Key Summary
- On account of Dementia Action Week, Boots is funding research to explore how Memory Boxes help people with dementia.
- The study examines how multi‑sensory, place‑based Memory Boxes can help people feel more connected to their communities.
- It will gather views from people living with dementia, families, carers, care‑home staff, and pharmacists to understand the benefits, enablers, and barriers to wider rollout.
Ahead of the Dementia Action Week (18-24 May), Boots has partnered with the University of Nottingham to evaluate the impact of Memory Boxes - first introduced by the company last year - on everyday dementia care and to explore their potential as a social prescribing intervention for more patients.
Boots initially launched the Memory Boxes and distributed over 1,000 units to care homes and carers across the UK.
Each box includes items evoking older health and beauty rituals, such as lavender bath salts, coal tar soap, hair rollers, and powder compacts, designed to reignite familiar sensory memories.
This can help stimulate memory recall and support meaningful moments of connection for people living with dementia.
The new eight‑month study will be co‑led by professor Tracey Thornley, Professor of Health Policy, and Professor Svenja Adolphs, professor of English Language and Linguistics, both at the University of Nottingham.
Professor Thornley said that care is often viewed purely through a medical lens, yet some of the most effective supports for health and wellbeing come from social, sensory, and relational experiences.
“Community pharmacists already play a vital role beyond dispensing, supporting people and families to manage long‑term conditions in everyday life,” she added.
It will gather views from people living with dementia, families, carers, care‑home staff, and pharmacists to understand the benefits, enablers, and barriers to wider rollout.
The study will also investigate how multi‑sensory, place‑based Memory Boxes can deepen people’s sense of belonging and how the concept could be embedded into routine care pathways.
Sophie Clapp, Boots Archivist, said that memories are central to a person’s identity and life story, and that a familiar object, scent, or sound from the past can often open the door to a meaningful conversation.
