Can a simple nudge help dementia patients safely stop unneeded pills?
NCT ID NCT06347172
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jul 31, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tested whether gentle reminders (nudges) to doctors and caregivers could help reduce risky medications in people with dementia. Researchers enrolled 250 patients and their primary care providers. The goal was to see if this approach is practical and can be measured in a future larger trial.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Nudge intervention (behavioral prompts for doctors and patients)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could help reduce unnecessary or risky medications in people with dementia, potentially improving safety and quality of life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed feasibility study, not a large trial. It only measured whether people viewed the nudges, not long-term health outcomes. Results may not apply to other settings.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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262 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2024
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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65 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Primary care providers will be the primary unit of identification and randomization. Primary care providers inclusion criteria: * Providers within Brigham and Women's Hospital primary care practices * Having prescribed at least one of the high-risk medications of interest Eligible patients will be identified through this providers within the health care system. Patient inclusion criteria: * At least 65 years of age * Prescribed at least 90 pills of one of the high-risk medications of interest in the last 180 days in the EHR system, which most guidelines consider chronic use, and have a diagnosis of dementia in the EHR.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Mass General Brigham
Boston, Massachusetts, 02120, United States
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