The Expanding Scope, Inclusivity, and Integration of Music in Healthcare: Recent Developments, Research Illustration, and Future Direction

Abstract

This paper is in three sections. Section One presents a historical overview of international initiatives that have expanded the role of music in healthcare, from the initial formalization of music therapy to its more research-based rehabilitation focus to recent decades that have seen an increasing role for professional and community musicians, paraprofessional music services, music-oriented service organizations, and a very large increase in medical funding for music effects. “Music Care” is a particular and comprehensive concept promoted by the Room 217 Foundation in Canada, featuring an inclusive and integrated approach to optimizing the use of music in healthcare settings. It is part of an expanding landscape of global practices and policies where music is used to address specific issues of care. Section Two is provided as an illustration of the growing scope of the concept of using music in healthcare. It reports on a multi-year project that engaged 24 long-term care homes in conducting individualized action research projects using the fundamental approach of “Music Care”, empowering all caregivers, formal and informal, musicians and non-musicians, to use music to improve quality of life and care. Section Two presents only high-level results of the study focused on using music care to reduce resident isolation and loneliness. Section Three draws on the results from the study reported in Section Two to inform the potential and path to the future of music optimization in any healthcare setting.

Understanding the Effects of Music Care on the Lived Experience of Isolation and Loneliness in Long-Term Care: A Qualitative Study

“…Outcome data were collected pre- and post- implementation of the music care initiative to understand the impact of music care on residents’ lived experience of isolation and loneliness. These quantitative results are reported elsewhere [ 27 ].…”

“…Despite staffing challenges and shortages in LTC homes in Ontario, the implementation of the MCP program significantly decreased self-perceived isolation scores of participating residents [ 27 ]. In addition to understanding the resident outcomes associated with MCP, it is critical to gain an understanding of the lived experience of staff, volunteers, and residents who were part of the MCP initiative, especially given the systemic challenges (such as staff shortages, caregiver burnout, etc.).…”

Social prescribing: A narrative review of how community engagement can improve wellbeing in later life

“…This was supported by another study that found that by the end of a social prescription of community exercise classes, loneliness scores decreased and participant's scores on social connectedness improved (Mays, Kim, Rosales, Au, & Rosen, 2020). Some care homes that introduced music activities such as choirs reported a decrease in loneliness/isolation, although this effect was inconsistent (Foster, Pearson, Berends, & Mackinnon, 2021). Qualitative reports from further studies support a decrease in loneliness from social group interventions (Coll‐Planas et al, 2021).…”

“…This was supported by another visual arts program that involved viewing and then making art, which found a decrease in negative affect over a 12‐week intervention (Windle et al, 2018). A music intervention in long‐term care homes found a decrease in depression and aggression for some homes following the intervention (Foster et al, 2021). These results suggest that social prescribing may be beneficial for older adults' mental health.…”

Music Connects Us: Development of a Music-Based Group Activity Intervention to Engage People Living with Dementia and Address Loneliness

“…Music Connects Us involves a range of professional, semi-professional and student musicians who create musical experiences, and is part of a broader movement to increase use of music in care environments. This broader movement involves a range of initiatives including: music therapy, where trained therapists use music prescriptively for health and wellbeing; music medicine, where the sonic, vibrational, and rhythmic properties of music and sound are used as medicine; other kinds of music-based programming, like offering care home residents personalized playlists; and organizations like the Room 217 foundation which offers caregivers, with and without musical skill, the training and resources to integrate music into many aspects of their practice in order to deliver ‘music care’ [ 56 ]. Music Connects Us primarily addresses the music care domain of musicking, which is the promotion of spontaneous and informal engagement with music (e.g., listening, music-making) [ 57 ], and offers residents a specialized, time-limited musical experience.…”