# Meaningful Engagement and Quality of Life among Assisted Living Residents with Dementia

> **NIH NIH R01** · GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $657,392

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Meaningful engagement is a critical dimension of quality of care and quality of life for persons living with
dementia. Defined broadly as participation in individual and group activity, engagement has implications for
well-being, mental health, and cognitive and physical function and shows promise as a non-pharmacological
strategy for addressing anxiety, depression, and behavioral expressions. For residents in assisted living (AL),
which is an increasingly popular care setting for persons with dementia, engagement also can prevent or delay
relocation to costly and less-preferred nursing home settings, but represents a significant challenge. Although
our work shows that most AL residents are embedded in care convoys (i.e. networks) comprised of formal and
informal care partners who support their daily activities, opportunities for meaningful engagement are neither
universally nor consistently available, especially for those with dementia. Evidence points to the importance of
meaningful engagement for persons living with dementia, but also to potential barriers. Despite the significant
public health, practice, and policy implications, unknown is what constitutes meaningful engagement and how
to best promote it as across dementia type and level of functional ability. The overall goal of this five-year study
is to identify best care practices aimed at recognizing, creating, and maintaining optimal meaningful
engagement opportunities for persons with dementia that enhance their quality of life. Our specific aims are: 1)
To learn what constitutes meaningful engagement in the lives of AL residents with dementia, including how it
is perceived and negotiated by care partners; 2) To understand the intersecting factors that promote and
constrain meaningful engagement opportunities and experiences in the lives of persons with dementia in AL;
and 3) To determine strategies that promote meaningful engagement opportunities and experiences for
persons living with dementia. This study will use ethnographic methods, including participant observation,
informal and formal interviewing, and record review in 12 AL settings that vary by key individual-, residence-,
and local community-level factors, collecting data in three 1-year periods involving 4 sites each. Seventy-five
residents with different types of dementia and of varying levels of functional ability and diverse in gender, age,
race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic position, will be purposively selected and studied along with the
informal and formal care partners. Grounded Theory Method will guide data collection and analysis, which will
provide significant insight into residents’ meaningful engagement opportunities and experiences, including
connections to quality of life. The study will support the National Alzheimer’s Plan and its call to optimize care
quality and support persons living with dementia and their care partners by advancing knowledge of
engagement, including how to ass...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9978545
- **Project number:** 5R01AG062310-03
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Candace Lynn Kemp
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $657,392
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9978545

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9978545, Meaningful Engagement and Quality of Life among Assisted Living Residents with Dementia (5R01AG062310-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9978545. Licensed CC0.

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