MusiCare: Music Therapy & Innovative Technology

Summary

The number of older people living with cognitive impairment or dementia has increased the need for simple, inexpensive interventions to improve the quality of life for such individuals and their families. Policy-makers sensitive to issues associated with mental health challenges in aging have embraced social prescribing, and a wealth of research has flourished to study non-pharmacological forms of preventative intervention. Can music-therapy(MT) be one of them? Different studies demonstrated that music stimulates a range of cognitive and social functions. However, scientific studies assessing the value of MT for those who need support in later life are limited, and rigorous research is required to generate robust scientific evidence. The focus of this study is on developing novel forms of intervention for older adults who are healthy or experiencing mild-to-moderate cognitive decline, aiming at \[i\]understanding whether MT could be used in preventive programs to support cognitive functions, \[ii\]identifying the best match between types of MT and levels of cognitive decline. Moreover, recent developments of Robotic-Assistance-Technologies offer opportunities to explore how such technologies may be used to contribute to older adults wellbeing when integrated within care routines to facilitate MT delivery.

Spanning across three-studies, the investigators will examine psychosocial benefits of 5-month MT interventions (one2one, small-group MT, large-group MT) in healthy older adults and impaired older adults in care homes, compared to standard care. This latter group will receive MT afterwards. Further, researchers will investigate whether Robotic-Assistance-Technologies may enrich MT interventions and have additional benefits for the participants and translatability for community-based services.

In order to measure these effects, psychological (cognitive functions, wellbeing, quality of life) and physiological (hormonal, cardiovascular \& brain activity) measures will be compared before/after the intervention.

The study will elucidate relationships between different types of MT and benefits to participants wellbeing, cognitive functions \& social engagement, as well as the impact of robotic assistive technologies in public health services and social care.

Conditions

• Healthy Aging
• Cognitive Impairment

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Music Therapy

Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention, in which music and its elements are used professionally as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. This therapy has shown to provide significant benefits for individuals with cognitive decline living in care homes, enhancing social-cognitive functions and reducing behavioural symptoms (Brotons \& Koger, 2000; Hsu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2017).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Dunhill Medical Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Padova

  collaborator OTHER

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Dublin, Trinity College

  collaborator OTHER

• Middlesex University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Anthony Mangiacotti, PhD · Middlesex University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-04-01

Primary Completion

2024-04-30

Completion

2024-05-26

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations