Queen's University Belfast

Academic Institute

Heather Barry

Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau

Yes

E088

Care home residents with dementia have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because of high numbers of infection and death within this setting. Non-cognitive symptoms of dementia, such as anxiety, depression, and aggression, are reported to have increased during the pandemic due to the introduction of lockdowns, limitations on visits from family members and friends, and infection control measures. Additionally, the way in which healthcare services and care were provided for care home residents changed significantly, and there has been an increase in the use of telephone and video consultations. Several studies have reported a change in the use of psychotropic medications (medications that work on the central nervous system such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antiepileptics) used to manage non-cognitive symptoms among care home residents with dementia during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies were conducted in other parts of the United Kingdom and the world. Therefore, research is needed to provide information about use of these medications for care home residents with dementia in Northern Ireland (NI). This study aims to explore the use of psychotropic medications over the COVID-19 pandemic for care home residents with dementia in NI compared to their use during the two years before the pandemic. This information will be taken from a database which holds information on all prescriptions that are dispensed by community pharmacists in NI. We will look at the types of psychotropic medications that were prescribed and we will use information from another linked database to assess if prescribing of these medications was affected by residents’ age, gender, or the type of care home they live in. We hope that the findings from this study will improve the quality of information about prescribing of psychotropic medications for care home residents with dementia.

The care home sector has faced major challenges and pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Care home residents, of whom the majority have some form of cognitive impairment or dementia, experienced an increase in non-cognitive symptoms, and recent studies have reported an increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications to alleviate these symptoms. The pandemic, simultaneously, has created unprecedented pressures on the health service, especially within primary care. This study will provide important information about prescribing patterns in this care home resident population which will add to the evidence base in this area, and which may help to optimise future prescribing and inform development of guidelines and interventions to improve resident outcomes.

06/11/2023

TRE