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Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2026

July 12-15, 2026 | London, United Kingdom, and Online

1865

Can Coaching Models Support Person-centered Dementia Care In Long-term Care: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Study

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Poster Presenter

Emily Waddington

Authors

Emily Waddington, Shawn Johnson, Boeun Kim, Basia Belza, Walter Moczygemba, Lorna Prophater

Affiliations

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Part of Topic

Can Coaching Models Support Person-centered Dementia Care in Long-term Care: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Study

Emily Waddington, Shawn Johnson, Boeun Kim,

Basia Belza, Walter Moczygemba, Lorna Prophater

•Staff satisfaction and care delivery improved with Coaching model – Intervention (Coaching) group showed statistically significant gains in employee satisfaction and better perceptions of delivering individualized, person-centered care practices compared to the Control group.

•Long-term care communities in the Intervention (Coaching) group saw a statistically significant increase in their adoption of Dementia Care Practice Recommendations from baseline: 62% to 76% (a 22.6% increase).

Background

•Person-centered dementia care (PCDC) is vital for improving outcomes in long-term care (LTC) communities, yet implementation often falters due to limited resources and leadership support.

•Our coaching model helps communities implement measurable, organization-wide improvements through targeted action planning and change initiatives.

•Purpose: To evaluate a six-month, strength-based coaching model grounded in the Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Practice Recommendations (DCPR).

Methods

Design: Cluster randomized controlled study
Setting: 77 LTC communities across Ohio (n=434 staff)
Groups:
Intervention – Coaching (n=227)
Control – Training (n=207)
Intervention:
Coaching-supported self- assessment tool; action planning; organization-wide, practice changes
Outcomes measured:
DCPR adoption; employee satisfaction; delivery of person-centered care; dementia care confidence
Data collection:
Community – baseline & post-intervention
Staff surveys – pre, post, 3-month follow-up
Analysis: Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE)

Results

Positive workforce outcomes

↑ Overall employee satisfaction

↑ Perceived delivery of individualized, person-centered care

↑ Workplace practice perceptions

No significant change observed

•Caregiver-resident relationship perceptions

•Dementia care confidence

DCPR adoption increased significantly

•62.0% (baseline) → 76.0% (post)

Conclusions

•Coaching model improves areas of employee satisfaction and enhances staff perceptions of the delivery of person-centered care.

•Increased staff satisfaction and delivery of person-centered practices may lead to higher retention rates and consistency in staffing, which may positively impact resident care.

•Future research is needed to explore implications on resident outcomes.

•Potential areas include antipsychotic medication use, resident satisfaction, and quality-of-life indicators.

References

Fazio, S., Pace, D., Maslow, K., Zimmerman, S., & Kallmyer, B. (2018). Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Practice Recommendations. The Gerontologist, 58(suppl_1), S1–S9. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnx182

Welsch, J., Kim, B., Prophater, L., Belza, B., & Fazio, S. (2025). A Team Coaching Intervention for Dementia Care: Acceptability and Feasibility Study in Care Communities. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 26(2), 105379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105379

Contact

Emily Waddington, MSW, LISW
Alzheimer’s Association
eawaddington@alz.org

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