Music therapy in dementia: a narrative synthesis systematic review
McDermott O, Crellin N, Ridder HM, Orrell M
International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 139 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Systematic review (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2012-10-18 · Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · vol. 28 · issue 8 · pp. 781–794
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Cited
- 311 citations · more than 91% of similar papers · 3.4× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 51 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Music Therapy and Health · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Keywords
- Music therapy, Dementia, Psychology, Mood, Singing, Psychological intervention, Psychotherapist, Narrative, Cognition, Narrative review, Clinical psychology, Medicine, Psychiatry
- MeSH
- humans, dementia, music therapy, narration, social behavior, psychotherapy, group, controlled clinical trials as topic
4 authors
From GB, DK
- Orii McDermott · correspondingCentral and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; Mental Health Research UK; University College London; Aalborg University
- Nadia E. CrellinNorth East London NHS Foundation Trust; Mental Health Research UK; East London NHS Foundation Trust; University College London
- Hanne Mette Ochsner RidderAalborg University
- Martin William OrrellNorth East London NHS Foundation Trust; Mental Health Research UK; East London NHS Foundation Trust; University College London
Abstract
Objective
Recent reviews on music therapy for people with dementia have been limited to attempting to evaluate whether it is effective, but there is a need for a critical assessment of the literature to provide insight into the possible mechanisms of actions of music therapy. This systematic review uses a narrative synthesis format to determine evidence for effectiveness and provide insight into a model of action.
Method
The narrative synthesis framework consists of four elements: (i) theory development; (ii) preliminary synthesis of findings; (iii) exploration of relationships between studies; and (iv) assessment of the robustness of the synthesis.
Results
Electronic and hand searches identified 263 potentially relevant studies. Eighteen studies met the full inclusion criteria. Three distinctive strands of investigations emerged: eight studies explored behavioural and psychological aspects, five studies investigated hormonal and physiological changes, and five studies focused on social and relational aspects of music therapy. The musical interventions in the studies were diverse, but singing featured as an important medium for change.
Conclusions
Evidence for short-term improvement in mood and reduction in behavioural disturbance was consistent, but there were no high-quality longitudinal studies that demonstrated long-term benefits of music therapy. Future music therapy studies need to define a theoretical model, include better-focused outcome measures, and discuss how the findings may improve the well-being of people with dementia.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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