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- Title
ROLE OF MUSICAL LEISURE ACTIVITIES IN DEMENTIA CARE: APPLICABILITY AND BENEFITS PERCEIVED BY CAREGIVERS.
- Authors
Särkämö, Teppo; Laitinen, Sari; Numminen, Ava; Kurki, Merja; Rantanen, Pekka
- Abstract
Many basic musical skills, such as being able to sing familiar songs and perceive the acoustic features and emotional connotations of music, are often well-preserved even in the advanced stages of a neurodegenerative disease such Alzheimer's disease, which makes music a viable tool for dementia care and rehabilitation. However, in most previous studies music has been used in therapist-lead interventions designed for persons with dementia (PWD), who already have severe cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms and who reside in nursing homes. The aim of the present study was to determine the practical applicability and suitability of a novel group intervention based on coaching the caregivers of PWDs who have mild/moderate disease severity to apply singing and listening of familiar songs in the everyday care. For this purpose, 89 PWDcaregiver dyads were recruited to a 9-month single-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) where they received either 10 weeks of singing coaching, music listening coaching, or usual care. The coaching intervention was aimed towards training and motivating the caregivers on how to apply either joint singing or music listening with the PWD on a regular basis. Here we present the results of the questionnaires and interviews regarding the short-term effects of the coaching sessions on the emotional state of the PWDs, the benefits of the coaching perceived by the family members and nurses of PWDs, and the effects of the coaching on the occupational well-being of the nurses of the PWDs. During the coaching sessions, the emotional state of the PWDs improved clearly: positive emotions (happiness and energy) increased and negative emotions (tiredness, confusion, tenseness, fearfulness) decreased. After the coaching period, both singing and music listening were experienced as highly beneficial by the caregivers, especially in improving the mood of the PWDs. In addition, singing was associated with improved alertness and experience of success whereas music listening was associated with an increased tendency for reminiscence. At the 6-month post-intervention stage, majority of the caregivers still provided musical activities regularly to the PWDs and regarded them as beneficial. Professional nurses were found to be most active in providing the music sessions and also reported the highest gains for the PWDs, although the music coaching did not influence their occupational well-being. Overall, the results suggest that music coaching is an applicable and useful method that could be widely utilized in dementia care and rehabilitation.
- Subjects
LEISURE; CARE of dementia patients; CAREGIVERS; NEUROBEHAVIORAL disorders; RANDOMIZED controlled trials
- Publication
Journal of Communications Research, 2013, Vol 5, Issue 3, p331
- ISSN
1935-3537
- Publication type
Article