Music therapy may reduce distress for people with dementia
Research with CPFT finds that a new treatment approach using music therapy on NHS dementia wards could improve care and support for some of the most vulnerable NHS patients.
More alternatives to medication are needed to support dementia patients who experience severe distress. Music therapy delivered by trained therapists can include singing, playing or listening to music. The therapist can also identify specific ways that music can be used by families and carers in an individual’s daily care routine.
The MELODIC music therapy manual has been piloted on two NHS dementia wards by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and CPFT. Their pilot study trialled embedding a music therapist on hospital wards, delivering clinical music sessions and creating musical care plans for each patient. Results from the research have now been published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
During the study, the data suggested a slight improvement in quality-of-life scores among patients and a reduction in the severity of distress symptoms and disruptiveness, although agitation scores increased slightly. There were no increases in routinely reported incidents, and no adverse events related to music therapy interventions were reported. This is relevant for future research on mental health dementia wards where limited studies have been conducted to date.
Study co-author Dr Ben Underwood, Research and Development Director and honorary consultant psychiatrist at CPFT said: “Some people with dementia can get so confused and distressed that we need to admit them to hospital to keep them safe. It can be difficult to manage distress in a ward environment and hard for patients, families and staff. I am very excited that it may now be possible for NHS staff to improve their experience on dementia wards using the power of music, and we look forward to working with ARU to develop this further.”
The MELODIC music therapy approach was developed with help from 49 healthcare professionals, patients, and their families sharing their experiences of managing distress on dementia wards and using music in everyday care and life, with findings published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Importantly, this co-designed intervention cost just £2,025 per month for the therapist and £400 initial outlay for equipment, suggesting a low-cost, scalable model to use for NHS inpatient care.
Lead author Naomi Thompson, a researcher at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “People with dementia on inpatient mental health wards are often experiencing very high levels of distress, and staff are under immense pressure to manage this in ways that are safe and compassionate. Our study yielded promising results and importantly showed that the MELODIC tool can be used effectively in these highly complex settings, giving an alternative option to current ways of managing severe distress, such as psychotropic medication.”
The current study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England.
