Uncategorized

ePCTs and Health System Ethical Obligations

Posted on by Josee Meehan

May 2026 - Grand Rounds 66, Stephanie Morain, PhD, MPH, presented, “ePCTs and Health System Ethical Obligations.”

Speakers

Stephanie Morain, PhD, MPH 
Associate Professor of Health Policy & Management
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dracopoulos Rising Professor of Bioethics, Berman Institute of Bioethics

Webinar Slides

Learning Objectives

  • Identify ethical challenges arising in embedded pragmatic clinical trials that require institutional involvement for appropriate ethical management.
  • Identify ethical obligations for health care institutions when participating in or leading embedded pragmatic clinical trials.
  • Describe practical strategies for supporting the ethical conduct of embedded pragmatic clinical trials.

Notice of Intent to publish two Requests for Applications!

Posted on by Josee Meehan

The IMPACT Collaboratory will publish Requests for Applications (RFA) for The James L. Rudolph Career Development Award and Pilot ePCT Grants of non-pharmacological interventions for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners in June 2026.

 Pilot Grants Program

IMPACT will fund up to three awards for pilot embedded pragmatic trials (ePCTs) that are designed to demonstrate the feasibility and inform the design of a future full-scale ePCT to evaluate non-pharmacological interventions embedded in health care system(s) for PLWD and their care partners.  Learn more about previous awardees here.

James L. Rudolph Career Development Award Program

IMPACT will fund up to two awards for Career Development Awards to prepare emerging investigators to lead ePCTs that improve care for PLWD and their care partners. Learn more about previous awardees here.

Notice of Intent (NOI) to Publish Two Funding Opportunities in June 2026
Pilot ePCT Grants

Goal: To demonstrate the feasibility of a future full-scale ePCT of a non-pharmacological intervention for PLWD and their care partners.

Informational Webinar
June 11, 2026 @ 2pm ET

Register here

Letters of Intent Due
July 23, 2026 @ 11:59pm ET

 James L. Rudolph Career Development Awards

 Goal: To support the career development of early-stage investigators conducting preparatory research to advance future ePCTs to improve care for PLWD and their care partners.

Informational Webinar
June 23, 2026 @ 4pm ET

Register here

Applications Due
September 10, 2026 @ 6pm ET

Stay tuned for updates regarding the release of these RFAs.

Questions? Email us at IMPACTcollaboratory@hsl.harvard.edu.

D-CARE: Results of a Pragmatic Intervention Trial and Implications for the GUIDE model

Posted on by Josee Meehan

April 16, 2026 – Grand Rounds 65,  David Reuben, MD, and Jeff Williamson, MD, MHS, presented D-CARE: Results of a Pragmatic Intervention Trial and Implications for the GUIDE model.

 

April 2026 Grand Rounds Webinar Slides

David Reuben, MD

Professor of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine
UCLA

Jeff Williamson, MD, MHS 

Professor, Chief of Geriatric Medicine, and Director for the Center for Healthcare Innovation at Wake Forest School of Medicine

Learning Objectives

  • To understand the differences between health system-based and community-based dementia care.
  • To recognize the differences between structured dementia care programs and usual care.
  • To interpret the implication of D-CARE's findings on dementia care and Medicare's GUIDE program.

Identifying and Engaging Care Partners through Electronic Health Records for Pragmatic Research

Posted on by Josee Meehan

March 2026 – Grand Rounds 64, IMPACT PCRO Core member Dr. Hillary Lum and guest speakers Drs. Julia Burgdorf and Jenny Portz, and Jody Long present on “Identifying and Engaging Care Partners through Electronic Health Records for Pragmatic Research.”

Webinar Slides

Hillary Lum, MD, PhD

IMPACT Patient/Caregiver Relevant Outcomes Core

Professor of Medicine, Division
of Geriatric Medicine,
Department of Medicine,
University of Colorado Anschutz

Jenny Portz, PhD, MSW

Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz

Julia Burgdorf, PhD

Research Scientist, Center for Home Care Policy & Research at VNS Health

Jody Long, MSN, MBA, RN, CEN

Director of Clinical Affairs, PointClickCare

Learning Objectives

  • Communicate the need and promise for improvement of dementia care with embedded pragmatic trials within dynamic health care settings.
  • Review what we have found to be key components of ePCT trial design and conduct for ensuring that study results are implementable.
  • Provide learnings of two ePCT trialists from The Dementia Care Study: A Pragmatic Clinical Trial of Health System-Based Versus Community-Based Dementia Care (D-CARE)

 

IMPACT Awardee Earns Pilot Grant to Study Dementia Care Quality

Posted on by Josee Meehan

IMPACT Career Development Awardee Erica Frechman, PhD, AGPCNP-BC was awarded a Pilot Grant from the National Dementia Workforce Study for her study, Advance Practice Providers and Dementia Care: Role of Training, Preparedness, and Practice Setting for Patient Outcomes. IMPACT executive committee member Jennifer Gabbard, MD is a co-investigator for this study.

