Matching care to need in dementia transitions: tailoring services for people with dementia and their caregivers
Official title: Matching Care to Need in Dementia Care Transitions: Identifying Patient-Caregiver Profiles and Co-Developing Provider and System Implementation Tools
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11448551 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A dementia-focused project aims to tailor hospital-to-home or SNF care transitions to fit each patient and caregiver, improving safety and reducing readmissions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $650,447 |
| NIH project number | 1R01AG096522-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11448551 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include PLWDs and their caregivers navigating hospital-to-home or SNF transitions.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without dementia or those not involved in care-transition planning may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project will build a profile-based system to match specific transitional care services to distinct dementia patient–caregiver groups. It involves testing which components work best for different situations, rather than giving every patient the same package. People living with mild-to-moderate dementia will be involved as co-designers to help shape the toolkit. The study will examine barriers to implementation and identify which services provide the most benefit for whom. The goal is a practical toolkit that clinicians can use to personalize care during transitions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with dementia and their caregivers could experience safer, smoother transitions and fewer hospital readmissions.
How similar studies have gone: Previous transitional care studies show mixed results; this project tests a novel, profile-based approach tailored to dementia.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kwak, Jung — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: Kwak, Jung
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VR-CARES: A virtual reality caregiver support and connection platform for at-home dementia care
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.