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

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 (T), during the intervention period, and at follow-up after 18 months (T). 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.