My husband with dementia refuses to take his meds about half of the time. What should I do?

I would discuss with MD. Much depends on where you are at in thinking of hubby's health care overall now. A Hospice patient will be required to take fewer medications that are given to prolong life. I would discuss which meds are crucial now. Some meds do not taste bad and can be ground and put into a favored pudding or ice cream. Some cannot.
Talk with the doc about options. Perhaps some medications can actually be stopped.
Best to you.

I would first look at what he is taking. Cholesterol Medication I would stop. Statins contribute to Dementia. Why try to keep his #s down now. Is he taking something to help with his symtoms? If one is for cognitivity they don't do any good after a certain point anyway. If for depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, etc I would continue them. Make sure the pill can be crushed, some can't be. At Moms NH, they put her pill in pudding or yogurt.

S7Catherine, you will need to get creative and hide the meds in food. But first check to see if said pill can be crushed or opened and be mixed with food.

For my elderly Mom, mixing a pill into chocolate ice cream did the trick. In fact, after she no longer needed said med, she didn't like the taste of regular ice cream :)

We crush my sister's meds and put them in a double stuffed ored cookie

A tip I learned from other caregivers for when my Mom doesn’t want to take her medicine is to say okay, wait a little bit, distract with other activities, then try again. My Mom usually will finally take her medication the 2nd time I try.

Catherine, welcome!

What kinds of medication is he taking?

Is it important?

Can he tell you why he doesn't want to take it?