Dementia patients could potentially find solace in music, alleviating their feelings of distress.
In a groundbreaking study, researchers at Anglia Ruskin University and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have piloted a novel music therapy approach called MELODIC on two NHS dementia wards. The approach, which involves embedding a music therapist on dementia wards to deliver personalized music therapy sessions and create individualized musical care plans, has shown promising benefits in managing distress symptoms in dementia patients on hospital wards.
The intervention, which includes a therapist costing £2,025 per month and an initial equipment cost of £400, shows promise in managing severe distress on dementia wards. Key benefits and effectiveness highlighted by the study include a reduction of distress symptoms, preservation and stimulation of musical memory, improved patient well-being, feasibility and cost-effectiveness, a co-designed and holistic approach, and an alternative to medication.
The music therapy helped ease high levels of distress experienced by dementia patients in inpatient mental health wards, offering a compassionate and safe alternative to psychotropic medication. While the improvements reported are characterized as modest, they are meaningful within the complex and challenging environment of dementia wards.
Moreover, MELODIC leverages the fact that musical memory often remains intact even when other cognitive functions decline, enabling emotional engagement and comfort through singing, playing instruments, or listening to music. The approach was co-designed by clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience, shaped by interviews with healthcare professionals, patients, and families to ensure it fits into daily care life.
While there was a slight improvement in quality-of-life scores among patients and a reduction in the severity of distress symptoms and disruptiveness during the study, agitation scores slightly increased. However, the study results indicate a potential for NHS staff to improve the experience on dementia wards using the power of music. Researchers noted that the MELODIC approach can be used effectively in highly complex settings, providing an alternative to psychotropic medication.
The study was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East of England (NIHR ARC EoE). Results from the research have been published today in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. The study findings were also published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, emphasizing the significance of this approach in the field of mental health dementia wards where limited studies have been conducted to date.
In summary, the MELODIC approach effectively reduces distress and supports emotional well-being in dementia inpatients through personalized, embedded music therapy, providing a low-cost and scalable alternative or adjunct to medication-based treatments in NHS hospital wards. This approach offers a beacon of hope for dementia patients and their families, providing a safe, compassionate, and effective means of managing distress symptoms without relying on psychotropic medication.
- The university, Anglia Ruskin University, and the NHS Foundation Trust have collaborated to develop a novel music therapy approach, MELODIC, for managing distress symptoms in dementia patients on hospital wards.
- The MELODIC approach, which involves embedding a music therapist on dementia wards, has shown promise in reducing distress symptoms and preserving musical memory for dementia patients in inpatient mental health wards.
- Researchers at the university and the NHS Foundation Trust have highlighted key benefits of the MELODIC approach, including a reduction of distress symptoms, improved patient well-being, feasibility and cost-effectiveness, a co-designed and holistic approach, and an alternative to medication.
- The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East of England (NIHR ARC EoE) supported the study, and the findings have been published in the Journal Frontiers in Psychiatry and the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
- The MELODIC approach leverages the fact that musical memory often remains intact even when other cognitive functions decline, enabling emotional engagement and comfort through singing, playing instruments, or listening to music.
- The study results indicate a potential for NHS staff to improve the experience on dementia wards using the power of music, offering a low-cost and scalable alternative to medication-based treatments.
- The approach was co-designed by clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience, shaped by interviews with healthcare professionals, patients, and families to ensure it fits into daily care life.
- The MELODIC approach offers a beacon of hope for dementia patients and their families, providing a safe, compassionate, and effective means of managing distress symptoms without relying on psychotropic medication, which can be used effectively in highly complex settings.
