NIH-funded research R21 grant

AI-powered care planning for advanced dementia in nursing homes

Official title: AI-Enhanced Care Planning for Advanced Dementia in Nursing Homes

Funded at Boston College · NIH-11286695 · Data updated 2026-11-12

A nursing home project uses artificial intelligence to help create person-centered care plans for residents with advanced dementia.

More Dementia research and trials

Quick facts

Grant typeR21 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionBoston College
NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Chestnut Hill, United States)
Project startSeptember 11, 2026
Project endAugust 31, 2028
Funding year2026
Award (this year)$416,969
NIH project number1R21NR022608-01
Project IDNIH-11286695 on NIH RePORTER

Who could benefit from this research

Could help

Ideal participants are residents with advanced dementia in participating nursing homes and their families and care teams.

Less likely to help

Residents without advanced dementia or those in facilities not using the tool may not experience direct benefits.

What this research studies

This project aims to make care plans in nursing homes more tailored to each resident by using an AI-powered tool that guides staff and families through six key areas of advanced dementia care. It builds on the ADVANCED-Comfort 6M framework to capture what matters to residents who can no longer express preferences, with real-time prompts to support conversations. By addressing staff time constraints and turnover, the project seeks to sustain meaningful, individualized plans that improve daily life and well-being for residents. The effort involves adapting an existing care-planning tool into an AI application that facilitates collaboration among families, staff, and clinicians.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to more person-centered daily care and better quality of life for residents with advanced dementia.

How similar studies have gone: Preliminary work with the AC-6M Tool shows promise, but sustained AI-enabled implementation is still being tested.

Where this research is happening

  • Boston College
    Chestnut Hill, United States
    Active

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Lopez, Ruth Palan — Boston College
  • Study coordinator: Lopez, Ruth Palan

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.