th
Proceedings of the 14 WFMT World Congress of Music Therapy July 7-12, 2014 in Vienna/Krems, Austria
WHAT A GLORIOUS FEELING, I'M HAPPY AGAIN: MUSIC THERAPY AND DEMENTIA SYMPTOMS Ming Hung Hsu Methodist Homes (MHA), Anglia Ruskin University, UK Rosamund Pendry Methodist Homes (MHA), UK Helen Odell-Miller Anglia Ruskin University, UK Jörg Fachner Anglia Ruskin University, UK Michael Parker Anglia Ruskin University, UK
Abstract The study seeks to investigate the effectiveness of a music therapy programme for care home residents with dementia. It explores the programme’s efficacy in minimising residents’ symptoms of dementia, and in promoting carers’ attentiveness to residents’ needs and abilities in managing residents’ symptoms of dementia. Introduction BPSD (Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia) have been reported to affect approximately 80% of people with dementia living in care homes (Margallo-Lana et al., 2001; Zuidema et al., 2007). This compromises care home residents’ quality of life and additionally increases carers’ stress in daily practice. Previous research has indicated music therapy supports the reduction of BPSD
(Livingston et al., 2005); however, little knowledge has been generated into how sessions work (McDermott et al., 2012), and their impact on carers’ practice. This PhD project has been carried out in dementia care homes in Methodist Homes (MHA), a non-for-profit organisation providing care services in the UK. Aims The study seeks to investigate: 1) the effectiveness of music therapy in minimising residents’ BPSD 2) the key elements of music therapy that reduce BPSD 3) whether the music therapy programme promotes carers’ attentiveness to residents’ needs and abilities in managing residents’ BPSD. Methods The study
is
a
cluster
randomised
ISSN: 1610-191X © 2014 WFMT. All rights reserved.
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