How do patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and their carers, view and manage medicine-taking?

This study aims to explore and explain medication non-adherence experience by patients with Alzheimer’s disease. To date, no studies have systematically explored the interplay between working memory, recognising medicines, generic dispensing and medication taking in patients with Alzheimer’s, and how family carers support patients with medicine-taking in their own home.

The study involves the innovative use of a human factors approach incorporating qualitative methods. Key outputs include the generation of new data on medicine-taking in patients with Alzheimer’s, research publications, and a unique network of collaborators (patient representatives, healthcare practitioners and academics) that will direct key research. Evidence from this study will provide the foundations for potentially more effective support models that we will investigate in a subsequent grant application (the overall aim is to improve patient experience and quality of life) to the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit funding scheme.