Abstract
BACKGROUND: With global population aging, functional disability has become a major public health and social care challenge. The integrated care model, centered on intrinsic capacity, aims to optimize functional abilities and improve health outcomes through systematic interventions. This approach offers innovative insights into long-term care for old patients with disabilities in institutional settings. AIMS: To explore the effectiveness of an "Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE)-Based Long-Term Care Intervention Program" compared to a control group and to assess participants' perceptions of the program. METHODS: This mixed-methods study will employ an explanatory sequential design, starting with a quantitative evaluation using a randomized controlled trial (RCT), followed by a supplementary qualitative study. The old patients with disabilities will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio into the intervention group or the control group. The old patients with disabilities in the intervention group will participate in a 12-week "ICOPE-Based Long-Term Care Intervention Program," and in the control group will maintain their routine life and standard care practices. Participant outcomes in both conditions will be assessed at pre-intervention (T(0), week 0), post-intervention (T(1), week 12), and 1 month after the intervention (T(2), week 16), and a generalized linear mixed model will be used for analysis. The primary outcome is the change in intrinsic capacity, with the significance of the mean difference assessed to determine the intervention effect. In the qualitative part of this study, interviews will be conducted with old patients with disabilities from the intervention group at T(1) to explore their experiences of receiving the intervention, and content analysis will be applied to the data collected. DISCUSSION: This study will assess the effectiveness of an "ICOPE-Based Long-Term Care Intervention Program" for old patients with disabilities in nursing homes. If effective, it could provide a feasible and structured approach to improving long-term care quality in institutional settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Identifier, ChiCTR2400094580.