Effects of Music Therapy on the Care Burden of In-Home Caregivers and Physiological Parameters of Their In-Home Dementia Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objectives: This study was conducted to explore the effects of classical Turkish music therapy on both the caregiver burden and physiological parameters of patients with dementia. Methods: The study was a randomized controlled trial. It was conducted with dementia patients (n = 75) and their caregivers who were registered at in-home care services of the General Secretariat of the Association of Public Hospitals in Ordu. The study sample consisted of 30 control and 30 music group patients and their caregivers who satisfied the inclusion criteria for the study conducted between April 2015 and April 2016. The primary outcome of the study was to measure the care burden of in-home caregivers, and the secondary outcome was to measure physiological parameters, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration rate in patients with dementia. Results: The mean scores of the post-test caregiver burden in the music group were found to be significantly lower than those of the control group (t = -4.478, p = 0.001). The differences in the post-test systolic and diastolic blood pressures between the patient groups were found to be statistically significant (t = -4.603, p = 0.001; t = -2.656, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Classical Turkish music intervention in in-home dementia patients decreased the care burden of caregivers and the patients' blood pressures were brought under control. In parallel with these results, it is recommended that more studies to reveal the effects of classical Turkish music on care burden should be conducted.

A Pilot randomized clinical trial of adapted tango to improve cognition and psychosocial function in African American women with family history of Alzheimer's disease (ACT trial)

“…An adapted form of Argentine Tango dance, Adapted Tango is a mild-moderately challenging aerobic physical activity that promotes social interaction, cognitive engagement, and physical coordination with the rhythm of the music. Research demonstrates that listening to music is effective at decreasing anxiety, depression, and caregiver burden [24] , [25] . Furthermore, Adapted Tango has demonstrated benefits for older adults [26] and individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) [27] , [28] , [29] : patients with PD demonstrate improvements in mobility and spatial cognition [27] , [28] , [29] while older adults improve in motor-cognitive integration [26] .…”

Songwriting Group Music Therapy to promote psychological adjustment in informal caregivers of elderly people with dependency: a mixed methods study

“…These consequences of caring for health must be addressed from a multidisciplinary approach, considering the needs of the informal caregiver. Many therapeutic disciplines can be used to improve their well-being ( Warth et al, 2019 ; Ahn et al, 2020 ), with music therapy being a very powerful tool, demonstrating effectiveness in improving the QoL of informal caregivers ( Clair et al, 1993 ; Clair, 2002 ; Brotons and Marti, 2003 ; Magill, 2009 ; Choi, 2010 ; Kim and Dvorak, 2018 ; Potvin et al, 2018 ; Gok Ugur et al, 2019 ; García-Valverde et al, 2020 ; Valero-Cantero et al, 2020 ; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, 2020 ; Brault and Vaillancourt, 2022 ; Denk, 2023 ; Whitford et al, 2023 ).…”

“…In the few existing studies about music therapy and informal caregivers, songwriting is the most used technique. The studies that focused on the applications of music therapy in group formats with informal caregivers have shown a positive impact on QoL ( Clair et al, 1993 ; Clair, 2002 ; Brotons and Marti, 2003 ; Magill, 2009 ; Choi, 2010 ; Kim and Dvorak, 2018 ; Potvin et al, 2018 ; Gok Ugur et al, 2019 ; Clark et al, 2020 ; García-Valverde et al, 2020 ; Valero-Cantero et al, 2020 ; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, 2020 ; Brault and Vaillancourt, 2022 ; Denk, 2023 ; Whitford et al, 2023 ). However, most studies focus on the intervention of the caregiver and cared-for person dyad.…”

Interventions Effective in Decreasing Burden in Caregivers of Persons with Dementia: A Meta-Analysis

“…The identification of the studies was performed using the author’s name, date, and a unique identifier code. The studies were grouped (individual information [ 28 , 29 , 30 ], individual therapy [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], group therapy [ 33 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ], respite care [ 33 , 56 , 57 ], support group [ 32 , 45 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ], and workshop [ 20 , 63 , 64 ]) according to the type of intervention [ 12 , 65 ] ( Supplementary Tables S1–S6 ).…”