A MT/DMP group for people with dementia living in the community
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A mixed methods feasibility study exploring the value of a combined music therapy and dance movement psychotherapy group for older adults with dementia living in the community.
IRAS ID
215811
Contact name
Steven Lyons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Edge Hill University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study is the second stage of a PhD investigating the value of arts therapies in dementia. The first stage was a systematic review that found quantitative evidence from randomised controlled trials that music therapy can temporarily reduce symptoms of dementia such as depression and agitation. The review also found qualitative evidence from studies in dance movement psychotherapy to suggest the importance of embodied communication. However, within both disciplines there is a lack of research capturing the experiences of older people with dementia living in the community at different stages of the disease. Given the creative nature of these disciplines and possible difficulties participants may have remembering and sharing their experiences verbally, including arts based data could provide additional insights into the participants' lived experience. The intent of this study is to explore the value of a community-based combined music therapy and dance movement psychotherapy group for older adults with dementia. A convergent mixed method design will be used in which quantitative and qualitative data will be collected in parallel, analysed separately and then merged. The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) will rate symptoms of depression; the qualitative strand will involve the use of video and a reflective tool to capture changes in participant's creative expression. The different forms of data will be merged to gain an insight into the therapy process, and assessing this against objective scores on mood. As a feasibility study it will test rates of recruitment, consent and retention for these interventions in a community setting using a crossover design to gather preliminary data about treatment effect. It will also test validated tools to collect data on proposed outcomes, explore qualitative and arts based data collection and evaluate the intervention’s adherence to a treatment manual based on my systematic review.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0663
Date of REC Opinion
2 May 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion