Partner-Engaged Pragmatic Research in Aging Care: Case Studies from the Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation Lab

Since 2015, the Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation (Q&I) Lab at the Brown University School of Public Health has advanced pragmatic, partner-engaged research to improve care for older adults and chronically ill individuals receiving post-acute and long-term care. Rather than evaluating interventions under controlled conditions, Q&I researchers conduct embedded studies in real-world care settings, working with clinicians and frontline staff to implement interventions and assess their effectiveness and feasibility in routine practice. In parallel, researchers also collaborate with health systems and public agencies to generate practice-relevant evidence on operational priorities, positioning the lab as a translational research platform. This article presents two nursing home case studies: a pragmatic trial of a personalized music intervention for residents living with dementia and a portfolio of COVID-19-related partnered research. Together, these examples demonstrate how embedded, partner-engaged approaches generate actionable evidence, inform practice and policy, and position Rhode Island health system partners as contributors to evidence generation at scale in aging care.