Raising care quality through music therapy in people with dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Raising quality of care for people with cognitive impairment through music therapy in care homes: A non-randomised control trial
IRAS ID
304321
Contact name
Helen Odell-Miller
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 9 days
Research summary
This project aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a 12-week music therapy programme in care homes for residents with cognitive impairment and care home staff using a non-randomised control design. Music therapy is widely recognised as beneficial for people living with dementia. However, little is known about its overall impact on quality of care in care homes.
Research questions:
1. Can a music therapy intervention improve quality of care in care homes?
2. What are the effects of music therapy on residents with cognitive impairment and care home staff?
3. Is the implementation of a music therapy programme feasible?
4. For the treatment of symptoms of dementia, is music therapy a cost-effective treatment in care homes?Intervention:
The team will invite a total of 84 participants from 12 Anchor Hanover Group care homes located across England to take part in the study. This includes 48 participants with cognitive impairment and 36 care home staff. The team will recruit a qualified music therapist in each region to work within the care home to deliver the intervention.Residents with cognitive impairment will be invited to receive twenty 30-minute individual music therapy sessions across 12 weeks. The therapy will be video recorded for training purposes. Therapists will work with the residents to learn about their needs and tailor a suitable treatment approach.
Within the 12-week programme, care home staff will be invited to collectively receive music therapy training on four occasions during week 3, 6, 9 and 12. Each music therapist will demonstrate significant moments of their sessions to staff via short video clips from a music therapy session (Hsu et al. 2015). They will provide clinical explanations to staff about the techniques they have used and why they are effective for the individuals with cognitive impairment.
The research is funded by ARU, Utley Foundation and Anchor Hanover Care group.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0153
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion