Medical-Social Collaborative Intervention Enhancing the Well-Being of Hospitalised People Living with Cognitive Impairment and Their Care Partners: Protocol of a Single-Arm, Pre-Test–Post-Test Cohort Study

Background: Hospitalisation is challenging for individuals with cognitive impairment and their care partners. This paper describes the protocol of an ongoing study that investigates a medical-social collaboration model in which trained non-governmental organisation (NGO) staff deliver symptom-focused activities in hospital and care partner coaching, with the aim of enhancing short-term patient outcomes and caregiving self-efficacy. Methods: In the planned study, a single-arm, pre-test–post-test cohort study design is adopted. Participants include dyads of 250 inpatients with cognitive impairment (aged ≥ 60 years) and 250 family care partners (aged ≥ 18 years). The intervention adapts the Tailored Activity Program for Hospitalised Patients to two 60-min individual sessions over two weeks, featuring positive psychosocial activities. Care partners will receive two 30-min support sessions focusing on preparation for post-discharge care. Expected Results: The primary outcome is inpatient quality of life; the secondary outcomes are agitation, caregiving self-efficacy, change in sedative medication use, length of stay, and discharge destination. Data will be collected at baseline and post-intervention. Statistical analyses include within-group pre-test–post-test comparison, regression analyses, and descriptive process evaluation. Conclusions: This protocol describes the design, intervention, outcomes, and planned analyses of a study that evaluates the changes in the psychological well-being of inpatients with cognitive impairment and family care partners after a medical-social collaborative intervention. Findings are anticipated to contribute to the development of medical-social collaboration in hospital practice in the long term. Anticipated limitations related to study design, recruitment, and data collection are discussed.