Dementia: When music is the only way in – An emergency intervention: Innovative Practice

Abstract

Music cannot only provide comfort and reduce agitation associated with dementia, but can also generate connections between all who are present. This article describes an 'emergency' music intervention conducted by the author during doctoral fieldwork, which illustrates how music was used as a medium for connection and comfort with a highly agitated person with advanced dementia. This experience provides strong support for increasing the training of musicians towards providing music for people living with dementia-particularly when other nonpharmaceutical methods are not proving effective.

Challenges and enablers for creative arts practice in care homes

“…The environmental features of the setting in which an arts activity is delivered may be both a mediator for, and a contributor to its effects (Gregory 2011;Camic et al 2016). The physical spaces available for creative activity within care setting are often not optimised for group activity, physical movement, or creative 'mess' (Broome et al 2018;Dix et al 2018).…”

“…These included the physical context for the activities, the routines, policies and practices of staff, the ways in which positive relationships with staff and residents in the care settings were enabled and the confidence of artists established over the course of the three-year project . Initial planning or consultation meetings between artists and key care home personnel have also been described as highly worthwhile in ensuring mutual understanding and smooth delivery (Courtyard Centre for the Arts no date; Broome et al 2018). This paper builds on and complements a previous paper by the same authors, members of a university research team, reporting on mentoring and peer support as facilitators to the training and support of artists working in care homes (Evans et al 2019).…”

A pilot study of an intergenerational program for people in residential aged care with cognitive impairment and children from a co-located early learning centre during COVID-19

“…Children learned the songs, and then taught them to other children at the early learning centre who were not part of the program. For older people, memory of familiar music and lyrics can be retained in mild to moderate and even advanced stages of dementia ( Cuddy et al, 2012 ; Garabedian, 2019 ).…”