reminding the group about how far the field has come in the last 60 years and called on researchers and healthcare providers to follow the Guiding Principles for Dementia Care, as described in "Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners and Caregivers – A Way Forward" released in February 2021 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. These principles include:

  • person-centeredness
  • promotion of well-being
  • attention to each person’s needs with respect and dignity
  • justice
  • racial, ethnic, sexual, cultural, and linguistic, inclusivity
  • accessibility and affordability

IMPACT Collaboratory funds investigator training award to promote diversity

Posted on by Erin Luers

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory is pleased to announce the recipient of the Investigator Training Award to Promote Diversity.

2023 IMPACT Investigator Training Award to Promote Diversity

Latarsha Chisholm, PhD, MSW, University of Central Florida
GUIDE+ACP Video Intervention Implementation in Nursing Homes

Additional details on this recipient and her funded project can be found on the IMPACT website here.

About the IMPACT Investigator Training Award to Promote Diversity

The overall goal of this mentored supplemental award is to increase the number of investigators from diverse backgrounds who are prepared to pursue careers conducting embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) for people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners. The IMPACT Collaboratory prioritizes research that address dementia care for people of all backgrounds and to promote health equity.

The Investigator Training Award to Promote Diversity will provide Dr. Chisholm with the necessary experience, training, and mentorship to develop expertise in ePCT methodology and implementation science. Her research will focus on the development of an implementation guide to enhance implementing an evidence-based advance care planning video intervention in nursing homes in preparation for a future trial.

About IMPACT Collaboratory

The IMPACT Collaboratory was established in 2019 to meet the urgent public health need to deliver high quality, evidence-based care to people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners within the healthcare systems (HCS) that serve them.  The IMPACT Collaboratory accomplishes this mission by building the nation’s capacity to conduct ePCTs among PLWD and their care partners through building investigator capacity, funding and supporting the design and conduct of ePCTs, and ensuring the research includes culturally-tailored interventions and people from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.

The IMPACT Collaboratory hosts monthly Grand Rounds and podcasts open to everyone to provide insight into conducting ePCTs for PLWD and their care partners. Learn more on our website, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Please join our mailing list to receive news and invitations to IMPACT events, Grand Rounds, and pragmatic trials training modules.

Check out the new LTC Data Cooperative, a new resource for investigators interested in improving care in nursing homes!

Posted on by Erin Luers

We are excited to share information about the Long-Term Care (LTC) Data Cooperative, and invite you to check out the website to learn more. Led by American Health Care Association (AHCA), the LTC Data Cooperative is an outgrowth of work led by Vince Mor, PhD in response to COVID-19.  This initiative brings together healthcare systems and data management resources to create the largest integrated database of detailed, normalized, electronic health record (EHR) data from nursing homes (NH) in the United States. The EHR data can also be linked to Medicare claims data.

The LTC Data Cooperative’s comprehensive data set will facilitate researchers’ ability to test the impact of treatments and other interventions intended to better the lives of NH residents through observational studies and pragmatic clinical trials. This will enable researchers to generate real-world evidence on the effectiveness of different treatments and care practices for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and people living with dementia in nursing homes.
In addition, the LTC Data Cooperative will serve four broad functions:

  • Assist providers with health care operations, including care coordination for residents who transfer between skilled nursing facilities
  • Support public health monitoring for medical conditions and infections, including COVID-19
  • Enable observational studies of the LTC population, ranging from policy evaluations to epidemiological studies to pharmaco-epidemiological studies
  • Facilitate provider and patient recruitment into clinical research studies, including stage 3 and 4 embedded pragmatic clinical trials

Vincent Mor, PhD, reflects that “Thirty years ago, the minimum data set made it possible to characterize the needs of nursing home residents and to document the impact of new treatments and policies. This initiative transforms this effort by linking ‘real-time’ clinical data, including lab results and orders, in ways that can transform the delivery of care to the increasingly vulnerable population of nursing home residents.”

Questions?
Email us with questions or to learn more: LTCDataCooperative@AHCA.org

Apply Now for the 3rd Annual Virtual ePCT Training Workshop | January 25-26, 2023

Posted on by Erin Luers

Building Skills to Conduct Embedded Pragmatic Clinical Trials for People Living with Dementia and their Care Partners

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023  |  11:00am - 3:30pm ET
Thursday, January 26th, 2023  |  11:00am - 5:00pm ET

Apply here!

This year’s modules will focus on:

  • Using real-world data to identify PLWD and ascertain outcomes in ePCTs
  • Designing the implementation evaluation for an ePCT
  • Defining a pilot: What is a pilot study for an ePCT?

The IMPACT Collaboratory will hold our third annual Training Workshop on January 25-26, 2023 entitled Building Skills to Conduct Embedded Pragmatic Clinical Trials (ePCTs) among People Living with Dementia (PLWD) and their Care Partners. This 1.5-day virtual workshop features all new material to build a foundation in practical aspects of designing and conducting ePCTs in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD). The workshop will include a combination of activities including: panel discussions, small group sessions, and networking opportunities with experts in the field.

We are inviting applications from early to mid-stage researchers who seek to develop competence in designing and conducting ePCTs of non-pharmacological interventions embedded in health care systems for PLWD and care partners.

Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Transmit knowledge about designing and conducting ePCTs among PLWD and care partners in health care systems that integrates considerations related to identifying PLWD and ascertaining pragmatic outcomes
  • Problem-solve common challenges in designing and conducting ePCTs for PLWD and care partners
  • Apply the acquired knowledge to move their current and future research in ePCTs forward, including applying for competitive funding

Successful applicants will be expected to complete selected readings and online training prior to the workshop. All participants are expected to attend and participate in the entire 1.5-day event.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your online application using the following link:
IMPACT Training Workshop Application

Deadline: October 21, 2022

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicants should have an MD, PhD, or equivalent research degree
  • Hold a full-time position at an academic or research organization in the United States
  • Early-stage investigators pursuing careers conducting ePCTs in AD/ADRD
  • Mid-career investigators seeking to pursue research on ePCTs in AD/ADRD

Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria: Applicants will be selected based on their demonstrated commitment to improving care of PLWD and/or their care partners through the conduct of ePCTs in HCS and the potential impact of the workshop on promoting the applicant’s career in this area.

Find the working agenda and more information about the workshop on our website at impactcollaboratory.org/training-workshop. Email IMPACTcollaboratory@hsl.harvard.edu with questions regarding this opportunity.