Feasibility of a Culturally Adapted Sonas Programme in Australian Aged Care: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial for People with Dementia

Arm 1: Culturally Adapted Sonas Programme Participants with dementia will be identified by residential aged care facility staff based on their eligibility for the Sonas Programme. Initial contact will be made by the facility staff, who will approach the person with dementia (where appropriate) and/or their family members to inform them about the research project. If the resident and/or family expresses interest, a member of the research team will provide the Participant Information Letter and Consent Form to the residents and/or their family member or legal guardian. The Sonas intervention will be delivered in a group format of 7 over 16 weeks, with each cultural group receiving one 30-minute session per day, two days per week. This intervention schedule is informed by previous multisensory programs implemented for people with dementia (Octary et al., 2025). The Sonas Programme is a multi-sensory stimulation intervention that engages all five senses - touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight. However, hearing is the primary focus, particularly through the use of music in this program. For example, each session includes familiar songs designed to stimulate memory and encourage engagement in participants with dementia. The activities are pre-determined and structured, delivered via pre-recorded sessions. However, a research assistant or chief investigator will be present at each session to facilitate delivery and provide individual support. Intervention sessions will be conducted in the mornings of week 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,11,13, and 15, and in the afternoons of week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16. They will be rotated to ensure each participant receives the intervention at different times to avoid any confounding medication effect. Sessions will be held in designated spaces, such as meeting rooms or facility living areas, with the support of the activity coordinator. The program content features multisensory activities, including music and group singalongs. Session attendance is required to assess adherence to the intervention. Before data collection, the Chief Investigator (CI) will undergo training to become a Sonas Programme Licensed Practitioner (SPLP). The CI will then culturally adapt the Sonas Programme in consultation with residents, family members, and care staff. To ensure cultural appropriateness, a team member or research assistant (RA) from the same cultural background as participants will review the adapted program and if there are any discrepancies, a third person will be consulted to reach a consensus. Data will be collected at eight time points to monitor changes throughout the intervention and follow-up period: baseline (T0), Week 3 (T1), Week 6 (T2), Week 9 (T3), and Week 12 (T4), Week 15 (T5), three weeks post-intervention (T6) and six weeks post-intervention (T7) using the Engagement of a Person with Dementia Scale (Jones et al., 2018), Visual Analog Mood Scale (VAMS) (Stern et al., 2010), Neuropsychiatric Inventory - Nursing Home (NPI-NH) version (Wood et al., 2000), quality of life measured by DEMQOL (Smith et al., 2007), Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) (Alexopoulos, et al., 1988) , Holden Communication Scale (Strøm et al., 2016), and Abbey Pain Scale (Abbey et al., 2004). This schedule allows for tracking short-term and longer-term effects of the intervention on residents' wellbeing.