More than 425,000 Australians live with dementia, affecting their memory, thinking and independence. Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia. Many people living with dementia take many medicines each day, often five or more (known as polypharmacy), which can increase the risk of harm, including confusion, falls, and hospitalisation.
Dr Ailabouni’s research focuses on reducing medicine-related harm by supporting safer deprescribing, the process of reducing or stopping medicines that may no longer provide benefit. As dementia progresses, these decisions become increasingly complex, requiring shared decision-making between the person, their carer, and their clinician. Dr Ailabouni works with consumers, carers, clinicians, and community partners using co-design and participatory methods to develop practical, real-world solutions.
Dr Ailabouni’s work aims to improve safe medicine use improving people living with dementia’s quality of life by co-designing tools to support conversations about medicines; developing strategies to reduce harm by stopping unnecessary medicines; and improving access to culturally appropriate resources.
A key output of Dr Ailabouni’s work is a publicly available website (www.kindmeds.org) that has been co-designed with people living with dementia and their carers. It hosts a conversation-starter tool and other resources to help people understand their medicines, identify priorities, and engage in decision-making.