Translation of Function-Focused Care to Assisted Living Facilities

Assisted livings settings are residential settings that provide housing and supportive services for older and disabled adults. Although individuals in assisted living settings are less functionally impaired than those in nursing home settings, they engage in limited amounts of physical activity and decline functionally more rapidly than their peers in nursing homes. Function-focused care for assisted living (FFC-AL) was developed to prevent decline, improve function, and increase physical activity among residents living in these settings. The purpose of this study was to translate the previously established, effective FFC-AL intervention to 20 assisted living facilities. Evidence of our ability to successfully translate function-focused care into these 20 assisted living facilities was determined using the RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy/Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) model. Our findings supported our ability to translate FFC-AL effectively into 18 of these 20 settings, using our dissemination and implementation approach.