Summary: A recent study demonstrates how audio therapy can relieve extreme stress in dementia patients on clinic wards. A songs therapist is used to provide sessions and create customized artistic care plans for patients in the MELODIC approach.
Findings showed a better quality of life and less stress, with no negative effects being reported. A sympathetic alternative to psychoactive medication is provided by this low-cost, flexible intervention.
Important Information
- Improved Wellbeing: Audio therapy significantly improved dementia patients’ quality of life and reduced their feelings of stress.
- Low-Cost Solution: The action is flexible and economical because it costs just over £2, 000 per quarter.
- Safe and Effective: No severe events were associated with music treatment, demonstrating its efficacy in complex treatment options.
Anglia Ruskin University is the cause
A brand-new method of treatment that uses audio treatment on dementia units might enhance the care and support for some of the NHS’s most vulnerable people.
Researchers at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and Anglia Ruskin University ( ARU) have tested a MELODIC music therapy technique in two NHS dementia wards.
More psychoactive medication solutions are required to help dementia patients who suffer a lot.
Results from the pilot study have been published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, which includes the execution of artistic treatment plans for each patient, a music therapist being embedded in hospital wards, the delivery of therapeutic music sessions, and the implementation of artistic care plans for each patient.
Music therapy, provided by qualified professionals, may contain playing, singing, or listening to music. The doctor can also detect specific ways that music can be used by caregivers and families in a person’s daily maintenance program.
Patient data during the investigation suggested a slight improvement in individual quality of life scores and a decrease in the severity of stress symptoms and disruptiveness, although anger scores increased marginally.
No new incidents that are regularly reported, and no adverse events involving music therapy interventions are reported. This is pertinent for upcoming studies on mental health dementia wards, where only limited studies have been conducted to date.
The Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University ( ARU), a research institute led by author Naomi Thompson, said:” People with dementia on inpatient mental health wards are frequently experiencing very high levels of distress, and staff are under immense pressure to manage this in ways that are safe and compassionate.
Our study produced promising results, which also important demonstrated that the MELODIC tool can be effectively used in these extremely complex settings, giving an alternative to the traditional methods of managing severe distress, such as psychotropic medication.
Interviews with 49 healthcare professionals, patients, and their families about their experiences managing stress on dementia wards and using music in daily life to inform the intervention were used as part of the approach. The findings were published in the , Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Importantly, the intervention, which has been co-designed by clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience, only cost £2, 025 per month for the therapist and £400 for the equipment, suggesting a low-cost, scalable model.
Some people with dementia can become so confused and depressed that we need to admit them to a hospital to keep them safe, said Dr. Ben Underwood, Research and Development Director and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at CPFT. In a ward environment, it can be challenging for patients, their families, and the staff to manage distress.
” We look forward to working with ARU to improve this further, and I’m very excited that it may now be possible for NHS staff to improve their experience on dementia wards.”
The current study was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research ( NIHR ) and published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, the journal.
About this news about music and dementia research
Author: Jamie Forsyth
Source: Anglia Ruskin University
Contact: Jamie Forsyth – Anglia Ruskin University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Open access to original research
Naomi Thompson and colleagues ‘” Music Therapy Embedded in the Life of Dementia Inpatient Care ( MELODIC ) to help prevent and manage distress: a feasibility study to inform a future trial.” Psychiatry frontiers
Abstract
A feasibility study to inform a future trial of MELODIC, a program that incorporates music therapy into the life of dementia inpatient care ( MELODIC ) to help prevent and manage distress:
Introduction: National Health Service ( NHS) mental health dementia wards in the UK offer specialist care to people with dementia who are in acute need. Although there is little research into these settings, music therapy may temporarily lessen stress.
This co-designed, complex intervention development study sought to assess the suitability of the research methods and the suitability of delivering a standardized music therapy protocol ( MELODIC: Music Therapy Embedded in the Life of Dementia Inpatient Care ) on these wards.
Methods: 1 ) establishing a music therapist in the multidisciplinary team; 2 ) delivering clinical music therapy sessions; 3 ) creating musical care plans for each patient; 4 ) providing training and support for staff and families to implement care plans. Purposefully, two NHS mental health dementia wards were recruited with different musical therapy backgrounds.
Subject to written consent, all patients, their families, and the staff were eligible to participate. The intervention took place over the course of four weeks. To track treatment adherence, the interventionist kept a diary of all interactions with patients, staff, and families.
Questionnaires on the patient, family, and staff outcomes were collected twice before and twice after the delivery of the intervention. Post-intervention, interviews were conducted and routinely collected data were gathered.
Results: The MELODIC intervention was acceptable and had high levels of follow-up with the medication. With high levels of data completeness and recruitment targets met ( including 28 patients, 13 family members, 48 staff members ), the research methods were effective.
No increase in distress symptoms or reported safety incidents were found in quantitative data during the intervention period. Intervention refinement was supported by interventionist diaries and qualitative data.
Conclusion: It was possible to co-design and deliver a novel music therapy intervention in a highly complex setting caring for some of the most vulnerable patients in the NHS. The research techniques were workable and beneficial. In a controlled trial, the clinical efficacy of this protocolized intervention should be evaluated.
Registration: ISRCTN86317609
