Study protocol of the OrkA project: orofacial and communicative activation in old age- a cluster randomized prevention study in long-term care facilities in Lower Saxony, Germany.

"Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participateThis study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hannover Medical School Germany on 2 February 2023 (no. 10650_BO_S_2022). Written informed consent was provided by all participants prior to any study-related activity. Consent for publicationNot applicable. Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests."

"Funding This study is funded by the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (Innovationsfonds des Gemeinsamen Bundesausschusses, Grant No. 01VSF22043). The funding body has no influence on the study design; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or the writing of the manuscript. Final reports will be published online. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL."

"Trial registration The trial was registered with DRKS (German register for clinical trials) in June 2023 (study ID: DRKS00031594) and the WHO International Clinical Trail Registry Platform (secondary register)."