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. 2025 Jan 18;25(1):40.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05649-z.

Living Lab Dementia: process evaluation of an academic-practice partnership in German long term care for people living with dementia - study protocol

Andrea Leinen  1 , Felix Bühler  2 , Sascha Köpke  3 , Mareike Löbberding  3 , Gabriele Meyer  2 , Helga Schneider-Schelte  4 , Stefan Wilm  5 , Anja Bieber  2 , Martin N Dichter  3
Affiliations

Living Lab Dementia: process evaluation of an academic-practice partnership in German long term care for people living with dementia - study protocol

Andrea Leinen et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Living Labs, as a type of academic-practice partnerships, possess the potential to transform care and research into a participatory partnership and narrow the research-practice gap to improve evidence-based and Person-centred care. Given the lack of systematic investigations of Living Labs in healthcare, we will establish a dementia-specific academic-practice partnership (Living Lab Dementia) in Germany and conduct a process evaluation. The aim of this study is to gain insights into the intervention itself (mechanisms of impact) and its implementation process (degree of implementation, barriers, and facilitators).

Methods: This process evaluation of the multi-center research project PraWiDem (German acronym for linking professional nursing practice and research in dementia) will be conducted applying a convergent mixed methods design and will be based on the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions. The intervention is presented in a logic model which describes relevant basic theoretical assumptions, intervention components, implementation aspects, mechanisms of impact, relevant outcomes, and the context in which the intervention is delivered. Data will be collected before the intervention (T0), during the intervention period, and at follow-up after 18 months (T1). Qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Quantitative data sources will be process documents and questionnaires.

Discussion: Our study will provide important insights into the Living Lab Dementia intervention and its implementation processes. The results of this evaluation will contribute to the refinement of the intervention and its implementation processes, and will enable to measure the impact of these processes in future studies.

Keywords: Academic-practice partnership; Complex intervention; Dementia; Living lab; Logic model; Long-term care; Mixed methods; Process evaluation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study is carried out according to the current data protection regulations (European General Data Protection Regulation and the German Federal Data Protection Regulation). The Ethics Committee of the German Society for Nursing Science has provided ethical approval for the project’s process evaluation (No. 22–035). In the event of protocol amendments, serious or unexpected adverse events or premature termination of the study, we will inform the Ethics Committee immediately. The participants, including the Linking Pins, staff, members of the management of the care facilities, people living with dementia and their legal representatives, will be informed about the study both verbally and in writing. Written informed consent will be obtained. Information about the procedures will be provided before the data collection begins. The participants are informed that the data obtained in the study will be published in scientific publications. In accordance with the consent, the researchers also reserve the right to reuse the collected data in further research work, such as secondary data analyses. Participants have the option to withdraw their consent at any point during the study. Given the variability in the ability of people living with dementia to remember, express themselves verbally, and relate to their diagnosis, the decision to conduct an interview will be made collaboratively in each case through joint discussions between the responsible nursing home staff and the project team during each data collection session. In cases where verbal or physical signs before or during data collection indicate discomfort or declining interest in the interview, ongoing and current consent [49] is obtained to verify the persistence of the initial consent [50]. If, by mutual agreement or if the initial consent is no longer affirmed, the interview will not commence or, if already started, will be promptly terminated. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline overview
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structure of the Living Lab Dementia LL = Living Lab
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Logic model of the Living Lab Dementia. *if several facilities of the same organization are involved, there are exchange structures at the organizational level (PraWiDem circle) and the facility level (PraWiDem team); EBP = Evidence-based Practice; GP = General practitioner, PCC = Person-centred Care
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