The role of music in the lives of older adults with dementia ageing in place: A scoping review

Abstract

The number of people around the world living with dementia is predicted to rise from 44 million to 135 million by 2050. Traditional treatments for dementia have been largely unsuccessful and prompted the emergence of alternative strategies. Music is emerging as an effective therapeutic strategy for older adults with dementia however, most of the work to date has focused on institutions. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize what is known about the role and impact that music plays in the lives of community-dwelling older adults with dementia. Using a five-stage framework for conducting a scoping review, analysis revealed three ways in which music influences the lives of community-dwelling older adults with dementia: (a) reduced agitation, (b) improved cognition, and (c) enhanced social well-being. The concept of personhood provided a lens with which to conceptualize the findings and highlights the need for continued research.

‘Now He Sings’. The My Musical Memories Reminiscence Programme: Personalised Interactive Reminiscence Sessions for People Living with Dementia

“…We have identified a range of positive impacts of the programme, which support the potential for approaches based on the creative arts to promote engagement and social interaction for people with dementia, thus increasing levels of wellbeing (Elliott and Gardner, 2016). This was augmented by evidence from unpaid carers and volunteers of participants' enjoyment of the intervention, including a strong desire not to miss any sessions as demonstrated by the following quote: "Mum suffers with pain in her leg, but I said to her last time, 'do you really want to go?'…”

“…This is thought to be primarily due to the potential for music to reach uninjured parts of the brain, which enables people living with dementia to improve how they interact with people within their environment, and helps alleviate the isolation often attributed to dementia (Gerdner, 2009; Hubbard, Cook, Tester, & Downs, 2002; Sorrell, 2008). A recent review of the literature concluded that music can benefit people with dementia by reducing agitation, improving cognition and enhancing social wellbeing (Elliott & Gardner, 2016). The authors also noted that most of the evidence for the impact of music on people with dementia comes from quantitative research designs, and suggested that a qualitative approach may be more appropriate.…”

Music-Based Therapeutic Interventions for People with Dementia: A Mini-Review

“…Based on the abstract and article content, we retrieved 11 eligible systematic reviews published since 2015. These included: Elliott and Gardner [10]; Fakhoury et al [11]; Fusar-Poli et al [12]; Gomez-Romero et al [13]; Ing-Randolph, Phillips and Williams [14]; Pedersen et al [15]; Petrovsky, Cacchione and George [16]; Tsoi et al [17]; van der Steen et al [18,19]; and Zhang et al [20].…”

Dementia Friendly Memory Institutions

“…Cognitive reserve represents a baseline to be preserved as much as possible in slowing the onset of ADRD and has been the goal at the heart of both medical and other therapies that have been developed since its identification. Specific nonpharmacological therapies used as clinical interventions may include music programming (Topo et al, 2004;McDermott, Orrell, & Ridder, 2014;Elliott & Gardner, 2016;Evans, Garabedian, & Bray, 2019), art therapy (Mottram, 2003;Beard, 2011;Chancellor, Duncan & Chatterjee, 2014;Sauer, Fopma-Loy, Kinney, & Lokon, 2016;Moss & O'Neill, 2019), reminiscence therapy (Kim et al, 2006;Haslam et al, 2010;Westerhof, Bohlmeijer, & Webster, 2010;Dempsey et al, 2014;Gonzalez et al, 2015;Critten & Kucirkova, 2019), and performative therapy (Basting, 2009;Basting, Towey, & Rose, 2016), among others. Such therapies not only encourage the preservation of arts-based abilities developed over a lifetime prior to the onset of ADRD, but in some cases offer an opportunity for learning a new skill or building further on existing talent.…”