Health Sciences
Kali Thomas, PhD, MA, FGSA
Professor
Health Services, Policy and Practice
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Joseph Gaugler, PhD, FGSA (he/him/his)
Professor and Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care and Aging
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Kali Thomas, PhD, MA, FGSA
Professor
Health Services, Policy and Practice
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Ellen McCreedy, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice
Brown University School of Public Health
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
A Lynn Snow, PhD (she/her/hers)
Professor/Research Clinical Psychologist
Psychology
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States
Michelle Hilgeman, PhD, FGSA (she/her/hers)
Psychologist Clinician Investigator
Research & Development
Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States
Pragmatic clinical trials test the effectiveness of interventions in “real-world” settings. One challenge with conducting such research in non-controlled environments is exposure to unpredictable events: in the case of the studies here, the COVID-19 pandemic. This session shares the implementation experiences and findings from four pragmatic clinical trials designed to improve dementia care and describes how the studies were impacted by and adapted to respond to the pandemic. The first speaker discusses a successful, team-based approach for adapting and implementing an intervention to improve sleep for nursing home residents with dementia. The second speaker presents the modifications made to implementation strategies between two trials of a personalized music intervention delivered to nursing home residents with dementia. The third speaker discusses findings from a mixed-methods evaluation with frontline staff at VA Community Living Centers enrolled in a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial of Montessori-based approaches to improve dementia care. The fourth speaker shares findings from a pilot trial comparing two modes of meal delivery to homebound older adults with dementia. The discussant situates these adaptations and findings in the context of lessons learned by other trialists working to improve care provided to people living with dementia.
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Kali S. Thomas, PhD, MA, FGSA – Johns Hopkins University
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Ellen McCreedy, PhD, MPH – Brown University School of Public Health
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: A Lynn Snow, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Alabama
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Michelle M. Hilgeman, PhD, FGSA (she/her/hers) – Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center