Sharing Knowledge and Improving Access to Services in Primary Care: A Recap of Our Clinical Pharmacy and Dementia Workshop
By Abigail Woodward, on 11 July 2024
Written by Alice Burnand (Research Assistant), Nathan Davies (Associate Professor Primary Care & Population Health), Abi Woodward (Research Fellow) and Kritika Samsi (Senior Research Fellow).
We recently had the pleasure of hosting a workshop to share the exciting findings from our research project on the role of clinical pharmacists working in primary care to support people with dementia. It was a great opportunity to connect with a diverse audience of health and care professionals, researchers, caregivers, and people with dementia – all with a shared passion for improving the lives of those living with dementia.
Our goal for the workshop was twofold: firstly, to disseminate the key findings from our research, and secondly, to enhance collaboration between various stakeholders in the dementia care landscape. The workshop reflected these goals, included a diverse audience, and an agenda with presentations by our research team. We also invited three speakers, who have been part of our project, to reflect on the study findings and share their contributions. Two of these guest speakers were people with experience of supporting people living with dementia, and one was a clinical pharmacist.
[photos top and bottom: The speakers with lived experience attending and discussing their roles of caring for someone with dementia and receiving support from a clinical pharmacist].
The presentations delved into the specific ways clinical pharmacists can positively impact dementia care. Those with lived experience provided valuable insights into the challenges faced by people with dementia and caregivers, offering a real-world perspective and confirmed the importance of undertaking our research to enhance to quality of care provided to people with dementia.
Reflections from the clinical pharmacist explored topics such as medication optimisation and adherence, services delivered for patients with dementia such as medication reviews, and the pharmacist’s role in identifying and managing polypharmacy. They also shared information about how to access the service, as well as how they can support the multi-disciplinary team, as most our participants were health and care professional who may work alongside pharmacists.
We deliberately incorporated interactive elements within our workshop, through facilitated round table discussions, which allowed participants to share their own experiences and ask questions to our research team and of each other. The open dialogue provided valuable feedback on our research and future exploration. New ideas were received in terms of further disseminating our research and increasing awareness of the clinical pharmacy service for dementia care, including ways to reach underserved groups, such as those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
[photos top and bottom: The clinical pharmacist sharing information on the clinical pharmacist service, how they provide care to people with dementia and information on how to access these services].
Our workshop promoted collaboration between a variety of individuals, including researchers, clinical, health and care professionals, caregivers, and people with dementia, and we were encouraged by the enthusiastic response from the audience and their engagement in providing detailed feedback. We believe this workshop represented a significant step forward in bridging the gap between research and real-world dementia care. For more information about the study, please click here or contact Alice Burnand (a.burnand@ucl.ac.uk).
This event was supported by funding from the British Society of Gerontology’s (BSG) Small Events fund. The views expressed and discussions may not represent the views of the BSG.