Developing organisational capacity building for person-centred dementia care in nursing homes: a multiphase co-design study protocol

Introduction

Person-centred dementia care (PCdC) is widely recognised as a core principle of high-quality dementia care and is embedded in national and international dementia care guidelines. However, translating PCdC into routine practice in nursing homes (NHs) continues to pose a significant challenge. This reflects both the theoretical complexity of PCdC and the fact that its delivery relies less on discrete care techniques and more on an underlying organisational culture and shared approach to care. Implementing PCdC therefore requires an organisational perspective that acknowledges the interplay between staff, leadership and organisational conditions. Although several approaches exist to strengthen organisational capacity for PCdC, NHs often lack guidance on how to identify and apply approaches that fit their specific context. This study aims to develop a toolbox that supports NHs in systematically building the organisational capacity required to implement and sustain PCdC in their specific context.

Methods and analysis

The toolbox will be developed through three consecutive studies:

Study 1: An exploratory qualitative study of the perspectives of managers and staff in NHs on organisational capacity building (OCB) for implementing and sustaining PCdC.

Study 2: A co-design study involving workshops to develop a first version of the OCB toolbox, informed by insights from a preliminary scoping review (conducted separately and published as a protocol on Open Science Framework) and Study 1.

Study 3: A qualitative consensus-building study using a nominal group technique with stakeholders and PCdC experts to refine and finalise the OCB toolbox (validation phase).

The toolbox development is conceptualised as the development of a complex intervention and will therefore be informed by O’Cathain et al ’s guidance for developing complex health interventions. While co-design principles guide the overall development process, Study 2 represents the dedicated co-design phase involving collaborative workshops, ensuring that the resulting OCB toolbox integrates research evidence with practice-based insights.

Ethics and dissemination

The Cantonal Ethics Committee Zurich confirmed that the study is exempt from formal ethical approval under the Swiss Human Research Act (Req-2025-00812). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and practice-oriented outputs, including a toolbox for NHs.