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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Dame Louise Robinson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Objective: Identify facilitators and barriers to successful medicines management for people with dementia (PwD) in primary care from the perspectives of community-dwelling PwD and carers. Methods: Semi-structured interviews conducted with PwD and carers in Northern Ireland. The 14-domain Theoretical Domains Framework guided data collection and analysis. Interviews explored participants' experiences and perceptions of medicines management. PwD also completed the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire indicating their level of agreement with statements about medicines. Qualitative data were analysed using the framework method and content analysis. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively. Results: Eighteen PwD and 15 carers were interviewed. PwD believed they were competent with medicines management (‘beliefs about capabilities’). Most PwD reported having strategies to prompt them to take their medicines (‘memory, attention and decision processes’). Carers played an important role in supporting PwD with medicines management (‘social influences’) and monitoring adherence (‘behavioural regulation’) and anticipated having to take on a greater role as patients' cognitive impairment worsened (‘beliefs about consequences’). Participants highlighted assistance provided by community pharmacies with medicines acquisition and delivery (‘environmental context and resources’) and placed great trust in primary healthcare professionals (‘social influences’). PwD had positive attitudes towards medication and believed strongly in the necessity of their medicines. Conclusions: This is the first study to use a theoretical approach to explore medicines management for community-dwelling PwD. The findings provide new insights into the critical role of carers in facilitating optimal medicines management and will inform future intervention development, in which carers' needs assessment and involvement will be key.
Author(s): Barry HE, McGrattan M, Ryan C, Passmore AP, Robinson AL, Molloy GJ, Darcy CM, Buchanan H, Hughes CM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Year: 2021
Volume: 36
Issue: 6
Pages: 883-891
Print publication date: 01/06/2021
Online publication date: 23/12/2020
Acceptance date: 19/12/2020
Date deposited: 16/12/2021
ISSN (print): 0885-6230
ISSN (electronic): 1099-1166
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5488
DOI: 10.1002/gps.5488
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