None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This project will address basic questions regarding the use of daily music listening to improve the quality of life for people with dementia (PWD). It will be the first study to examine the role of how often (and for how long) music listening influences the quality of life of people with dementia using short- and longer-term follow-ups. Sixty participants (with dementia) will be randomly assigned to one of five groups. The groups will include personalised daily music listening with headphones (once or twice daily), audiobook listening with headphones, contemporary music (not personalised), and not wearing headphones or listening to music. All participants will receive their standard care. Expected outcomes include improved quality of life for people with dementia, decreased behavioural disturbances and increased cognitive functioning. This study will examine the effects of listening to personalised music to improve quality of life and behaviour in persons with dementia. We hypothesise personalised music listening will improve the quality of life and behaviour of people with dementia. This hypothesis will be examined by asking the following questions: 1. Does daily exposure of listening to personalised and preferred music via headphones improve quality of life indices in people with dementia? 2. Does daily exposure of listening to personalised and preferred music via headphones reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms (e.g., agitation, anxiety and depression) in people with dementia within residential aged-care facilities? 3. How long after the intervention ceases are any positive outcomes still measurable? Is this period affected by the frequency and duration of the personalised music intervention?
Interventions
Personalised music listening.
Past research has shown listening to music can influence quality of life, cognition, and behavioural/psychological symptoms (BPSD) for people with dementia (Leggieri et al., 2019; Raglio et al., 2015). However, details remain unclear regarding dosage (how much music?), frequency (how often?), and longevity (how long do effects last?). Answering these questions can contribute to developing an evidence-based approach to using music to ease the burden on people with de
Personalised music listening. Past research has shown listening to music can influence quality of life, cognition, and behavioural/psychological symptoms (BPSD) for people with dementia (Leggieri et al., 2019; Raglio et al., 2015). However, details remain unclear regarding dosage (how much music?), frequency (how often?), and longevity (how long do effects last?). Answering these questions can contribute to developing an evidence-based approach to using music to ease the burden on people with dementia (PWD), their carers, and aged-care facilities. The intervention requires limited staff involvement and is time and cost-effective. Participants diagnosed with dementia living in nursing homes and aged-care facilities will be recruited. The intervention will occur at participating aged-care homes in the Perth region of Western Australia. During the initial interview, a researcher will brief each participant on how the study will evaluate any change in the quality of life after the 12 weeks of the music listening intervention. The effects of personalised music listening via headphones, its frequency and duration on the quality of life of people with dementia will be examined in short-and long-term follow-ups. Once baseline neuropsychological assessments are completed, interview sessions (approximately one hour) with each participant and aged-care staff or family members will be conducted to select a set of songs or music segments personally meaningful and enjoyable to the participant. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following groups (N=12 for each): Group A will listen to personalised music via headphones, placed on their head by nursing home staff between 7:30-10:30am daily for 30 minutes (minimum of 5 days per week). Group B will listen to personalised music via headphones as per Group A, but twice daily (between 7:30-10:30am and 1:30-4:30pm). Group C will listen to audiobooks via headphones, as per Group A (same session duration and intervention duration). Group D will listen to contemporary popular experimenter-chosen music (i.e., not personalised) as per Group A. Group E will not have any intervention (control). All participants will continue to receive their standard care. The personalised music and selected audiobook will be downloaded to the headset. The aged-care staff will monitor the participants and provide information to the study about the people with dementia by taking notes when observing their behaviour alongside their standard duties. Participants will receive the intervention for a period of 12 weeks. The measures taken by the researchers at baseline will be redone at 1.5 months, 3 months, 4.5 months and 6 months. We will test for differences across time and across group to see if the type and amount of the intervention affects the quality of life, behaviour and cognition of participants.
Sponsors
Murdoch University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants must: 1. have a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer's disease within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders 5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), as documented in medical history 2. have a score range between 16 to 24 (within the past 3 years) as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (Folstein et al., 1975; Clark et al., 1999) 3. be able to provide informed consent or informed consent to be provided by Proof of Guardianship from family members 4. be able to listen to music. Please note: wearing hearing aids or conditions such as Tinnitus would not affect participation in the study. 5. not be experiencing an acute mental illness 6. reside in aged-care homes
Exclusion criteria
Participants must not: 1. have a history of untreated major psychiatric disorders 2. have cochlear implants 3. have profound hearing loss that has not had any hearing management or treatment and interferes with the ability to hear normally 4. have Lewy body dementia
Outcome results
None listed