Evaluation of the Music Engagement Program for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia: Study protocol for a pilot trial

Abstract

Background Alzheimer's disease and dementia are prevalent conditions globally. People with Alzheimer's disease and dementia commonly experience mental health problems, negative emotional states, and behavioural disturbance. Music therapy has previously been used in this population to improve symptoms of mental health problems; however, there is a paucity of evidence-based programs that also explore positive outcomes such as overall quality of life, social outcomes, as well as the acceptability and sustainability of these programs. Aims This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the specialised Music Engagement Program (MEP) in improving quality of life, wellbeing, and depression symptoms, in aged-care residents with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The project also aims to explore how the MEP could be applied and maintained on a broader level throughout the aged-care community. Methods The intervention will take place over 8 weeks in an aged-care facility for people living with dementia in Canberra, Australia. Weekly 45-60-min group singing sessions will be led by a music facilitator. Results The results of the study will be submitted for publication in relevant academic journals and mental health conferences, disseminated to participants on request, to the residential care facility, and via the lead researcher's website. Conclusions This study can provide an indication of the feasibility of the MEP in enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Further investigation will be required to establish the MEP's ability to be maintained on an ongoing basis with minimal costs and administrative support. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12618001690246

Impacts of Music Intervention on Dementia: A Review Using Meta-Narrative Method and Agenda for Future Research

“…This meta-narrative review on the previous studies indicated some improvement in the physiological or psychosomatic behaviors of people living with dementia after music intervention [ 30 , 34 , 38 , 51 , 57 , 67 , 70 ]. For example, music intervention may cause decrease in agitation [ 2 , 19 , 21 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 50 ], anxiety [ 19 , 36 , 37 , 43 , 45 , 50 ], depression [ 19 , 37 , 43 , 49 , 50 ], behavioral and psychological symptoms [ 2 , 43 , 44 , 72 ], and boost cognition, memory [ 2 , 14 , 19 , 37 , 41 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 49 ], motor outcome, and quality of life [ 19 , 43 , 44 , 49 ], while there are studies that did not reach any clear conclusion about the effectiveness of music [ 18 , 62 ].…”

“…Control group: To compare individuals living with dementia who experience music treatment and others who only receive pharmacological treatment or are involved in other activities, it is necessary to divide people with dementia into two groups: a control group or a study group. Although sixteen papers out of 30 [ 18 , 29 , 30 , 34 , 38 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ] included both groups in their studies, some studies did not have a control group in their experiments [ 21 , 26 , 28 , 33 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. For example, in two studies [ 54 , 55 ] with both control and study groups, a greater behavioral disturbance was noticed between the study group than the control group.…”

“…Live or recorded music: Music intervention sessions are conducted either as a recorded [ 18 , 21 , 26 , 28 , 38 , 50 , 54 , 60 , 62 , 66 , 67 , 69 ] or live music [ 57 ] based on individual’s preference, or recorded [ 29 , 52 , 53 , 56 , 59 , 61 , 65 ] or live music [ 63 ] selected by caregivers, while some other studies have employed music therapy sessions either as a recorded music based on the individual’s preference [ 18 , 26 ], recorded [ 34 , 51 , 58 , 68 ], or live music [ 33 , 70 ] selected by music therapist. Five studies observed that listening to live music and being engaged with the singer and/or singing the song and/or playing musical instruments boosted the general well-being, mood, quality of life, and PWD’s relationships with others [ 33 , 57 , 63 , 67 , 70 ]. However, in some papers, changes in the health status of individuals living with dementia were observed while listening to recorded music [ 38 , 41 , 52 , 54 , 65 ], which implies no apparent differences in the reviewed studies between playing live or recorded music.…”

“…Music therapy was examined either as an active therapy in individual [ 58 , 68 , 70 ] or group [ 30 , 33 , 34 ] modes, or receptive group therapy [ 18 , 64 ]. Music intervention is considered either as active [ 18 , 29 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 67 ], receptive [ 21 , 38 , 52 , 54 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 69 ], or both receptive and active modes [ 28 , 50 ]. Although most of the music therapy studies have reported positive changes in the individuals’ symptoms, in one study, no changes in wandering behavior were reported [ 33 ].…”

Eficacia de los programas de musicoterapia: un metanálisis cualitativo

“…Por último, 8 programas se evalúan mediante una metodología mixta (16%). La mayoría de ellos, 6 programas (75%) presentan un método cuantitativo a través de cuestionario con un diseño pretest-postest y como técnica cualitativa la entrevista (Calo et al, 2020;Gulliver et al, 2019;Hirschberg et al, 2020;Low et al, 2020;Riggins & McLennon, 2020;Uhlig et al, 2016).…”