Frechman’s study will leverage the Community Clinician survey and CMS claims data to examine APPs and how their dementia-specific training, preparedness, and practice settings are associated with meaningful variation in care quality and outcomes for people living with dementia.

Learn more about Pilot Grant awardees here.

Yale School of Medicine Seeks Postdoctoral Associate in Gerontologic Biostatistics

Posted on by Josee Meehan

Yale School of Medicine is hiring a Postdoctoral Associate in Gerontologic Biostatistics for a 2.5-year full-time position. This role focuses on methodological development in pragmatic dyadic study design within embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs). Mentorship will be provided by Drs. Joan Monin and Heather Allore (Yale School of Public Health) and Dr. Thomas Travison (Harvard Medical School).

Learn more about the position and how to apply here.

Notice of Intent (NOI) to Publish Two New Funding Opportunities Later in October

Posted on by Sonya Sutton

The IMPACT Collaboratory is pleased to announce plans to publish Requests for Applications (RFA) for Pilot ePCT Grants and Demonstration Projects of non-pharmacologic interventions for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners in mid-October 2025. Letters of Intent for both opportunities are due in November.

Pilot Grants Program
IMPACT will fund up to three 18-month awards for up to $300,000 pilot embedded pragmatic trials (ePCTs) that are designed to demonstrate the feasibility and inform the design of a future full-scale ePCT to evaluate non-pharmacological interventions embedded in health care system(s) for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners. Learn more about previous awardees here.

RFA Release Date: October 14, 2025

LOI Due Date: November 6, 2025

 

Demonstration Projects Program

IMPACT will fund up to two 24-month awards of up to $800,000 for Demonstration Projects designed as full-scale, Stage IV effectiveness ePCTs (based on the NIH Stage Model) that evaluate the effectiveness of a non-pharmacological intervention in a large-scale ePCT for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners. Learn more about previous awardees here.

Learn more about previous awardees here.

RFA Release Date: October 20, 2025

LOI Due Date: November 13. 2025

 

Stay tuned for updates regarding the release of these RFAs. Visit IMPACTcollaboratory.org to learn more about our Grants and Training Programs.

Questions? Email us at IMPACTcollaboratory@hsl.harvard.edu.

Kern picture, Grand Rounds Feb 2025

Improving How PLWD are Selected for Care Coordination: ePCT in an ACO

Posted on by Erin Luers

February 2025 - Lisa Kern, MD, MPH, discusses "IMPACT Demonstration Project | Improving How People Living with Dementia are Selected for Care Coordination: Pragmatic Clinical Trial Embedded in an Accountable Care Organization"

Speakers

Lisa Kern, MD, MPH
Associate Professor
Weill Cornell Medicine

Webinar Slides

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the concept of healthcare fragmentation in general
  • Understand the relevance of healthcare fragmentation specifically for people
    living with dementia
  • Reflect on the results of a pragmatic clinical trial that included people living
    with dementia who had highly fragmented care

 

Sullivan_June 2025 Grand Rounds card

Meta Lessons Learned from Pilot and Demonstration Projects Implementation 

Posted on by Erin Luers

June 2025 –  In Grand Rounds 57, Jennifer Sullivan, PhD, describes lessons learned from IMPACT Pilot and Demonstration Projects implementation data.

Speakers

Jennifer Sullivan, PhDJennifer Sullivan, PhD
Associate Professor, Brown University School of Public Health
Department of Health Service, Policy and Practice

Associate Director & Investigator
THRIVE COIN
VA Providence Healthcare System

Webinar Slides

Learning Objectives

  • Describe factors enabling and/or hindering pilot and demonstration project implementation
  • Understand which implementation strategies were being used by pilot and demonstration grants
  • Gain knowledge about how implementation progress was made by programs over the funding timelines