Osteoporosis medicine use for people with dementia - DOMINO study 1.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Fracture prevention for people with Dementia: Optimisation of MedicINe for Osteoporosis: the DOMINO study

• IRAS ID

  335621

• Contact name

  Laurna Bullock

• Contact email

  l.bullock@keele.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Keele University

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 6 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  BACKGROUND
  Broken bones are sometimes caused by a condition called ‘osteoporosis’. Osteoporosis is where your bones become weaker and are more likely to break easily. People with dementia are more likely to have osteoporosis and broken bones. Broken bones can result in loss of independence, worsening of dementia and need for more support from caregivers. UK guidelines recommend that people with dementia should be prescribed osteoporosis medicines, where appropriate, to prevent broken bones. However, people with dementia are not often offered these medicines, or do not stay on them long enough for them to be effective. First-line osteoporosis tablet medicines have special instructions on how they should be taken, which can be challenging for people with dementia, and they may be more likely to experience side-effects. Alternatively, osteoporosis medicines can be given by injection or infusion once every 6 months or once a year. This can take place in-hospital, or, in some areas, in the patient’s home.

  AIMS AND METHODS
  Interviews will be completed with people with dementia and relatives/friends of people with dementia. Interviews or focus groups will be completed with health and social care professionals and managers. Interviews and focus groups aim to explore peoples’:
  •experiences of deciding about, and receiving different osteoporosis medicines, in different settings (e.g. at home, in hospital).
  •barriers and enablers to offering non-tablet osteoporosis medicines, at home or in-hospital, to people with dementia.

  OUTPUTS
  Interviews and focus groups will inform the development of resources to support people with dementia to be offered and make decisions about osteoporosis medicines that fit best for them and their lives. The potential benefits of these resources are:
  •Increased access to more osteoporosis medicine options
  •Improved shared decision-making
  •More likely to start and continue osteoporosis medicines
  •Fewer broken bones with associated disability and deaths
  

• REC name

  Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/YH/0141

• Date of REC Opinion

  17 Jul 2025

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion