The role of music listening in reducing agitated behaviors in persons with dementia
Date
2020
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Background: Dementia is a leading cause of disability and poor health among the elderly worldwide. About 46.8 million people around the world currently live with dementia which is often accompanied by behavioral disturbances collectively referred to as Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). Purpose: The aim of this project was to implement a music intervention for the management of agitated behaviors among dementia residents living in a nursing home during lunchtime. Methods: The project was a quality improvement project with a single subject and repeated measures design conducted at the New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center with 10 participants. The intervention involved playing relaxing music for the residents during lunch time for a period of 4 weeks. Agitated behaviors and use of "pro re nata” (PRN) medications were measured thrice a week on same days and times, at 1 week prior to music intervention, during the 4 weeks intervention and 1 week after the intervention. The measuring tools were the Overt Agitation Severity Scale (OASS) and PRN medication log. Results: The average OASS scores significantly declined for all participants during the intervention period. Also, use of PRN medications for agitated behaviors reduced during music intervention weeks. Nonetheless, the average OASS scores and PRN medication use increased again during the one week follow-up when the music intervention was withdrawn. Conclusions: Music intervention significantly reduced agitated behaviors in dementia residents but with no significant lingering effect
suggesting that the continual use of music intervention is needed to reduce agitated behaviors and PRN medication use in dementia residents. ☐ Keywords: Combinations with Boolean operators ‘dementia’, ‘music’, ‘agitation’, ‘mealtime’
Description
Keywords
Agitation, Dementia, Elderly care, Nursing homes, Behavioral disturbances, Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia, New Castle Health & Rehabilitation Center, PRN medications