Therapeutic sound for care home residents with dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study into the therapeutic effects of a sound-based intervention for care home residents with dementia
IRAS ID
170856
Contact name
Simon Evans
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Worcester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 16 days
Research summary
The idea for this project came from the experiences of using therapeutic sound in a nursing home setting, in which beneficial effects were observed when using an instrument called the Freenotes Wing, an instrument designed to create pure, smooth sounds and use a pentatonic scale so that all notes are harmonic. This experience has informed the focus of the study, which has been designed by researchers at the Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester.
The project will explore the effects of therapeutic sound when experienced by people with dementia. The College of Sound Healing defines sound healing as: ‘the therapeutic application of sound frequencies to the body/mind of a person with the intention of bringing them into a state of harmony and health.’
Although there have been some studies on the use of music therapy and therapeutic music intervention with this client group, there is limited information on the impact of sound as separate from interaction with a therapist/facilitator and peers. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that playing therapeutic sounds in the environment may have a calming influence on both residents and staff and reduce levels of agitation. The proposed short pilot study will explore the potential effects and how to measure them; it is hoped that this will lead to a larger evaluation adopting an experimental methodology.REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
15/IEC08/0010
Date of REC Opinion
2 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion