‘Dementia’ is an umbrella term that covers a number of degenerative neurological disorders that typically effect memory, language and reasoning abilities. In 2021 it was estimated that more than 472,000 Australians were living with dementia, a figure that is likely to grow to approximately 1.1 million people by the year 2058 (Dementia Australia, 2021) This growth is already placing increasing demand on the aged care industry.
Alongside cognitive challenges, people living with dementia can also experience personality, mood and behavioural difficulties such as depression and agitation. However, antidepressants, anxiolytics and antipsychotics often used to treat depression and agitation in dementia are not always effective in reducing symptoms and can be associated with severe side effects (Sacchetti, Turrina, & Valsecchi, 2010). Thus, there is a great need for carers of people with dementia to have access to non-drug interventions that can increase the quality of life of the individual and the caregiver.
Music is one of the most widely used non- drug interventions for people with dementia. Research has demonstrated that music can be a highly effective way to manage the symptoms of dementia when facilitated by a trained music therapist (Raglio et al., 2015). More recently, research has shifted to give greater emphasis to musical interventions that are not therapist led such as individual music listening with headphones.
While sessions with a trained music therapist or active forms of musical engagement such as singing offer additional therapeutic benefits to merely listening to music, the advantage of using pre-recorded music is that it can be used as frequently as needed, in a variety of settings, and is relatively low cost. Research shows that listening to pre-recorded music can improve a range of psychological symptoms including agitation, anxiety and depression. However, music does not have a universally positive effect, and needs to be selected carefully to obtain the greatest therapeutic benefits (Garrido, Dunne, Chang, Stevens, & Haertsch, 2017).
The aim of this guide is to help caregivers who are not trained music therapists to understand how to use pre-recorded music in targeted ways to manage changes in behaviour in people with dementia. It also helps carers to identify and manage music use for individuals who are prone to negative responses. This guide accompanies the Music for Dementia website (www.musicfordementia.com.au), which outlines a Five Step process for creating a music care plan for a person living with dementia (steps one to three). The final two steps of the process show you how to track their responses to these playlists over time, and edit the playlists as needed.
There is evidence that using pre-recorded music can help improve agitation, anxiety and depression in people with dementia.